Verdict
A cool - looking smart speaker , the Amazon Echo Pop is the new entry - floor Alexa speaker . It come in a wider range of colours , and has selection arm to mix things up further . If you ’re after a basic smart speaker for general requests and saucy abode ascendency , this speaker could work ; however , the best - sounding Echo Dot ( fifth propagation ) costs just $ 10/£10 more and has a temperature and ultrasound occupation sensing element , making it a better choice overall .
A cool - look smart speaker , the Amazon Echo Pop is the new first appearance - grade Alexa speaker . It comes in a wider chain of colours , and has optional coloured sleeve to mingle things up further . If you ’re after a basic smart verbalizer for general requests and fresh home control , this speaker could work ; however , the well - sounding Echo Dot ( 5thGeneration ) cost just $ 10/£10 more and has a temperature and sonography occupation sensor , making it a skilful choice overall .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Amazon Echo Pop is the late sassy speaker that Alexa can call abode , and undercut even the Echo Dot in terms of terms .
With theAmazon Echo Dotbecoming bigger , better and more expensive , it ’s becoming hard to keep justifying it as the budget option . The raw Echo Pop has fill that void , with Amazon remove a yoke of feature and decoct the size of the interior speaker to lour the cost .
Despite the cost cutting , Amazon has still been able to retain legion primal features . If you only want a speaker for dewy-eyed voice command and responses , and do n’t mind too much about the speaker unit character , then this could be the bright talker for you . Nevertheless , it is difficult to overlook the Echo Dot , which is only a piddling bit more expensive .
Design
If you took theEcho Dot ( 5thGeneration)and slice up the front of it off , you ’d terminate up with the Amazon Echo Pop , give or take . It ’s a cool - looking little speaker , although it does n’t take up much less space than the Echo Dot .
Available in Charcoal , Glacier White ( pictured ) , Lavender Bloom and Midnight Teal , the Echo Pop has enough sort to keep most households happy .
If you do n’t like the semblance , there are silicone polymer cases usable in seven more color ( blue , glow - in - the - grim , grey , lilac , orange , purple and red ) to give even more option . However , at $ 16.99/£19.99 a case , buy a pop music and a Sleeve is more expensive than just purchase an Echo Dot .
There are three physical control on top : deaf-and-dumb person , loudness up and volume down . These are bare round buttons with icon printed on them ; once I ’d remembered the layout , I could use them by contact alone .
There ’s no Action clit to activate Alexa without speaking on this model . If that ’s a feature that you use a lot on your current model , then this is a smart speaker to avoid . Personally , I ’ve never had to resort to using it .
A regular power adapter is allow in the box , plugging into the rear of the speaker . That ’s the only embrasure on this overbold speaker , and there ’s no 3.5 millimetre sound yield .
Features
Fundamentally , the Amazon Echo Pop can do all of the same things as other Alexa - powered sassy verbaliser , using the cloud - based service . Myguide to Amazon Alexagoes into more details , but Alexa is a ripe voice assistant now , bring home the bacon mere voice responses to regular questions , such as looking up local concern or getting the current atmospheric condition , as well as controlling smart devices , playing euphony and giving info on upcoming calendar result .
For this model , Amazon has include its AZ2 Neural Edge CPU , which lets Alexa cognitive process some control , such as asking to turn on a saucy plug , on - gadget . This makes some responses on the Pop slightly quicker than on older devices . Amazon has included the AZ2 Neural Edge processor on its latest Dot speakers , theEcho Show 15and theEcho Show 5 ( 3rdGeneration ) .
As with the Echo Dot ( 5thGeneration ) , the Pop has three farfield microphones that constantly listen for the wake - word . I encounter the Dot more or less more sensible , picking up my petition for Alexa over the soda , but there ’s not much in it .
away from berth where there ’s a set of loud music or the speaker was position too close to a blare TV , the Pop picks up vocalism asking easily .
To get the price down from the Elvis ’s , the Pop miss out on a few features . First , there ’s no temperature sensor onboard , so the Pop ca n’t be used to trigger off routine in the same way . second , there ’s no sonography motion sensing element for detecting if a elbow room is occupy or not . at last , there are no tap gesture to pause / unpause medicine or snooze an alarm .
If you need an Echo for an alarm clock , theEcho battery-acid with Clock ( 5thGeneration)is a superior mathematical product because you could tap to snooze , and it has an LCD show testify the current time .
Sound quality
Inside , the Amazon Echo Pop has a 1.95 - inch front - firing speaker , which is a lilliputian larger than the 1.73 - inch speaker on the current Echo Dot range . speaker unit sizing alone is not the only stylemark of profound quality , and the Echo Dot is a higher-ranking smart speaker when it come to medicine .
I found that the Echo Pop lacked the warmth and bass of the Echo Dot ( 5thGeneration ) . play a bass - heavy track , such as OK Go ’s This Too Shall Pass , the Echo Pop lacked low - frequency impact , while the high last sounded harsh and muddled .
Playing a more mate - back track , such as Johnny Cash ’s Hurt , the Echo Pop does better , generally sounding satisfactory , although there are stage where the special ambit can make the speaker a little fuzzy - sound . It lacks the range of mountains of the Dot but is forte enough to satiate a steady - sized room .
I ascertain the Echo Pop advantageously for articulation responses : Alexa is loud enough to be interpret clearly even in a fairly large elbow room . If you need a small smart speaker system around the sign for setting timers , general queries and overbold home ascendency , then the Pop does a practiced line of work .
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Should you buy it?
If you ’re just after a voguish speaker for fast responses and fresh house command , this example is a good choice .
pass $ 10/£10 more on the Echo Dot and you get better audio quality , and additional sensors for use in smart home ascendence .
Final Thoughts
The main issue with the Amazon Echo Pop is that it ’s not that much cheaper than theEcho Dot ( 5thGeneration ): just $ 10/£10 less . Even when Amazon has one of its frequent sale , the Echo Pop ends up being just a few pounds cheaper . That ’s without buy a cover , which name the Pop more expensive .
If your only concern is having a chic speaker system for basic interpreter responses or bright family control , that diminished saving may be worth it . And , if you occur to be look at a time when the Pop is on sale but the Echo Dot is not , then the smaller speaker is a beneficial option .
If you want good audio , tap gestures , and the built - in temperature and ultrasound sensor , the Echo Dot is a good choice . mark off out ourBest Smart Speakerlist for even more options .
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Unlike other sites , we test every smart verbalizer we retrospect exhaustively over an extended period of time . We habituate diligence received tests to compare features properly . We ’ll always state you what we find . We never , ever , have money to survey a Cartesian product .
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FAQs
This is Amazon ’s new entry - level smart speaker .
These are silicone polymer covers that let you switch the color of your smart speaker system .
