About Amazon AlexaAmazon Alexa is an intelligent personal assistant that makes use of machine learning and artificial intelligence. It is designed to be always on and woken with a voice command. Alexa can perform web searches, create calendar events, modify to-do lists and notes, order products, play music, read Twitter posts, recite email, and perform dozens of other tasks. When you speak to Alexa it uses natural language learning and speech recognition to transmit your request to Amazon's servers, which is where the real work is done. Machine learning software processes the spoken request and sends a response back to Alexa, all in a matter of seconds. An Amazon Echo unit, or any other supported Alexa device, comes with basic features out of the box. Amazon's Alexa Skills store offers hundreds of additional capabilities, allowing it to play games,request an Uber, add items to your grocery shopping list, get recipes, find out if something is recyclable, or even get random cat facts. |
DesignAmazon and its customers must have been pretty happy with the design of the Amazon Echo because the Echo Plus is an obvious sibling. With that familiar cylindrical shape, the Echo Plus stands taller at 235mm and ever so slightly narrower with a diameter of 84mm (vs the Echo’s 88mm). That extra bit of height allows for a slightly larger tweeter (0.8-inch vs the Echo’s 0.6-inch tweeter) and it does make a difference to the audio quality. The subwoofer is the same size though, but a mesh of holes on the bottom half of the speaker allows for a fuller audio output. Despite the boost in sound, the Echo Plus still offers a 3.5mm audio output jack and integrated Bluetooth, so you can pump music out from a more premium set of speakers. Unlike the Echo’s customisable fabric covers, the Echo Plus is only available in black, which makes it a little harder to fit in with multiple decors. But given the additional smart home hub functions, Amazon’s obvious goal is for a single Echo Plus to be accompanied by multiple Echos or Echo Dots around the home. The top of the Echo Plus is the control centre of the speaker and offers two simple buttons – the privacy button that mutes the microphone and an action button for when you can’t be bothered giving the “Alexa” command. Volume controls are also at the top of the speaker in the form of a rotating ring above the LED light ring, spinning clockwise for volume up and anti-clockwise to turn the volume down. Having the LED lights makes control of the speaker super easy, with an obvious visual feedback whenever the speaker is working. The Echo Plus incorporates the same seven microphone array as the other Echo products and is able to pick up quiet voices from across the room well. The sensitivity of the mic is easily one of the keys to the Echo family’s success, happily detecting the activation word almost every time, and having an impressive strike rate at hearing instructions, even in the broadest Australian accent. |
PerformanceAs the premium model in amongst the Echo family of smart speakers, it’s natural to expect the Echo Plus will feature a premium audio experience. The extra size in the tweeter doesn’t make as much difference as you might hope, though. One of the biggest challenges of the Amazon Echo’s audio playback was a lack of bass in the music, especially at higher volumes. Given the Plus has the same sized woofer, it’s perhaps understandable that the Plus isn’t much better on the bass front. Crank the Echo Plus up to full volume, and the sound is tinny, with the lower frequencies struggling to match the musicians' intent. The mid-range is a bit fuller than the regular Echo, but it’s not enough to justify the purchase of a Plus over the default Echo model. Fortunately, even Amazon’s premium speaker comes with an audio-out jack for plugging it into better speakers, and Bluetooth for the same function, which should keep audiophiles happier. Although if this is how you plan to use the Echo Plus, the cheaper Echo Dot will perform much the same, minus the smart home hub functionality. But for general background music, the Echo Plus is perfectly functional – it’s just not a premium audio experience. VerdictIt’s taken Amazon way too long to launch its Echo lineup of speakers in Australia, and now that they’re here, it’s easy to see why the world took to them so quickly. An intelligent digital assistant with great voice recognition, a strong ecosystem of skills and an ever-improving platform, all at an affordable price, make the Echos very attractive. But the Echo Plus, as the premium offering in the lineup, should stand head and shoulders above the standard Echo. The truth is that it does not. Audio performance is still far from premium, with a little bit more detail in the mid to high end, but a weak bass performance like its smaller siblings. Not only that, but the smart home hub functionality is somewhat limited, and easily managed by third-party devices and skills even without the Zigbee hub function. This could evolve over time, but the benefit for a user today does not outweigh the cost. If you have your eye on an Echo speaker for the home, then the Echo Plus doesn’t justify the $80 premium. The features that matter – sound quality, the impressive microphone array and Alexa itself – are all essentially the same on the cheaper Echo. |