[su_dropcap style=”flat”]A[/su_dropcap]mazon Echo Alternatives – Hey We have all heard the fuss about the Amazon Echo smart speakers. Indeed, they are smart and provide a great smart speaker solution for your home. Embedded with the Alexa app you do a lot with the echo. Stream free music and radio, control your smart home and order and track your amazon purchases all while using the Amazon Echo. However, because of tastes and preferences, we all have different desires. Well, worry not, for I have compiled a list of 10 Amazon Echo alternatives to help you out. These devices similar to Amazon Echo are more affordable, and portable and some even better than the Echo. Like I said, worry not, for I am here with the best Amazon Echo alternatives to save you. Alright, let’s quit talking like Jesus and get cracking.
Here’s are the best Amazon Echo Alternatives
1. Google Home
The first on this list is the Google Home. These incredibly smart and powerful speakers are a great alternative to the Amazon Echo and it’s powered by Google Assistant. It comes with great voice recognition and great sound quality (even better) and just like the Amazon Echo, you can stream music services like Spotify, Google play music and set alarms and do much more with the google assistant. Personally, I think its design is much more-sleek and blends in well with the surroundings of various living rooms making it a perfect choice for you too (perhaps). Clearly, this is one of the best alternatives to the Amazon echo.
2. ivee
ivee is quite unique in this category considering it doesn’t look anything like a speaker at first sight. However, it’s packed with lots of great functions and capabilities that make it a great alternative to the Amazon echo. ivee can connect with devices from Nest, Smart Things, Philips Hue, Logitech Harmony and lots more. This means it can also control your smart home. ivee also comes fitted with two far field microphones that ensure it can listen from up-to 15 feet away. This means you don’t have to be close to it to say any commands. You can control your home from any spot in your room or you can as well use its companion app for commands. Much as it’s not as cool as Amazon Echo’s 7 far field mics, it still makes a great alternative. ivee also has an audio port to connect it to any stereo system that you want. There is volume adjustment by use of a touch control knob and using this very knob, you can also turn ivee on with a simple touch. This is among the things the Echo lacks yet they offer simplicity.
3. Mycroft
Mycroft, is tailor made for everyone. It has Natural language processing in order to understand your commands and perform the appropriate actions. Built on Raspberry Pi and Arduino boards, Mycroft is an open platform. With Mycroft, you are also able to control your smart home since it integrates with any smart home devices like Philips Hue devices, Smart Things and many more. Mycroft also has lots of other amazing capabilities that other speakers on this list can’t do like posting updates to social media, sending files to a 3D printer and print and lots more. Being the most customizable device on this list, Mycroft is surely smart and unique.
4. FABRIQ portable smart speaker
This is also one of the alternatives to amazon echo. FABRIQ portable just like the name suggests is quite portable and is also powered by Alexa. This means that you have everything that the Echo can do at your convenience. You can stream music from Spotify and Pandora music and lots more. This smart speaker can also control your smart home with ease. With a 2” precision active driver and 5w output the FABRIQ portable lives up to its size and capabilities also not forgetting the fact that it is quite cheaper than the Amazon Echo and offers value for your money. In fact, this is like a cheaper version of Amazon Echo.
5. Cubic
The cubic, when released, will surely be a great challenger against the Amazon Echo. It has an impressive design with an array of capabilities. The cubic will be able to do all that you expect from a smart speaker. You will be able to steam music online, look up TV schedules, and also control devices is your home. The complementary mobile app assists in giving owners directions, controlling home devices and much more. The pre-release reviews have been generally positive and this is a great indicator that the cubic will be a hit when released.
6. Lenovo smart Assistant
Lenovo thought it was time to also enter the world of smart home products. And for this they have the Smart Assistant which will be released in May 2017. The Smart Assistant is built in collaboration with Amazon and it indeed is as impressive as the collaboration. It can respond to voice commands with great functions like streaming music, reading out news and reports to you, updating you on the weather forecast etc. it has 8 far field microphones unlike Amazon Echo’s 7 and it also comes with noise suppression and acoustic echo cancellation to make sure it hears your commands perfectly. The Smart Assistant also let’s you link other devices in your home to it and with it you can control your smart home. This is among the best alternatives to amazon echo that you should consider getting since the Smart Assistant also has intelligent voice control to other internet-connected devices that have a mic and a speaker.
7. JAM Portable Speaker
This is a really affordable and one of the best devices similar to amazon echo. In fact, it’s more like a cheaper version of amazon echo but most especially the amazon echo dot. JAM portable speaker is Alexa powered and is priced at just about $49. You can also do all that you would have done using the Amazon Echo which makes it quite a good cheap alternative to consider buying. You can tap on the button on the speaker and ask Alexa to perform lots of actions for you like checking the weather forecast, setting alarms etc. you can also stream music from various streaming services like Pandora music, iHeartRadio, Spotify and many more. Its portability also makes it really great and you can also use it as a Bluetooth speaker. It’s battery lasts up to 4 hours and for any music lover that can be 4 hours of music booming.
8. Triby kitchen smart speaker
Triby is a smart speaker powered by amazon’s Alexa. It is very portable and performs various tasks like you would expect from an Alexa powered speaker. You can call up on Alexa for help on the weather forecast, check the news, stream music on Spotify and so much more. The Triby app lets you do a lot more with the speaker. You can send doodles to the e-paper display on the speaker. This can come in handy for leaving memos for your family at home and you can stop writing and sticking papers all over your fridge. The Triby can also be used as a Bluetooth speaker for listening to music and also taking hands free calls which is quite impressive.
9. Zettaly Avy Smart Speaker
The Zettaly Avy is also unique in its own way considering unlike the rest of the speakers, it is an android powered smart speaker and comes with a touch screen. It runs android 4.4 kitkat with a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and 2 GB OF RAM and has 10 watt speakers, a Li-ion rechargeable battery which can last you up-to 7 hours. It also has a front facing VGA camera for video and voice calling and also has HDMI out ports. Given the fact that it runs Android, you can install any app you want on it. You can stream music and videos with its scree’s 7”1024×600 display. It surely isn’t that amazing but it is decent enough.
This speaker is quite smart but not as smart as the rest of the speakers on this list. you may not be able to control your smart home but you can tap into other functions It gladly offers. With the BSP60, you can use voice command to get updates on the weather and lost more. Well, the only bad thing is the speaker only functions when paired with an Android device which is quite annoying and also it is only good for those who don’t desire more from a smart speaker than playing music. Nevertheless, the speaker functions well and has an impressive design though it seems too expensive for the little it offers.
With this list of devices similar to the Amazon Echo, you have many alternatives to Amazon Echo to choose from. Some cheap and some heavy on the pocket. The list is quite detailed and has everything for everyone and therefore you will definitely make a choice from the devices above. I would love to know your views on Amazon Echo and all devices on this list. if there are any other alternatives you think should have been on the list, just give us your feedback in comments section.
