Smart speakers have become a trend in many homes around the world, despite the fact that at first it may seem futuristic. Amazon is one of the manufacturers of these speakers with its Amazon Echo range where we find all kinds of different models, with or without a screen, with different audio qualities. If you don’t know which one to decide on, this Amazon Echo comparison can help you see their differences and similarities, advantages and disadvantages .
The first thing you should know is what speakers and models there are, what are their differences and similarities or how much you want to spend. You may need it to control light bulbs or blinds but you also don’t have anything “smart” in your home and just want to listen to music or watch the news on it.
What is Amazon Echo
Amazon Echo is Amazon’s family of smart speakers, although they are not all the same. Some offer us more or less advantages, more or less functions. There are them with or without a screen, with or without a speaker that allows us to listen to music or that simply allows us to connect another device to make it “smart”.
They work through the intelligent Alexa system with voice recognition and through commands you can give orders, ask questions, listen to music or even watch series and movies on some models. Therefore, if you are thinking about whether it is really useful or not, we will explain what some of its main functions are or what these Amazon devices are for that you have surely seen at one of your friends’ house and that they have become an accessory. essential in many homes.
That allows us?
Amazon Echo allows us to practically anything we can think of, such as controlling the home automation and turning on the vacuum cleaner or learning English. We can ask you what the weather is going to be like , we can listen to music or check for traffic.
Ask questions
You can ask Alexa practically anything you want, how long ago has Real Madrid been, for example. You can ask him what the weather is going to be today or if it is going to rain, how to say a word in German or how much is a number multiplied by another. It will solve your doubts about geography or history. You can also use it for fun, asking jokes or using funny commands to interact with the smart speaker.
Control home automation
You can associate it with your smart appliances with services like Home Connect, for example. Or activate your robot vacuum just by asking Alexa to start it up. It also allows you to turn the lights on or off or dim them if you have decided to watch a movie or a series on TV. You can control the television, too, if you have it connected to the Amazon Fire TV Stick or compatible televisions by asking it, through your voice, to find you a movie or series.
Listen to music or watch series
The speakers with a screen will allow you to watch series through Amazon Prime Video and most of them, all those with speakers (except the Echo Flex) will allow you to listen to music through services like Spotify, for example. Similar to a conventional speaker but you can ask what you want it to sound like. You can also put on the radio or listen to the news. And if it has a screen, you can even see an informative on the Amazon Echo’s own screen, knowing what happened.
Shopping, lists, organization, reminders
Beyond all the above, it allows us to organize ourselves better. We can make lists or ask you to buy something from us on Amazon if we have a payment method on file. We can ask him to remind us of something in two hours, set timers if we have turned on the oven for a while and want to turn it off.
Skills
Skills are what makes the Amazon Echo work, broadly speaking. They are a kind of applications that you can add to the speaker and that allow us to add functions for whatever we want. Either to learn English or to play.
Amazon Echo without screen
Echo Dot
Amazon Echo Dot is the smallest of Amazon’s models, more compact and more affordable. It is one of the most popular with a price of around 60 euros but you usually find it on sale for less than 50 euros. It is available in four different colors : dark gray, light gray, anthracite or burgundy. It does not have a screen but it has the basic functions and skills to ask for what you want or to hit any of the Alexa commands. It is the most basic and simplest. One of its main differences with other higher quality models is its speakers: we have here a 40-millimeter speaker compared to other more powerful speakers and higher models. It has input and output with 3.5 mm jack connector.
The speaker incorporates a series of LEDs that allow us to see its activity or we can mute the microphone in case we want to have more privacy. We can play music, ask questions or control home automation.
When is it advisable? This is the best option if you have never had a smart wireless speaker and want to test if the Amazon Echo is really useful or not, if you are going to use it or if you really want to have one. It is affordable and you will not miss any features even though the audio quality is lower than other models.
Amazon Echo Plus
Similar to the previous one but higher, the third generation Amazon Echo Plus is another of the models available from Amazon and one of the brand’s classics. It has seven microphones that allow the voice to be detected much better even if you are in another room or even if music is playing on the speaker at the time.
In this case, in terms of speaker, there is a 76-millimeter woofer and a 20-millimeter tweeter that are compatible with Dolby technology. The design is practically identical to the previous model and available in light gray and dark gray. We recommend it if you are looking to “get started” in speakers but are looking for better audio quality.
Amazon Echo Studio
The best of the Amazon Echo speakers without a screen is the Amazon Echo Studio although with a much higher price than the previous two and only if you are looking for the “perfection” of the audio. Of course, we will have higher quality, although generally the functions and what you can ask for is the same. You will get, yes, better audio and better microphones. It has Dolby Atmos technology and has three 50-millimeter midrange speakers, a 25-millimeter tweeter and a 133-millimeter woofer that will allow you to enjoy a good audio experience with your favorite songs, regardless of the “intelligence” of the device. .
The design is similar to the classic Amazon Echo models although wider and somewhat less tall. It is compatible with the main music services such as Amazon Music, Spotify or Apple Music and Amazon promises that it automatically detects the acoustic characteristics of the space to adjust the sound, being compatible with Dolby Atmos and achieving multidimensional sound.
If you want the best possible sound quality, this is your option. Of course, it is around 200 euros and it is one of the most expensive models of Amazon Echo speakers.
Amazon Echo speakers with display
Echo Show 5
The most affordable of the models with a screen is the Amazon Echo Show 5. If you want a speaker with a screen but cheap, you can get it for about 50 euros, usually on sale at Amazon. As its name suggests, it has a 5.5-inch screen that allows us to watch movies, series or news through compatible applications such as Amazon Prime Video or the RTVE app on Spanish television, as well as games that will be played onscreen. You can manage everything with your voice but the advantage is that you can also do it by touch or follow instructions on the display, a recipe or any tutorial.
