Echo Plus – The Smart Speaker for New Generation. The smart loudspeakers are in fashion and with their immense fan following, they have been present in the homes of millions of users now. Amazon was the first company to launch a smart speaker, the Amazon Echo, back in 2014. Amazon was followed by other renowned technology companies such as Google with its Google Home and Apple with its Apple Home Pod.
However, today we will just discuss the Echo Plus – the smart speaker with digital AI assistant – Alexa of Alexa.Amazon.com. We will give a detailed idea for each of the aspects – from design to the astounding features.
Design and construction of the Echo Plus
The Echo Plus is a cylinder about 15 cm high and 10 cm in diameter, which is surrounded by a mesh fabric that has a nice look and feel.
Its small size makes it possible to place it almost anywhere in the house, as long as we have a plug nearby since the Echo Plus, like the rest of intelligent speakers, does not incorporate a battery. Next, to the power connector, the Echo Plus has a 3.5 mm sound output. to connect an external speaker or headphones.
The Echo Plus is available in three colors – anthracite, light gray and dark gray – so you can choose the one that best matches your furniture. In our case, we have the model with a light gray color, which sticks perfectly with the white furniture in my living room after the Alexa Setup.
Music Playback Capabilities
The Echo Plus is Amazon’s loudspeaker with better sound quality although in the last time’s third-party speakers (such as Sonos) have appeared that are also compatible with Alexa and that offer a much higher sound quality.
The Echo Plus emits sound in all directions, with a 20mm tweeter and a 76mm woofer. These speakers are slightly larger than those of the Amazon Echo, so it offers better sound quality. In addition, sound adjustment and equalization have been carried out by the prestigious Dolby sound company.
The Echo Plus offers good sound quality for listening to music at home, with sharp treble and deep bass. In addition, you can adjust the bass and treble with the equalizer of the Alexa app. For novice users, they can download Alexa app to their phone directly from the play store or through the web.
Interior of the Echo Plus
However, Echo Plus does not offer as high quality as the Apple Home Pod smart speaker, which, on the other hand, is much larger and has a considerably higher price.
The best About Echo Plus:
- The possibility of playing music synchronized in several rooms
- Advanced virtual assistant capabilities (Alexa) that can be expanded through a wide range of skills
- Control of digital home devices and the ability to automate actions in routines
- Intercom function between devices in the same home or friends/family
- Very good sound quality
- Compatible with the home automation standard
- Useful screen to act as wakes up, watch the news on video, make video calls, etc.
Demerits…
- You can only associate an Amazon account to each device, so all users use the same music service account, the same work addresses (for traffic info), etc.
- Less integration with Android and iOS operating systems than Google and Apple speakers
Summary
All Echo speakers integrate the virtual assistant Alexa, one of the most advanced we can find today. In addition to answering common questions about traffic, time, our agenda or general culture, Amazon has created a catalog of skills that can add new skills to Alexa. The amount of skills available is impressive and the list is increasing.
We also liked the possibility of using the Echo speakers as intercoms, either with other people who have Echo speakers in their homes or with other speakers in your own home. It is very easy to make a call or simply have a particular speaker play a voice message (for example, “kids, dinner time” )
Other Echo speaker utilities are like the control center of our digital home. Many cameras, thermostats, light bulbs, and other appliances are compatible with Alexa and can be controlled by voice. You can consult from the amazon echo help experts to set up your Echo device to other smart devices. In our house, we have an intelligent plug that we can control using Echo Plus or Echo Spot to turn on or off a room light whose switch is quite hidden just saying “Alexa, turn on the light”.
As a limitation, Echo devices are not multi-user, so all users who speak to the Echo do so use the same Amazon account. This makes questions such as “How is the traffic to my work?” Or “Play my X music playlist” always made on the account of the owner.
In conclusion, Echo speakers are an excellent purchase, especially if you use music services and home devices that are compatible with Alexa. In addition, almost every day Amazon is adding new features, so it is increasingly useful.