The new Echo Pop speaker is the latest release from Amazon’s of Echo speakers series. This cute little speaker is priced at AED 189 and is the cheapest in its line.
Design and hardware
Aesthetically the Echo Pop looks really nice, clean, with round and simple design. If you look closely, the Echo Pop actually looks like an Echo Dot cut diagonally in half. There are three physical buttons on top, volume up and down and a mute microphone button which turns red when toggled.
The Echo Pop is powered by a 15-watt power brick which attaches to the back of the speaker (yes, unfortunately no USB-C port on Echo series yet), there’s also a led strip at the top acting as an activity and status notification light.
The Echo Pop offers more or less the same functionality as the Echo Dot and features a 1.9-inch driver, which is a bit bigger than what we had on the Echo Dot (1.7-inch). Inside its belly, the Echo Pop is powered by Amazon’s AZ2 chip, which basically translates to faster Alexa responses. Overall the Echo Pop measures 3.9 x 3.3 x 3.6 inches.
On the “less” side, Amazon removed the temperature and motion sensors out of the Echo Pop, which enabled smarter automations on the Echo Dot, and displayed temperature on the Echo Dot with Clock.
The Echo Pop comes in a choice of Charcoal, Glacier White, Lavender Bloom and Midnight Teal colors.
Setup and Sound
Setting up the Echo Pop is similar to its other siblings, all you need to do is download the Alexa app, login to your Amazon account, press on the add devices button, and then wait for the search to identify your speaker, from there onwards, everything is pretty straight forward and quick to start using it. Once connected, most of the Alexa functionalities come to life, and you can connect third party apps like Spotify, Tunein Radio, and lots of of others.
With the help of Alex voice commands, the Echo Pop can also control your compatible smart home devices with the support of Matter which in the future promises to bring all the smart ecosystem under one roof.
The Echo Pop also works with Sidewalk, Amazon’s shared network that helps devices like Amazon Echo devices, Ring Security Cams, outdoor lights, motion sensors, and Tile trackers work better at home and beyond the front door.
Sound quality wise, the Echo Pop is ok, I mean, considering the price point, no one should expect anything mind blowing for sure. First thing to know is that the Pop struggles when it comes to bass for sure. The overall sound is ok, with clear mids and treble. Again, nothing special, does the work for a speaker priced below AED 200. Surprisingly, the Pop pushes out plenty of volume, I was impressed with how loud this little guy can go.
Verdict
Given the Pop’s basic functionalities, this edition of the Echo series, is recommended only for basic Alexa use, setting up reminders, alarms and playing music in a small secondary room, where is sound quality isn’t the priority. For a better sound experience, and a price difference of AED 40, we recommend the Echo Dot.
