The e-commerce platform Amazon launched a few Echo devices recently, but what really grabbed our attention because of its unique compact design and that it can be directly mounted on to the power outlet is the Echo Flex. It is compact in size, in certain ways even smaller than the Echo dot. Today in our review we will be telling you about its performance design and also how to use the Amazon Echo Flex in your house, and the most important question, should you buy it?
Design
The compact design of the Amazon Echo Flex lets you use it in any room or space such as kitchen, hallway, garage, bathroom etc. It features a quadratic or you can say a boxlike design that measures 2.8 x 2.6 x 2.05 inches. You get two microphones on the front to listen to the user’s voice commands. In between the microphones, there is a LED light which is tiny in size. It turns blue when it is listening to your queries or commands. Just below you get an Action button that is similar to the other Echo devices that can be used to manually call upon Alexa to turn off/on the microphone or speaker without having to ask Alexa to do it for you. Beneath the device, there is a USB Type-A port and on the left side, you get a 3.5mm jack.
Performance
The device comes with a 3.5mm jack and it can connect two Bluetooth speakers for enhanced audio. The speaker on the Echo Flex is not as good as on the other echo devices so we do not recommend you to listen to music directly on it. It comes with two microphones but 3 out of 10 times the echo device did not pick up our voice especially when the music is playing.
The best part about the Amazon Echo Flex is that you can directly mount it on the outlet even in your bathroom. Here you do not have to worry about Flex getting soaked in water because it goes right on the outlet. You can use it to get updates while brushing your teeth as it comes with an inbuilt speaker. We also tried to listen to music while cleaning the utensils in the kitchen as the lockdown has been implemented due to coronavirus but the speakers were not too loud and we could not hear anything, which was more annoying than cleaning the utensils, but it also ensures we did not miss a call while our hands were dirty. The best part is it could still pick up our voice even while showering. Here is an advice you can also connect a waterproof Bluetooth speaker to it while showering and listen to music without any worries. But in this case, you have to shout out loud multiple times to change the music because of the weaker microphones in the Echo Flex.
The device does not use any counter space so you can install it anywhere, you can control your smart home with it. Since it has a USB port at the bottom you can even charge your smartphone in the kitchen, which is the most convenient feature on the device. I usually kept the Echo Flex in the kitchen while cooking because I listen to a lot of music on it. Apart from this, the Amazon Echo Flex can connect to a third-party device on it such as a doorbell to hear notification if someone is at the door. The Flex devices can also detect smoke or the sound of breaking glass, which is a bonus because there are some places in your house you do require it. Over that, it can act as a sensor in dark areas like hallways or your bathroom to turn on the lights remotely. However, both the motion sensor attachment and light are not yet available in India but it is available on Amazon US. In India, it is available with a few optional accessories such as a smart white bulb, Oak remote and Wipro smart plug.
Verdict
The Amazon Echo Flex is a really tiny device and it is more about the form factor, which is the beauty of the device as it is pretty useful. If you are not planning to listen to music on this device but are looking for a less expensive and compact product to make your home smarter this is the device to go for. In case you want to listen to music with it, you can connect a good quality Bluetooth speaker to enjoy the music without having to spend a lot of money. You can pick the one for you without having to spend much at just Rs 2,499 and make your home smarter.
Pros:
- Compact
- USB A port for charging the phone
- affordable
Cons:
- Speaker on the Echo Flex is not as good
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