And another point in its favor in this model is that it incorporates a camera (one megapixel) so you can make video calls through Skype or use it to take selfies. Beyond the 5.5-inch screen, it has stereo speakers. One of the concerns may be the camera spying on you. In that case, this model (and the rest of devices with a camera) have the option of turning off both the microphone and the front camera.
Echo Show 8
The Echo Show 8 is the model above the previous one with a larger screen , two higher quality speakers and the same functions. The screen becomes eight inches and the speakers improve their quality although what it allows is the same as the previous one. What is their difference? Better sound, more screen and a price of about fifteen euros more.
You can also listen to music, use the display to control it by touch, view your photos on the screen or watch videos on Amazon Prime Video. As in the previous case, you can cover the screen with the cover or turn off the microphone.
Echo Show 2nd generation
The most expensive speaker of all the Amazon Echo is the second generation Echo Show with a 10.1-inch screen with 1280 x 800 resolution. Similar to a tablet you have at home but with the advantages of a smart speaker. With better sound than the previous ones, with two two-inch 10W speakers and with Dolby technology with surround sound. The camera that it incorporates for video calls or selfies also improves, going from one megapixel to five megapixels.
If you want the best possible quality in audio and a large screen to watch series or control it by touch, the Amazon Echo Show 2nd generation is the best option but yes, it is not cheap. It is the most expensive of all the models and is around 220 euros.
Echo Spot
The Amazon Echo Spot is one of the most recommended and interesting models. It is small, compact, perfect to place on the nightstand. It has all the possible functions with the Alexa skills in Amazon Echo but it also has a small screen where you can play multimedia content or even make video calls. It is small but with everything you need and, in addition, it is affordable and has a price of less than 100 euros. If you are looking to have a large number of options without making audio quality your priority, it may be the best option.
You can control home cameras or home automation, turn lights on or off or even make video calls thanks to the built-in front camera. But you can also order food or watch the news, control with voice or touch. Of all the models in the range, one of the most interesting and recommended for quality and price, for functions and for design because it will fit everywhere.
Echo Flex
The echo Flex is not as such a wireless speaker as such, it is different from all the others on this list. It is the cheapest with a price of around 30 euros and connects to any outlet in the house, being able to transport it from one place to another whenever you want. It has a loudspeaker, yes, but it is not designed to play music but exclusively to “answer you” and it is a small 15-millimeter speaker to make communication with Alexa comfortable. The Echo Flex plugs into any outlet in the house and has a USB Type-A port designed to add features. For example, you can add a nightlight or a motion sensor. Or you can just use it as a mobile phone charger.
What is it for? Mainly it allows us to manage, through voice, the different home devices. You can control home automation and it fits into any outlet, without the need for a table to place it on, for example. This makes it versatile. It is economical and is ideal if we want to control home automation but we do not want a speaker with which to play Spotify or a screen on which to watch Prime Video.
What should you look at
It has already been clear to us what an Amazon Echo speaker can be for and what are the different models that we have on the market, so we recommend that when choosing, you think about a number of fundamental aspects.
Speaker type
We differentiate mainly three types of speakers: Classic speakers such as the Echo Dot or the Echo Plus, speakers with a screen or devices such as the “Echo Flex” without a built-in speaker but that allow us to control the devices with Alexa. First you will have to decide what you want and what you want it for. You may want to watch series and in that case you want a screen. Or watch the newscast while you’re having breakfast in the kitchen. But you may just want something entertaining to test commands or ask the time or weather. It will depend on the type.
Display yes or no
Taking into account the first point, we ask ourselves, do we need the screen or not ? It will depend on whether or not you want to watch videos or if it is easier for you to control the speaker through a conventional touch screen control or if you want to use exclusively voice commands to give orders or requests to the device with Alexa. Also, once you decide on the screen, choose the size of it.
What do you want it for
Related to the above, there is a second question you should ask yourself: what do you want it for? If you simply want to “make fun” to entertain you for a while asking questions, it will not be worth spending 200 euros. If you want it to automate lights or appliances, almost all will do for you.
Think first if you are going to use it before deciding to buy the best and most expensive.
Compatibility
Look at the compatibility of the devices to see if it is worth choosing an Amazon Echo or maybe you should bet on another brand such as Google Home. You cannot buy an Amazon Echo thinking about watching series on Netflix without thinking that this streaming service is not compatible with these models, for example.
Sound quality and microphones
Maybe you absolutely do not care if it has Dolby Atmos or not and the sound is completely immersive. If you don’t care about the sound, you can get pretty much the same in an affordable model as in one of the more expensive in terms of features. But if you want the best quality, bet on more Premium models.
Also take into account the number of microphones the speaker has if you intend to speak from another room and want it to understand you. The more microphones you will have more range and it will be easier for them to hear you even when music is playing.
Design and appearance
This may be unimportant compared to the above but it can be useful if you have little space or if you are going to put it in a place where you can see a lot, for example.
In summary…
If you want the highest audio quality, the Amazon Echo Studio is your best option. Or, something more affordable, the Amazon Echo Plus if you are also looking for good quality.
If you don’t know if the speaker is going to be useful to you and you’re looking for something to try , the Amazon Echo Dot is a recommended option. If you want a screen but are not sure that you are going to give it much use, the Amazon Echo Show 5 is also recommended for less than 50 euros and with touch and visual control.
In the case of wanting a screen , you can choose between the different models that Amazon offers you… If you want to see series, the 2nd Generation Echo Show is practically similar to a tablet in terms of screen, with good dimensions and touch control. This is also a good idea if you want the most functions and options in the device, being the most expensive and hovering around 220 euros.
