Echo (4th generation) | With premium sound, smart home hub and Alexa | PRODUCT(RED)

This is a review of the Echo (4th generation) in glacier white colour that came complete with one Philips Hue white smart bulb. I have to admit I have resisted moving into the "smart" products market. I saw little point in them and was happy enough with my various computers, laptop, tablet, smart phones, hi fi, and so on. What more did I need to complete my life? According to my daughter, I needed to "smart-up"! I did read a number of the reviews on this Amazon sales page and I spent time reading the tech reviews online before making a decision. The fact that Amazon offered a good returns guarantee on this product tipped me over the edge and I ordered one. I was really pleased with the packaging, a lot of effort has gone into that and it immediately warmed me towards the product - and I was surprised that it is quite a weighty object that is not as small as I thought (I really should pay attention to dimensions and check with a tape measure). A quick look at the brief set-up instructions, find a spot for the Echo, download the appropriate app, plug in, follow the brief and very easy instructions, and all was done. Barely a few minutes and I was listening to one of my favourite radio stations - although had to rush to turn the volume down because the initial setting was enough to let my neighbours across the green hear me. To say I was amazed is an understatement. I had assumed all sorts of complications were in store for me but all it took was a few key presses and a spoken command, and I was ready. I listen to various radio stations almost all day (and night), interspersed with playing music from CDs and other sources. So I was interested to hear what the Echo's two tweeters and woofer could do. I didn't like the initial audio set-up so after a quick Google search for advice, I went into the Alexa app and decreased the bass a little, increased the middle a little, left the treble as it was and... to my ears, a tone that I could live with. Okay, it isn't hi fi quality but then it isn't meant to be, especially at this price, and at lower listening volumes, little hi fi quality can be detected anyway from an average hi fi. Over the week or so I have been using the Echo, I have played various radio stations - oldies, classical, rock, pop, and the Echo handled them all with no issues and the sound quality was far better than I could ever have imagined from such a small unit. Changing stations is a breeze, simply give the command and a second or two later the new station is playing. I have also given the command to play different kinds of music and different artists and, again, Echo accomplished this without a problem - mostly coming from the Amazon music library. There is so much more Alexa can do and I am only just exploring a few them - again, nothing difficult there either. I even set up the Philips bulb in just a few minutes and so Alexa can turn on that lamp, turn it off, dim, brighten, whatever I might need. Dislikes - there has to be some, obviously. Firstly, the huge price of Philips bulbs which, I assume, are the best quality. I see no reason for such prices - but then 20 years ago I was paying £11 for an energy saving bulb that soon went down to £1 and now are obsolete because we have LEDs. Hopefully, the same will apply with Philips bulbs, the prices will come down as more are sold - then perhaps I can buy more. Second dislike, and it is just a personal one - the Echo has various volume settings but they are numbered 1 through to 10. In an average sized living room for radio listening I find 2 is okay for late night, 3 is too loud if I am also working at my desk, but there is no way of asking Alexa to set the volume to a certain %, so I need to go into my phone app each day to set the volume % that suits me for daytime listening (26-27%). Believe it or not, there is a noticeable difference between the 27% and the 30% volume that is Alexa's volume 3. Alternatively, I can fiddle around with the volume buttons on the top of the Echo. I would, therefore, liked to have seen audio commands for percentages of audio volume rather than up, down, or a number 1 - 10 (if 6 can be heard across the green here, I dread to think what 10 would be like). All that being said, this is a purchase I am delighted with and I will get a lot of use out of. Already it is my go-to for radio listening and a simple command gets it all working when I turn on the light - yes, I have to manually turn on the living room light until I get a smart bulb with the wattage intensity I want for a main light and then Alexa can turn it on for me at the same time as turning on the radio. Don't say it - Alexa can almost make a cup of tea - well, it could start the kettle boiling if it is plugged into a smart plug. Should you buy one? I should say so. And given the growing number of accessories that can be added, this is a good start to acquiring a smarter home. I said at the start of this review the fact Amazon offered a good returns guarantee on this product tipped me over the edge to buy one - take note, Amazon, you are not having it back, it's all mine now.

When Amazon announced the fourth generation of the Echo, we decided that we need to buy two more units for the house. We already had the third generation Echo Plus which has worked really well. Luckily with the early Black Friday deals, I was able to pick up two of the new Fourth generation Echo units for £59.99 per unit instead of £89.99. If you purchase the red variant, Amazon donates £10 from each unit to charity although we’re not sure how it works with price reductions whether that amount is reduced. The fourth generation Echo itself presents a complete departure from previous Echo devices. It is spherical with control buttons on top and the status light is located at the bottom. The Echo itself is well constructed just like with the third generation units. We purchased the red variant as it looks stunning and clearly identifiable among the various other electronics strewn around the house. Set up is straight forward with the Alexa app. Plug it in and if the unit is already registered to your Amazon account, you just need to link it to the WiFi network via the Alexa app. The new Echo responds a tad more quickly compared to the previous third generation Echo Plus. The microphone appears to have an improved pick up range. Sound quality wise, the fourth generation Echo sounds clearer and with more low-end oomph which never sounds overblown. The previous generation does struggle at high volume especially with the low end. The higher end frequencies are noticeable crisper. You can throw quite a few music genres at the Echo and it copes with them happily even at high volume. Within the Alexa app, you can tailor the low end, mid and treble frequencies. The status light is located at the base of the device. This might be a bone of contention as the status light is obscured if one looks at the unit from the top. There is a certain comfort factor in being able to see the status light at the top. By the way, the colour notifications haven’t changed either so there is continuity. The built-in hub is handy with its ZIgbee module. Some devices rely on a protocol called ‘Zigbee’ which is another way of connecting devices wirelessly. Some manufacturers offer full functionality with Zigbee but not Philips. Their Hue bulbs may be the best out there but even with Zigbee, you don’t have full control over them as you need their proprietary Bridge unit. Avoid investing in any Philips Hue bulbs if you can – that is until they ditch the ridiculous protocol. The Echo has improved power saving credentials as I noticed that the power adaptor is rated at 30w. When not in use, it goes into some kind of reduced standby mode. So, would I recommend this? If you have a third generation Echo Plus and don’t need any more similar units, no. If you need new ones or are looking to invest in a decent sounding all in one Alexa speaker, you can’t really go wrong. Highly recommended.

Sound quality - I love the sound on this. It's not a million miles forward from the 3rd generation Echo but depending on the room acoustics, I can definitely sense some improvement in the mid range. Bass is rich and nuanced. For a speaker at this price - excellent. Voice recognition: no issues. I've read other reviews calling this Echo 'deaf' but I've not experienced a single ignore or a mishear with this one. Worth pointing out here that I only feel comfortable taking to machines when I employ a comedy accent. Echo 4 puts up with me doing approximations of South African, Australian, Welsh etc. and still understands me. Also worth pointing out that my Echo Show (bought last year) often has to be asked 3 times before it gets me, even if I speak very clearly and slowly. Alexa i.e. the Echo's software is still fairly limited in what it can answer but I don't care. All I really use Echo for is news headlines, music streaming, radio and the odd Wikipedia fact. It's the sound quality I care about, and this Echo is a winner in that respect. Oh, I also like the new design. Much lower centre of gravity, far harder to knock the unit over by accident.