Eufy Genie Smart Speaker Review: A Worthy Echo Dot Competitor

Amazon's smart assistant Alexa is currently owning the smart speaker marketplace, what with the company's ain (rather robust) line-upwards of smart speakers selling like crazy, and a number of third party smart speakers that are coming out with Alexa built-in. The Eufy Genie (usually priced at Rs. 3,999, currently available for Rs. 2,199) is one such tertiary political party smart speaker that integrates Alexa into a contour that's very similar to Amazon's own Echo Dot. Made by Anker, the Eufy Genie is usually priced lower than the Echo Dot (Rs. 4,499), which makes information technology an interesting option for potential smart speaker buyers. We recently received the Eufy Genie smart speaker at our office, and I've been using it as my main smart speaker at home, letting my usual Repeat Dot lie in another room. Hither are my thoughts on the Eufy Genie smart speaker.

What's In the Box

The Eufy Genie comes in a nice white-bluish box that's but about the size you'd expect it to be. Opening it upwardly, you'll find the Eufy Genie staring right at y'all. Here's everything inside the box:

• Eufy Genie smart speaker
• microUSB cable
• AUX cable
• USB adapter
• Manual

Basically, it'due south a pretty standard box, with the standard contents. Let'southward just move on.

Build and Design

For a speaker that is basically an Echo Dot competitor, and that's usually available for a markup that's a lot lower than the Repeat Dot, the Eufy Genie is surprisingly well built and designed.

Instead of the boxy, and honestly rather poor blueprint of the Echo Dot, the Eufy Genie opts for a more curvy design with smoother edges, and even though its also built of plastic, information technology'southward a very nice plastic build. It'southward not shut to the plastic you lot'd discover on the Home Mini (Rs. 4,099), only it's better than the Echo Dot's plastic build. The peak of the Eufy Genie packs in the book up/down button, the action push, and the mute button, forth with a light band that wraps around the 'Eufy' branding in the middle. The unabridged top part of the Genie feels very well built, and has a rubberized experience to it which makes it that much improve to utilize.

There are two far-field microphones (as compared to the array of 7 far field microphones on the Echo Dot) on the Eufy Genie (likewise positioned near the acme) which enable it to cancel out surrounding noise and hear commands clearly. On the dorsum, nigh the bottom are the two ports you'll get on the Genie. In that location's a iii.5mm AUX port which you can utilise to connect the Genie to external speakers (Bluetooth support is nowadays as well, by the mode), and a microUSB port for supplying power to the speaker.

Over all, the Eufy Genie is a pretty well designed and well built smart speaker, and for its price, it's almost hard to detect some other smart speaker that's as well designed and well congenital as this cute, curved little smart speaker from Anker.

Audio Quality

In my half a year or so of using an Echo Dot at home, I've come to expect tinny sound from smart speakers of its size. Granted, I was in for a shock when I outset heard the audio from the Google Home Mini, merely I chalked that upwardly to 'Google' and even though I nonetheless awe at the audio output from that Dwelling house Mini whenever someone prank plays music on it in the center of the mean solar day, I don't wait such sound from other similarly-sized speakers.

That's where the Eufy Genie surprised me. It'due south from Anker, and while they do make some respectable accessories, I've never used an Anker speaker, and I didn't look the audio from the Genie to be annihilation better than the Echo Dot. How very incorrect I was.

Every bit soon as I was done setting up the speaker I asked it to play 'Closer by the Chainsmokers' for no detail reason other than the fact that I can't quite go over that song for some reason. No sooner had the Genie said 'Playing Closer by the Chainsmokers' I cranked up the book to max and well… let me put it this way, the Eufy Genie tin become loud. Like actually loud for its size.

Non just loud, by the way, the Eufy Genie doesn't lack on bass, mids, or treble either. Information technology's a perfectly astonishing sounding smart speaker for its size, and while its nowhere near the Google Home Mini, information technology'south miles ahead of the audio the Repeat Dot can ever reproduce.

But to be thorough, I asked the Genie to play a lot more songs. Everything from God's Plan, to John Denver classics, and the speaker handles everything beautifully. I'k most tempted to keep it with myself forever.

User Feel

Outset things starting time, when I say 'user experience', I mean solely the experience of using the Eufy Genie equally my main smart speaker. I'm not discussing the EufyHome app here. This is solely a section defended to the things I find awesome on the Eufy Genie, and some things that I need to nitpick about… more or less.

Setting up the Eufy Genie is like shooting fish in a barrel enough, and doesn't actually accept a lot of time. Since it'southward a 3rd party speaker, y'all'll not be able to employ the Alexa app to set it upwards, but setting it up with the EufyHome app is dainty and breezy.

