When you’re living in a house where the kitchen fridge, bedroom lamp and living room TV can have a conversation with each other, you know you’re one of the millions of people using smart home devices each day.
In fact, 47 per cent of millennials already own some smart home devices, and, of those who own one, 70 per cent are planning to buy another. They are starting to become part of the furniture, an assistant in our daily lives and an irreplaceable bridge between technology and people.
One of the bestselling ranges of smart home devices is the Amazon Echo, which has made its way into over 8 million homes.
It was first available two years ago in the UK and has since become a popular household essential ever since. More than just a smart speaker, it is connected to Alexa – Amazon’s voice-controlled personal assistant service that is akin to the iPhone’s Siri (perhaps even better).
The Echo range has grown alongside the popularity of its core products, the Echo and the Echo Plus. Now, add-on products include bass boosting speakers, touchscreen tablets, stripped-back versions of the classic model and much more.
With each Echo product’s variety of abilities comes a difference in the price tag, but they typically range from £24.99-£219.99. Here is everything you need to know about Amazon Echo devices and some models are even on sale now in the lead up to Black Friday 2018.
Amazon Echo
Best for: Everything – it’s the core product in the Echo range
Speaker size: 2.5” woofer and 0.6” tweeter
Now in its second iteration, the Echo is sleeker and stronger than before thanks to two bass-boosting Dolby-tuned audio drivers and six stylish fabric and wood shells. This is an essential piece of kit that allows you to connect to other products in the Echo range.
Alone, it’s a nifty smart speaker that can fill a room with music, make phone calls, set reminders, send messages to other Echo devices and use Alexa Skills (an app that lets you do everything from ordering a pizza to booking an Uber). It is really popular, so we have no doubt that you’ll be able to get a good deal on one this Black Friday.
£89.99 | Amazon | Buy it now *Buy 2 and save £25
Echo Plus
Best for: Premium sound and controlling smart home devices
Speaker size: 3” woofer and 0.8” tweeter
One step up from the standard Echo, this smart speaker is marginally taller and has a 360-degree speaker that sends sound to each corner of the room. It has roughly the same features otherwise, so it isn’t missing anything that the Echo has.
The big pro of the Echo Plus is the in-built Zigbee smart home hub. While the Echo can communicate with other Echo devices, the Zigbee hub can communicate with non-Echo smart devices such as Philips Hue smart bulbs, switches and smart plugs. It also has a temperature sensor for controlling your heating. Look out for it in Black Friday deals to get extra value for money.
£139.99 | Amazon | Buy it now
Echo Show
Best for: Watching HD quality video
Speaker size: Dual 2” drivers with passive bass radiator
With a 10.1” touchscreen and in-built camera, this is the best all-round entertainment device in the Echo range. The screen enables users to make video calls, read the lyrics to the music being played on it (hello, home karaoke session), view recipes while cooking in the kitchen and watch shows and films.
If you’re hoping for a Black Friday bargain, make sure your Echo Show is the second generation – it is less bulky and easier on the eye, with a fabric finish to soften the look. It also has the Zigbee smart home hub built into it, so it can do the same smart home connectivity magic that the Echo Plus does.
£219.99 | Amazon | Buy it now
Echo Dot
Best for: Adding Alexa to any room
Speaker size: 1.6” speaker
Like many of the other Echo products, the latest version of the Echo Dot has had a snazzy makeover using fabric edging around the rounded body. It’s a small change, but it makes it look homelier and helps it blend into the room.
Out of all the devices, this is the best budget option – even better if you can get it at a discount at special events, such as on Black Friday. It has seven high performance microphones to pick up commands, enabling it to control Alexa-compatible smart home devices, stream music and make audio calls between Echo devices and the Alexa app.
£49.99 | Amazon | Buy it now
Echo Sub
Best for: Boosting bass
Speaker size: 6” woofer
If you want your music to be packed with bass, pair your Echo or Echo Plus with this punchy little speaker to get earth-shaking audio power. The woofer delivers 100w of deep bass that fills the room.
When paired with two of the same Echo devices, it can be used to deliver stereo sound too. It’s really easy to use, so if you love streaming music through your Echo this could make a great addition to your kit this Black Friday.
£119.99 | Amazon | Buy it now
Amazon Smart Plug
Best for: Making sockets Alexa-compatible
Speaker size: None
This simple-looking plug gives you the power to control your lights and switch your appliances on or off remotely via the Alexa App, without requiring a smart home hub. It works via the Alexa app to add voice control to any electrical socket and the Alexa-enabled device that’s plugged into it.
It’s not a speaker, so you won’t have any of the playback options that you get with the other Echo products. Instead, it gives you greater control over your devices and appliances from afar without too much expense. Nothing beats a Black Friday bargain.
£24.99 | Amazon | Buy it now
Echo Spot
Best for: Updates on a small screen
Speaker size: 1.4”
A compact version of the all-guns-blazing Echo Show, the Echo Spot is smaller and around £100 cheaper (more so if bought on Black Friday or a similar discount day). Sure, you probably wouldn’t want to watch an entire film on it as you’d end up squinting for 90 minutes, but you can still do a lot with the 2.5” screen.
There’s a front-facing camera, four built-in microphones, the option to stream music and video, the ability to control compatible smart home devices and you can use it to make video calls. It’s also the perfect size for quick visual updates on the weather, news headlines and the date or time.
£119.99 | Amazon | Buy it now
