Eufy Genie Review: a $33 Smart Home Speaker

Amazon’s Echo Dot is one of the best way there is to turn your whole house into an ‘automated smart home’. This is mainly done using Amazon via voice-control ‘Alexa’ platform.

Eufy, a fellow brand of Anker has come up with their take on Amazon’s Echo Dot. The device is very compact and responsive; having a size of just over that of a hockey puck, the device with the help of its responsive microphone lets you access the Alexa assistant which is comparatively at a far field.

There have been many products out there which Amazon’s Alexa core seared in, but the Eufy Genie is the one that unambiguously provides functions similar to the Amazon’s existing device. Arguably it’s the best Amazon Echo dot alternative.

Design

Eufy’s Genie retails at about $33.99, which is $15 less than the Echo Dot 2nd gen. Often you can get them much cheaper through promotion sales. Design-wise, the Genie is akin to the Echo Dot, Eufy Genie is a bit little taller and the volume up and down, mute button, and the action button on the sides.

The Genie has the same buttons layout on top, similar to Echo, however, you can use voice command instead to wake the device. Like Amazon’s Echo Dot, a blue ring illuminates whenever the Genie processes a command or is listening to a voice.

When it comes to connectivity, the Genie has a 3.5 mm auxiliary jack that you can use to connect an external speaker should you require one; as the inbuilt speaker is decent enough on its own.

Sadly the Genie lacks Bluetooth connectivity which is a huge letdown. However, there’s hope as Eufy is planning to launch another version that includes Bluetooth.

Eufy Genie Specifications

1. Eufy Genie Smart Speaker supports Amazon Alexa, voice control, and Hands-Free Use. It has a wireless speaker with Wi-Fi connectivity and an aux output.
2. The Genie comes with a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi Network Support but has no Bluetooth connectivity.
3. The built-in 2W speaker provides you with superior signal processing and audio quality.
4. Using Eufy Genie you can stream online music through your favorite streaming services like Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, and TuneIn.
5. Eufy Home mobile application requires a smartphone or tablet running iOS 8.0 (and above) or Android 4.3 Jellybean (and above) to work suitably.

Pros

1. Long-range listening skills. Thanks to its superior audio receiver.
2. The Genie is much easier to setup than any similar speakers.
3. Noticeably a better audio than the Amazon’s Echo Dot.
4. Much cheaper than Amazon’s Echo Dot.

Cons

1. Microphone when compared to the Dot, is not as sensitive.
2. No Bluetooth connectivity.
3. Genie doesn’t support Alexa calling nor has any features similar to it.
4. Users have reported cases of Genie waking up randomly.

Conclusion

Alexa being an open sourced venture, we have been hearing quite a lot about third-party speakers with Alexa’s tech in its core. In this category, we can say Eufy with its Genie is one of the first companies to successfully implement the same. Eufy Genie with its cheap price fills the niche of being the least expensive Alexa speaker available so far.

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Is it better than Amazon’s Alexa Echo Dot? I would say, not yet. But if you are someone who is curious about the world of voice control, it is definitely a decent start. But for the ones who are serious into home automation, Amazon’s Alexa would be a better choice for them. For now, If you’re looking to save money and is new to the home automation, Eufy Genie can without a doubt be worth your while!