by Joe Lonergan

Product Description   

The Echo Pop is a budget smart speaker from Amazon. It is a smaller Echo smart speaker than the Echo Dot with a few less features. It looks like an Echo 5th Gen with the front cut off. So, it is round at the back and has a flat front-facing speaker grill.

It has only 3 physical buttons, volume up and down and a mute button. There is no action button. There is no 3.5mm jack so you can not plug in a more powerful speaker. It does not have a temperature sensor or ultrasound motion detector. You also can not tap the top of the speaker to pause music or stop alarms because there is no action button, so all actions are performed with voice commands only. It is basically a paired-down Echo Dot with a slightly smaller price tag.

But the Echo Pop does perform all the basic tasks that can be performed with a voice command such as switching on and off smart home devices, checking the weather, playing music and podcasts and anything else you desire to ask Alexa at any given moment.

It is aimed at those of us who want an extra Echo smart speaker in the house, home office, utility room, or playroom.

Unboxing/What are my first impressions?

When I first opened the box, I was impressed with the look and the feel of the speaker. It felt small and neat and can fit comfortably on any little shelf or desk and it looks cool too, I have the purple version. It comes in many different colours and silicone sleeves can be purchased in even more colours.

The setup was straightforward. It was especially easy for me as I already have an Amazon account and a bunch of other Amazon speakers. I plugged it in and waited for a while. Then the little pop smart speaker started speaking to let me know it was ready for set up, so I opened the Alexa app on my smartphone and the device appeared on the home screen of the app asking me if I wanted to set up.

I just followed the prompts until I got to the final step and then my Echo Pop smart speaker announced it was ready and offered if I wanted to listen to a tutorial. I declined as I already am an experienced smart speaker user but, this is a good feature for a new user.

What did I like?

I like the size and look of the Echo Pop. I was impressed with the sound even if it was not as good as the Echo Dot 5th gen, but it did a good job at podcasts and news and Audio books in a small room.

What didn’t I like?

There was not much I didn’t like about this smart speaker because I knew what I was getting for such a low price and I expected it not to be suitable for playing loud music, but it does a good job if you just want to play your local radio station or ambient music in the background.

Price

It is currently priced at approx. €45 on Amazon.

Learning curve

Once the Echo Pop smart speaker is set up and you have decided on your wake word, then there is very little learning curve. As long as you say the word Alexa followed by a question or command then your Echo Pop will try to answer or perform the command. Amazon will even give you suggestions if you can not think of what to do with it. And they provide a little tutorial at the start.

For whom would I recommend this product?

I would recommend this product for people who want an extra smart speaker in a spare room or home office as long as you do not need the extra features of the Echo Dot mentioned earlier.

It is suitable for blind and Vision impaired users as the Echo Pop is a universal product with no screen and works solely with voice commands. You can also enable request sounds for users who have difficulty seeing the coloured lights on the device, and the audible tone will let you know that Alexa has heard the wake word and is waiting for your request. Please note you can also access the myVI SmartHub Skill on the Amazon Echo Pop by saying “Alexa, open myVI”.