The Amazon Echo Plus and the Amazon Echo Dot are both smart assistant speakers from the Amazon Echo line. The Echo Dot is a very popular compact voice-controlled speaker with Alexa, a personal voice assistant app. Its small size makes it fit in any room you wish to place it. The Echo Plus, on the other hand, is a smart speaker featuring premium speakers that give off 360-degree sound. It also has a built-in temperature sensor and smart home hub which helps you set up your smart home devices and also improves audio streaming. Like most Echo devices, you can ask both the Echo Plus and Echo Dot to answer questions, play music, news, audio books and much more. They also enable you to make calls and control smart home devices using voice commands.
Pros
- Great sound output with its 360 degree omni-directional audio which is pretty loud.
- It enables you to control smart home devices like lights, air conditioner, and switches.
- It gets smarter over time with software upgrades adding new useful features.
- It has pretty good voice recognition and can hear you anywhere across the room.
- It has voice control which allows you to handle tasks from the comfort of your chair.
- It has voice training features which enable it to recognize different voice patterns of all the members of the household. The voice recognition is also fairly fast and accurate.
- It has flawless Bluetooth pairing which connects very fast.
- It’s a good entertainment tool since you can play music on it. It can also tell jokes and can answer questions for you.
Cons
- It does not have a display screen, and therefore you will have to depend on the audio output.
- It only speaks one language, English. This is a disadvantage to non-English speakers.
- It is not portable, and must be plugged into a power outlet as it does not have a rechargeable battery.
- It only answers your factual questions and cannot give you its own opinions. It also does not respond to complicated commands.
- It can add to your expenses if you automate your house to be compatible with the Echo Plus.
- It is unable to do more than one task at a time. It requires every command sentence to start with the wake word, “Alexa,” and you can therefore not have more than one instruction in a single sentence.
- It cannot connect to multiple Bluetooth devices at the same time.
Amazon Echo Plus FAQs
1. Does the Amazon Echo Plus need to be plugged in?
The Echo Plus does not have a battery and therefore needs to be plugged in a power outlet for it to work.
2. What can you do with Amazon Echo Plus?
It’s a hands-free device that does your simple voice-activated tasks for you. Using Alexa, you can find out the weather, hear the news, play music or even order an Uber. You can also search the internet since it connects to Wi-Fi. It can also use voice commands to control your smart home devices. The potential and spectrum with which you can use Echo Plus in your day to day life is amazing.
3. How do I update Amazon Echo Plus?
You can check for updates by restarting the Echo or by simply saying “Alexa, check for updates.” Alexa devices update on their own whenever there is an update. They usually do so overnight or when no one is interacting with it. You can also check for updates on the Alexa app or alexa.amazon.com. Select “settings” and choose your device. You can check if your device is up to date by selecting “About.”
Amazon Echo Plus Features
Design
Because it features a seven microphone-array with noise cancellation software, the Echo Plus can hear you from anywhere, even across the room. It is characterized by its tall design and visible speaker grills. It also has a fabric mesh covering that is appealing to the eye and blends in with your home. It can be placed anywhere; you don’t have to worry about it looking odd or out of place.
It has volume control dials located at the top of the device. Two of the buttons are dedicated to volume adjustments, volume up and volume down, one is for the mute option and one is an action button used to invoke Alexa.
It has an LED ring which flashes blue when Alexa is talking or when it captures your wake command. It can track 30 volume levels from very loud to very quiet. It has a power port and an AUX port at the back of the device for connecting to other speakers.
The Echo Plus is somewhat shorter than its predecessor but a bit wider at 148x99x99mm. The original Echo had dimensions of 235x84x84mm. It weighs at 780g which is about a kilogram. It comes in the same color range as the Echo Dot having sandstone, charcoal and gray.
Performance
The device’s seven microphones that are dedicated to receiving your voice request are pretty impressive. They can even pick out your voice in a noisy environment. You don’t have to worry about lowering the volume of the music to talk to Alexa, as it still can listen clearly if the music is loud. This is better than some other Echo products like the Echo Dot which features a four-array microphone.
It has a unique feature of being able to pair two Echo speakers, resulting in better audio performance compared to a single speaker which is the standard setup. You can also use the Echo Sub together with the Echo Plus to give the audio more bass. It also gives you a 360-degree sound experience with its premium speakers which fire from the side. With its 3-inch subwoofer and omnidirectional audio, the Echo Plus definitely packs a punch.