The speaker'southward calorie-free ring is not nearly equally huge as the one on the Echo Dot, and that's something I actually like. It is, however, as bright as the Echo Dot, and add to that the 'eufy' branding on top that lights upwards besides, and it makes for a speaker that while beautiful, might cause issues if you talk to it in the center of the night to alter the setting on your Air conditioning or something.

Then come the microphones themselves. While Anker has used far-field microphones on the Eufy Genie, I did notice that they're non as sensitive to my vocalism equally the Echo Dot. In fact, when playing music, I had to almost shout 'Alexa' to get the speaker to hear me talk. Fifty-fifty at a distance, while the Echo Dot has no issues even if I casually say the wake word, the Eufy Genie requires genuine effort to start listening.

I besides noticed something else that struck me as odd. When the Genie does hear my commands, it takes considerably longer than the Echo Dot to actually answer to them. I don't know why that is, since they're both using Alexa at the stop of the day, but it'south definitely there, and it's not because of the internet connection considering my Echo Dot was connected to the same WiFi network. It's not a bargain breaker, only it's there for anyone who is similar me and gets annoyed at pocket-sized things that are really more 'get-go world problems' than anything else.

Alexa Capabilities

Since the Eufy Genie uses Alexa, it can do everything your regular Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Plus will practise here in India. It has access to all the same Skills, although yous'll have to enable them from the Alexa app, because the EufyHome app doesn't let y'all do that, and it replies in the same Alexa vocalization that I'g used to hearing anytime I come home and say 'Alexa, I'thousand domicile.'

Not i to take things for granted, I did exam out the capabilities of the Eufy Genie, and needless to say, it passed with flying colors. It'southward capable of presenting a flash briefing, scores for matches, giving me random data that I didn't really need to know only was wondering near anyway, and a lot more. I mean, it's basically the Echo Dot, except it looks better, it sounds better, and it hears a little worse.

The EufyHome App

Like I said, setting up the Eufy Genie requires downloading the defended EufyHome app instead of just the Alexa app. You lot'll withal need the Alexa app to enable Skills and go the Eufy Genie working with your smart home devices, just the bones prepare is all in the EufyHome app.

The EufyHome app is actually a pretty well designed app and setting up the Eufy Genie is a straightforward chore in it. You simply launch the app, tap on the 'plus' icon on the top right and cull 'Eufy Genie' from the next screen.

Once y'all've done that, it's a simple thing of connecting the Eufy Genie to your WiFi network and logging in with your Amazon account to let it use Alexa. Keep in mind though, that while the Echo Dot supports both two.4GHz and 5GHz networks, the Eufy Genie only supports 2.4GHz networks. It shouldn't make much of a difference for the near part, but if you're trying to shift all your devices to the 5GHz frequency, the Eufy Genie is not the droid smart speaker yous're looking for.

Pros and Cons:

The Eufy Genie is definitely a pretty impressive upkeep smart speaker. Still, it does take its own set of pros and cons:

Pros:

• Nice design
• Impressive audio quality
• Value for money

Cons:

• Mics are non as sensitive as the ones on the Repeat Dot

SEE ALSO: Google Habitation Mini Review: More than Than Meets the Eye

Eufy Genie Smart Speaker Review: Probably the Best Budget Smart Speaker

All things considered, the Eufy Genie smart speaker is quite perchance the best budget smart speaker out at that place right at present. Truthful the Home Mini is improve in many means, but it's also more expensive, and the Echo Dot has a poorer pattern, sounds worse, and is but not as expert over all every bit the Eufy Genie.

At Rs. 2,199 (as of this writing), the Eufy Genie is definitely a smart speaker worth looking into. The pricing on Amazon fluctuates sometimes and you lot might find information technology priced around Rs. 3,999 also; however, even then this is a much amend option to go with as compared to the Amazon Echo Dot.

REVIEW OVERVIEW
Design and Build Quality 8.5
Audio Quality 8
User Experience eight
Smart Features 9
Value for Money 9
SUMMARY The Eufy Genie is a really well priced budget smart speaker that packs in quite a punch within its rather small torso. The speaker comes with Alexa integration, sound quality that'southward better than what you'll get in the Echo Dot, and is overall a smart speaker well worth its price. Cartel I say this is the Echo Dot Amazon should have made.	viii.five OVERALL SCORE

Source: https://beebom.com/eufy-genie-smart-speaker-review/

Posted by: delongdeent1951.blogspot.com

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