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Home > Reviews > Amazon Echo Input Review

Amazon Echo Input Review

Sachin Bahal by Sachin Bahal | April 10, 2019

Amazon Echo Input Review Top

Amazonโ€™s Echo devices come in a number of shapes and sizes with the smallest being the Echo Dot and one of the largest being the latest Echo Show. Amazon has recently brought their Echo Input to Canada and it slots in just under their Echo Dot.

 

Design & Hardware

The Echo Input has a puck-like design that is just a third of the size of the Echo Dot. The bottom of the device has a rubberized texture.

The Echo Input was designed to be a competitor to Googleโ€™s Chromecast Audio (which Google recently discontinued in January) but with the benefit of adding Alexa to your existing set of speakers. The device can connect to your speakers via Bluetooth or the 3.5mm audio cable that Amazon includes in the box, adding Alexa capability to an existing speaker quite seamlessly.

The Echo Input can also easily be used to create a multi-room audio setup. For example, you could have the Echo Input connected to your main speaker setup in say your family room and then a few Echo Dots or Echo devices throughout your home which will allow you to extend your music to some or all of the other Echo devices.

Amazon Echo Input Review Bottom
 

The device comes with a four far-field microphone array with Echoโ€™s Spatial Perception (ESP) technology. Even from across the room, Alexa was able to hear me most of the time – there were a couple of times where it couldnโ€™t catch my voice, even though music was not playing. On the top of the Echo Input is the mic mute button and the action button to activate Alexa.

Since there is no speaker, the only way to change the volume of the Echo Input is by asking Alexa. The back of the Echo Input has a microUSB port for charging and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Amazon Echo Input Review Side
 

Setting up the Echo Input takes about 10 minutes total, but I did have some issues during the setup process, which mainly had to do with connecting the device to Wi-Fi in the Alexa app.

The Echo Input is available from Amazon.ca for $34.99 CAD and comes in Black and White. That makes the Echo Input $15 cheaper than the latest Echo Dot (at $49.99 CAD).

 

Software

Alexa App Echo Input 1
 

Like other Echo devices, the Echo Input has Alexa built-in. Amazon claims that there are more than 10,000 skills currently available for their Echo devices including some Canadian specific ones such as Air Canada, TD, Telus, CBC, The Weather Network and more.

You can also use Alexa to control your smart home devices such as Ecobee, Philips Hue and SmartThings.

To add one or more of the many skills available for Alexa, youโ€™ll need the Alexa app. The Alexa app is fairly easy to navigate but I faced some issues of long load times and menu items appearing twice, making a straightforward process a little convoluted.

The app is divided into four sections, Home, Communicate, Play and Devices. Home is pretty self-explanatory.

Alexa App Echo Input 2
 

Communicate is where you can call, message or Drop In your other Echo devices or your friends and familyโ€™s Echo devices. The Play section allows you to control music playback on your Echo devices.

Alexa App Echo Input 4
 

The Devices part of the app is where youโ€™ll see all your Echo devices and smart home products compatible with Alexa. Itโ€™s also where you can change settings for each of your devices.

 

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Echo Input is a great addition to the Echo devices family and itโ€™s an even cheaper way to enter Amazonโ€™s Alexa ecosystem.

About the Author

Sachin Bahal

Sachin Bahal

Sachin is a talented and versatile writer with a passion for technology and loves to write about gaming, entertainment, tech and more. He started TheCanadianTechie back in 2012 to become the ultimate, independent source for tech enthusiasts or โ€œtechies.โ€

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