Smart speakers are quickly becoming a staple in many homes. They can answer questions, control smart home devices, and even play music. These voice-activated smart assistants come packed with virtual assistants like Siri or Google Assistant that you can interact with by talking to your speaker. The market is expected to grow over the next several years. According to MarketWatch, it’s believed that 20 percent of U.S. households will have a smart speaker by 2024. These speakers make for great holiday gifts, but they can be hard to shop for if you don’t know what your friend already has. So before buying one of these gadgets as a gift this year – here’s what you should know about different makes and models – we’ve got some tips on getting the most out of your smart speaker. Some speakers like Google Home and Amazon Echo come in different colors, while others such as Apple HomePod and Sony LF-S50G are designed to blend in with their surroundings. But depending upon how you plan to use it–and where you could place it – there are other features you’ll want to consider. You also might need a deeper knowledge about things like how your wifi works or what specific streaming services your friend uses before buying a smart speaker—or an Alexa device if they already have one from another company—as a gift for someone else. But once you know what you’re looking for, digital assistant-equipped smart speakers can add convenience and fun to your personal space. You can connect a speaker to your home’s wifi, which means you don’t have to worry about pairing the speaker with your phone or another mobile device. And many of these speakers can access other devices on your home network as well as off-site services. In addition to streaming music from apps like Spotify and Pandora, some smart speakers – such as Google Home – allow you to play songs from YouTube Music and Google Play Music directly through the speaker itself. You’ll also be able to control playback for those services by using voice commands, thanks to services like iHeart Radio, TuneIn Radio , Pandora and Spotify all offering integration with either Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant .