Amazon Echo Review

Amazon Echo was the first smart speaker on the market, and it remains one of the best. It also doubles as a smart home hub for those dreaming of a connected home.

Let’s walk through Amazon Echo’s features and how it compares to competitors like Google.

Echos and other Alexa-enabled products come in a gamut of prices. The Echo Dot comes in at $39.99, while the standard Echo Show can sell for over $80.*

That’s similar to Google Home/Google Nest prices if you’re looking to compare the two (which, let’s face it, most people are).

There are lots of compatible Echo devices, way more than we can show in our table. The full array includes the following:

• Echo
• Echo Dot
• Echo Dot Kids Edition
• Echo Plus
• Echo Studio
• Echo Spot
• Echo Show
• Echo Show 5
• Echo Show 8
• Echo Sub
• Echo Auto
• Echo Buds
• Echo Loop
• Echo Input
• Echo Link
• Echo Link Amp
• Echo Connect
• Amazon Tap
• Echo Frames
• Echo Flex
• Echo Glow
• Amazon Fire TV Stick
• Amazon Fire TV Cube

In the past, Amazon also sold an Echo Button for game show–style activities. You can’t get those new anymore, but you may be able to find them used.

You can get your Echo speaker in colors such as the following:

• Charcoal
• Heather Gray
• Sandstone
• Twilight Blue
• Plum
• Kids Blue
• Kids Rainbow
• Limited Edition Red

Finally, smart displays. If you’re looking for a product with a smart display, you want an Echo Spot or Echo Show. We’re partial to the Show because the screen’s much bigger and easier to use.

There’s a lot you can do with an Amazon Echo. Let’s walk through some of our favorite features.

Alexa has a few different celebrity voice options. You can download skills that allow you to chat with Samuel L. Jackson or Gordon Ramsey.

You can also change Alexa’s accent or language. Right now, you can choose from the following seven languages:

• English
• French
• German
• Italian
• Japanese
• Portuguese (Brazilian)
• Spanish

While it’s nice to have multiple options, the Echo language choices are way behind Google Home’s, and Google only has 13. We’d like to see more languages added to the Echo for sure.

Through your Echo smart speaker, you can listen to the radio or ask Alexa to select random music for you. But if you want to listen to something specific, you need an Amazon Music, Spotify, or Pandora subscription. (Be wary; you might have to cough up monthly fees for these services.)

Alexa can help you organize your life. Ask her to set timers, add events to your calendars, and remind you of important tasks.

Shopping on Amazon is one of the highlights of an Echo. You can say, “Alexa, order colored pencils,” and Alexa will. (If you’re a picky shopper, we don’t recommend this approach since you won’t be able to see your product before you buy.)

Alexa can also tell you when your Amazon packages are due to arrive and if they’ve been delivered.

Alexa can get you recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, brunch, linner, second breakfast, elevensies, teatime, and your midnight snack. You can also have her order the ingredients through Amazon or Whole Foods.

Or you can make things easy on yourself and order food using a skill instead. (Alexa integrates with GrubHub, Domino’s, Starbucks, and Panera Bread, among others.)

Alexa’s got a vast amount of games, jokes, riddles, and songs. But to bring out her entertaining side, you have to specifically say, “Alexa, let’s play a game,” or “Alexa, tell me a riddle.” She doesn’t have a random fun mode like Google Assistant’s.

If you want to build an entire smart home that’s compatible with Alexa, that’s not hard. Lots of smart home devices work with an Echo. It’s just a matter of finding them.

Alexa works with some devices from the following product lines:

• Philips Hue smartbulbs
• Sengled smartbulbs
• LIFX smartbulbs
• Amazon smart plugs
• Kasa smart plugs
• Etekcity smart plugs
• Wemo smart plugs
• VeSync smart plugs
• Honeywell thermostats
• Emerson Sensi smart thermostats
• Ecobee smart thermostats
• GLAS smart thermostats
• Hive smart thermostats
• Ring video doorbells
• Ring cameras
• Wyze Cams
• Arlo cameras
• Kasa indoor cameras
• Blink Cameras
• August smart locks
• Schlage smart locks
• Yale smart locks
• Kwikset smart locks
• Ring Alarm security systems
• Vivint security systems
• SimpliSafe security systems
• ADT security systems
• Frontpoint security systems
• Google Nest Secure security systems
• Link Interactive security systems
• Abode security systems
• Scout Alarm security systems
• Brinks Home security systems
• Cove security systems
• Sonos speakers

Setting up your Echo is relatively easy. Each Echo has its own variation, but you’ll set up each device app with plenty of guidance through the Alexa app.

Even though a gaggle of smart speakers has gone on the market since the Echo’s first introduction, the original smart speaker is still going strong. We recommend it to smart home enthusiasts, especially those who dig Alexa-compatible products.