Packed with the Alexa assistant, the $50/£50 Amazon Echo Dot represents great value for folks looking to smarten up their home.
However, with a brand new Dot-alike, accessory maker Anker is setting the entry level even lower.
At just $35, the new Anker Eufy Genie offers the same hockey puck-like design as the Dot, albeit with a slightly larger footprint.
Related: Best Bluetooth speaker
Most importantly though, it offers the Alexa assistant. That means users will be able to access all of those Skills, just as they would with an Echo device.
It’ll also pair up with any of the smart home products that already work with Alexa, such as Philips Hue.
The company says its 2W speaker improves on the Echo Dot’s poor audio quality, while it can also be plugged into your current set-up via AUX.
In this sense, the Genie can be used like a Chromecast Audio in order to smarten up a pair of old speakers.
Is there an Echo in here?
There are some trade-offs though. There’s no Bluetooth connectivity, but Anker says a $40 Bluetooth-enabled version is incoming. Also, there’s only two microphones compared to the Echo Dot’s seven.
Amazon, of course, welcomes third-party manufacturers adopting the Alexa API. We’ve seen countless developers include the assistant in their products this year.
The Eufy Genie will be available to buy from Amazon on August 16. The company will be hoping shoppers buy multiple devices, putting a bunch of Ankers in homes across the US.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