It also has a temperature sensor built into the speaker. This keep tabs on the room temperature and this can be displayed in Alexa app on your smartphone or you could just ask Alexa to tell you. This is a great feature as you can connect to the smart thermostat to maintain the desired temperature.
Price
The Echo Plus is priced at $149 which relatively costly compared to the Echo Dot. However, the features of the Plus make up for its higher price, having a good microphone system and audio properties.
Amazon Echo Dot
Pros
- It has good audio quality.
- It has a good network and causes no interference when making calls.
- It is small and has a neat design which makes it easily portable.
- It has an improved Alexa app which is more intelligent.
- It is easy to set up and integrates well with other devices.
- It comes at an affordable price.
Cons
- It doesn’t come with an auxiliary cable.
- It does not have a micro-USB power adapter.
- The shells cannot be changed, so it is subject to fabric staining.
Amazon Echo Dot FAQs
1. What is the Amazon Echo dot?
It is a cylindrical voice-controlled smart assistant speaker from Amazon’s Echo line. It uses the Alexa app which responds to voice commands and requests to do simple tasks for you like playing music, sports, and news.
2. Do you need Alexa to use Echo Dot?
The Echo Dot is not fully dependent on Alexa. You can play your music with a companion app that does not require the use of voice commands. Alexa is a voice assistant app that adds more features to the Dot. It is recommended to use with the Dot as it gives you access to skills like voice commands. Without Alexa, the dot becomes an overpriced Bluetooth speaker. Thus, the significance of Alexa in Echo Dot cannot be overlooked.
3. Do you need Wi-Fi for Echo spot?
Yes, you need Wi-Fi to use the Echo Dot. You need Wi-Fi to enable Bluetooth as the configuration settings are done on an app on your phone or computer. Therefore, without Wi-Fi, the Dot cannot function as a Bluetooth speaker.
4. Does the Echo Dot work with Android?
Yes, it works with all android phones. Amazon has updated and made the Alexa app for Android phones. You need to keep the app open for it to work with your Dot.
Amazon Echo Dot Features
Design
The 3rd generation Echo Dot has a neat design; it has a fabric covering that makes it soft and comfortable to touch. The fabric also improves its appearance and gives it a classy feel. The fabric blends in well with your home decor and doesn’t look out of place.
It comes in three colors, sandstone, charcoal and grey. It also comes with a four-button panel for controls. Each button has a dedicated use, for volume up, volume down, mute and activation. They are raised to provide a more tactile feel as opposed to the previous generations which had a concave design. It has a four microphone array located at the top of the device; this enables Alexa to listen to your voice requests.
It features a 3.5mm auxiliary jack and a direct current power adapter. The power adapter replaced the micro USB adapter that was used on the previous generations. This is somewhat a disadvantage as USB adapters are more common and hence are the preferred choice over the DC adapters. It does not have an aux cable in the package box. It also does not come with covers like the Echo Plus does, and therefore the fabric is not protected.
In terms of size, the Echo Dot 3rd generation is taller, heavier and wider compared to previous Dot generations. In comparison with other Echo line products like the Echo Plus, the Dot is shorter. The Dot has a height of 1.7 inches; this makes it portable when you are taking it to a party. The small size also allows it to fit on shelves and almost anywhere else in a room.
Performance
The performance of the Echo Dot will depend on what you are using it for. With the four microphone array which is located at the top and the noise reduction algorithm, it can hear your voice clearly even when playing loud music. This is an improvement compared to the previous Dot generation. The microphones also improve call quality. This makes it a good intercom tool since it can make on-demand calls from your contact lists.
The Dot features an array of speakers that give a full 360 degree audio blast due to its thick design. This is an improvement compared to the 2nd generation Dot’s speakers, which had its sound come out at the bottom. This sometimes resulted in sound distortion depending on the surface it was placed on. The 3rd generation is designed with side sound firing output eliminating the sound distortion problem. The 3rd generation Dot, therefore, has better sound quality than its predecessors.
Price
The Amazon Echo Dot 3rd generation costs $39.99 which is cheaper than the Amazon Echo Plus which is priced at $149.99. With the Echo Dot, you save $110 and get a reasonably good audio experience. The Dot third generation is listed at the same price as its predecessors, so purchasing it is worthwhile.
Conclusion
The Echo and the Echo Dot are pretty awesome voice-assistant speakers that both have a lot to offer. Both of them have similar features like the range of colors and use of Alexa app. They do have some distinct features which will require you to choose which product to purchase. These include the price difference, size, and audio performance. These two devices are great and you shouldn’t have a problem choosing which products suit you best based on the features that suit you best.
