Everything I can think of which we've just slapped "smart" in front of in recent years is smart because it is more interactive / capable (in a technology centri

Everything I can think of which we've just slapped "smart" in front of in recent years is smart because it is more interactive / capable (in a technology centric way) than the corresponding "dumb" counterpart. Smart speakers work great as dumb speakers and (generally) have the form factor you expect from dumb speakers. They are a lot more capable than the dumb ones due to a variety of additions, one of which is a microphone that allows it to respond to voice commands.