Amazon echo review

Amazon has been vocal about improving Alexa and it’s now a vital and voracious part of the smart home puzzle.

This is both a blessing and a curse for Amazon. Initially Alexa was only available through the devices the company made but now it’s omnipresent, with many a speaker manufacturer allowed to use the voice AI - the most high-profile recently being the Sonos One

Design and features

The new Amazon Echo continues Amazon’s crusade of making voice the future of the operating system, bolstering Alexa’s skillset and wrapping all of this up in a much nicer chassis - an interchangeable one at that.

The new-look Echo is smaller and wider than its predecessor, which means it’s a lot more steadier on its feet. While we always felt that an accidental nudge would topple the original Echo over, the new Echo’s sturdier footprint means that it isn’t going anywhere.

Its look does mean that it’s less sci-fi and more in keeping with the current crop of smart speakers - in particular Google Home and Apple’s not-yet-released HomePod. 

We haven’t got an issue with this. The style is more desirable than the original Echo and Amazon has decided to combine elements of the Dot with the fullsize device, switching up the volume dial for a pair of buttons. These are joined by a mute button to stop Alexa hearing everything and a button to summon Alexa if you’re too busy to say its name out loud. 

This does mean the nice ergonomic experience or rotating a dial rather than tapping the buttons on the top is missing, which is a shame. 

The all-new Amazon Echo’s exact measurement are: 148 x 88 x 88mm. Compare this to the original’s 235 x 84 x 84mm and it’s plain to see the height loss and waist gain. Weight-wise it’s a solid 821g.

The Amazon Echo we tested came in the color Charcoal Fabric but there are a number of other colors to choose from. That’s right, Amazon has stretched beyond black and white with its color palette, as well as the material it is using to cover the Echo’s innards. 

There are three fabric options: Charcoal, Heather and Sandstone. There are also three ‘finish’ offerings; Oak, Walnut and Silver. Their names (apart from the last) may conjure up wood but it’s worth noting that the shells are made from plastic and are £10/$10 more expensive than the fabric versions. 

Performance

The Amazon Echo (2nd Generation) is a breeze to set up but it does mean that you have to venture into the Amazon Alexa app. Amazon has made some improvement with its Alexa app but it’s just not slick enough for our liking. 

It does spell out how to get the Echo on to your network, though, so there’s no denying its simplicity when it comes to installation. Head to Settings and Set up a New Device and then just choose the right Echo for installation (they are handily shown as icons) and follow the setup instructions. 

We had no problems at all installing, which meant that we saw the green ring light in a minute or so and were ready to start asking Alexa to do things. 

That’s actually quite a big jump for many people who first get an Amazon Echo, actually knowing what to ask Alexa - what works and what doesn’t. Obviously you can check out TechRadar’s handy best Alexa skills guide but Amazon also add a little booklet into the mix with some ideas. These are pretty simple but effective. 

So, you can ask Alexa what the time is, what the weather is like (you will have to input where you actually live for this), for a flash news bulletin, ask it a joke, to set a timer… there’s a whole host of things you can do without setting up a Skill (which are essentially the Echo’s version of apps for your phone).

Final verdict

The new Amazon Echo (2nd generation) is a refreshing update to the Amazon range and a radically reduced price. It’s a better-looking speaker than the original and is packed with all the smarts you have come to expect from the Amazon, the Echo range and, most importantly, Alexa. 

Its arrival, though, doesn’t quite have the heft or ‘wow’ factor of the original Echo and it can’t quite match the likes of Sonos for sound quality. But its price point is utterly compelling. 

For Amazon to offer a speaker that’s better-looking than its predecessor with no reduction in features, at a price that’s some 40% cheaper is a fantastic achievement.