Google and Apple speakers pair easily with Home Assistant, while Alexa speakers require a complex setup that didn’t work in testing.

All configured speakers work similarly in Home Assistant, allowing for media playback and announcements.

Home Assistant can simultaneously play audio on different brand speakers with slight delays, but it’s not recommended for whole-home audio.

Home Assistant is super versatile but not all smart devices work with the open-source smart home platform. I’ve spent the past few weeks trying Amazon, Google, and Apple smart speakers with Home Assistant, and it didn’t go quite as I’d hoped.

Not All Speakers Pair Easily

The first step to using speakers with your Home Assistant smart home is to add them. This didn’t go at all how I thought it would. Before starting, if I had to guess on the complexity of adding speakers, I would have imagined Google would be easiest, Alexa next, and Apple last. But, that’s not the case at all.

Google and Apple speakers both work natively within Home Assistant. Yes, you read that right. My HomePod Mini and my Google Nest speakers were both available to utilize within Home Assistant without having to add any extra plugins, repositories, or anything.

To set up your Google or Apple speaker, you’ll want to start by navigating to Settings and then Devices & Services.