From £89.99
amazon.co.ukWE’RE IMPRESSED Sounds
really nice; built-in Zigbee hub;
lots of audio options.
WE’D IMPROVE Shape hard
to get used to; you may prefer
cheaper Dot; huge Amazon focus.
THE LAST WORD The Amazon
Echo continues to impress as a
smart speaker thanks to Alexa,
and this is the best-sounding,
most capable version yet –
though we’re not 100% sold on
the new design.VERDICT
Find great deals for the Amazon
Echo at: bit.ly/t3amech2086 T3 DECEMBER 2020Te s te d
Amazon Echoith the latest Amazon Echo, we have
the biggest design change in the six
years since the Alexa smart speaker
first appeared on the scene:
cylinders are out, spheres are in.
We’re going to be honest: we preferred the
old cylindrical design for the Echo. The sphere
shapes that Amazon has gone all-in on in 2020
look a bit too much like a fancy paperweight or a
pet toy to us, though the acoustics do seem to be
slightly better with the shift in shape.
Something else we’re not particularly happy
about is the switching of the status light from the
top to the bottom of the device. If you’re standing
up and the Echo is on a low table, you have to
duck down to make sure the speaker is listening.
The Echo comes with a 3-inch woofer and
two 0.8-inch front-firing tweeters and the
combination works really well: this is a speaker
that can fill a room with top quality sound no
problem at all. Bass is particularly well
pronounced, and it’s certainly a better level of
fidelity than you would get from the smaller
speakers on the market.The new Echo is the best
yet for features, but isn’t
necessarily the best smart
speaker for everyone
Amazon
Echo
BALL OF SOUND
Amazon has upgraded the Echos to support
multi-room audio, so you can carry your tunes
from one room to another and set up two as a
stereo pair. You can also use this and other
Echos as a sound system for your Fire TV device
as well, while a 3.5mm audio input socket gives
you even more flexibility.
In terms of sticking on your tunes, Amazon
would prefer you to use Amazon Music, but it’ll
also work with the likes of Spotify, Apple Music
and Deezer. You can also connect to the Echo
from other devices via Bluetooth.
This new Echo also comes with a Zigbee
smart home hub built-in – that means that
Zigbee-compatible devices (like Philips Hue
lights) can be controlled without the need for a
separate hub plugged into your router. You can
still control a huge number of smart home
devices via Alexa without it, but its inclusion
makes the connection to certain devices a bit
simpler and more convenient – you can just ask
Alexa to search for compatible devices nearby,
and they’ll be connected automatically.
There’s no doubt the fourth-gen Echo is the
best sounding and the most capable yet –
though maybe not the best looking. If you’re
fine with the scaled down bowling ball design,
it’s a great smart speaker that offers decent
value for money and superb audio.W