Amazon Echo Flex Plug-In Smart Speaker

Product Description

Make any place in your home a bit smarter with the Amazon Echo Flex plug-in smart speaker. You'll be able to do everything from adjusting the thermostat and locking your doors to making announcements in other rooms with a compatible Echo device. [Read more]

Features

• Make any space a little smarter - This plug-in smart speaker lets you get help from Alexa in more places in your home.
• Alexa is always happy to help - Manage your day. Get instant information. Check weather and traffic on your way out.
• Voice control your smart home - Turn on lights, adjust thermostats, lock doors, and more with compatible connected devices.
• Built-in USB port - Charge your phone or add an optional accessory like a night-light or smart clock.
• Connect with others - Drop in on or make announcements to other rooms that have a compatible Echo device. Call hands-free.
• Designed to protect your privacy – Amazon is not in the business of selling your personal information to others. Built with multiple layers of privacy controls including a mic off button.

Top Reviews

Basic voice assistant device, priced well, great value
by Vlad (5 out of 5 stars)
November 18, 2019

This is my very in-depth review for:

Echo Flex - Plug-in smart speaker with Alexa

If you prefer a quicker summary, go straight to the summary section.

Background:

A bit of background here will probably be good. I own two Echo Dots (2nd Gen), 1 Echo Spot, and two Echo Dots (3rd Gen). Little by little I have been getting my feet wet in the home automation pit. I have added smart bulbs, smart locks, smart plugs, and smart switches. To this point, I have found that with the Echo devices I own, I can cover most of my house, except for my garage (That was about to change...).

For a while though I have been thinking I should get another Echo for my garage. My main needs are: turning on/off the garage lights with my voice instead of an app (I use the Wyze Bulbs), to use voice control for my kitchen door which has a Yale/August smart lock, and for reminders or quick shopping whenever I am working on a project.

The day that the Echo Flex was announced, I said, I gotta try one of those, so I ordered one. While I did have my reservations on the "not optimized for music statement", that was not the reason I was getting it and I do have a Bluetooth speaker I could use with it if I ever wanted to listen some music in the garage.

Installation:

The installation was a breeze, had the echo running in about 1 minute. Just as installing any other Echo:
- Connect the device to an outlet
- Open the Alexa app, click on the menu and select "Add Device"
- Select "Amazon Echo", then select "Echo Flex" (close to the bottom of the page.).
- Follow the screen prompts as needed. Done.

At this point if you have a Bluetooth speaker to be added, I would do that as well. The process is pretty much the same, using the Alexa app to pair them up.

Positives:

What Like the most about the Echo Flex, is its size and convenience. It is an Echo. It doesn't take a lot of counterspace which is always a plus. It also has a USB port underneath for adding attachments, I do not have any of those yet, but knowing that I liked the Flex so far, I might get the motion sensor attachment. If not, you can always use that port to charge your phone ☺. It uses a single outlet and is designed in a way that it could be plugged in, even when other big plugs are connected in the top outlet. Finally, we got the price; it goes for 25$ regular price. Knowing how functional this device is, this is a great deal.

Negatives:

The product description specifically states that this Echo is not optimized for music. I can attest that this is true. The sound quality is not bad, it is just that the bass is not there and there is an extremely faint quasi-metallic echo to it, it sounds very similar to how some old speakers would sound back in the day, just with much better voice clarity. If you own a Bluetooth speaker, then this is not a problem at all, if not then just know that music is not its forte.

Other thoughts:

I tried to be as comprehensive as I could in this review. However, since I have only used my Echo Flex for about a week, I will update my review as needed if any nuances show up.
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Summary:

This is a very impressive unit, that works well for anyone either getting their feet wet in the home automation pit or looking to expand their Dots listening range. They will get the job done. They will take one outlet and no "counter space" making them an affordable voice controller for any device. It will play music on them, but the sound quality is subpar for that. At this price point though, they are probably the best voice control device available and although not perfect, well deserving of a five-star rating.

If my review helped you in any way, please let me know by clicking the "helpful" button below. Any questions you may have, feel free to ask... Thank you!
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Very small footprint Echo - size impacts audio fidelity
by Joseph Siegler (5 out of 5 stars)
November 19, 2019

I got this for one of the primary reasons I suspect most multi-echo households will. The size. My house has a large central room that all the other rooms feed off of. We have echoes in just about every room in the house, except the central room. The main reason for that is the cords that are on the dots. I would have loved a 3G dot in this central room, but the location of all the power outlets make it visually unappealing. I'd have to run a cord to where I could put the dot, and that would just look bad.

So when Amazon announced this little item, it was an automatic purchase. Now I know we don't have it for music - my office setup handles that (Two Echo 2.0's & the echo subwoofer). But my wife does not have a particularly loud voice, and when she tries to issue commands to turn on lights in other rooms, it frequently mishears her.

So I wanted one for this central room, but didn't want a cord. This is perfect. The voice isn't as good as a regular speaker, but that's to be expected. But it does work as something for light conversation - or commands to turn lights on and off.

One goofy thing about this, I have it on an outlet near the floor, and to that, our cats checked it out immediately upon installation. There is a skill you can do to make your device meow like a cat, and it was most enjoyable.

Anyway, the device is small - I have pictures below of the thing in my hand before I installed it.

Bottom line is - this does what it says. Adds Alexa to areas where it wasn't before via a very small footprint device. It lacks sound fidelity due to its size, but if you know that going on, and don't plan on this to be your primary music source, then you're good.
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Sound so bad
by woodstocksb (1 out of 5 stars)
November 18, 2019

If it did not have a speaker, I would have rated higher. However it does and it sounds like a radio my great great grandfather would have had - very tinny and the loudest volume is limited. I was hoping to listen to talk radio in the morning, but it sounds horrible even for that. With all the inexpensive small Bluetooth speakers out there, they certainly could have fit a better sounding speaker in this small footprint and a low cost. I love the idea of this, especially the USB port where I can plug something else in (my electric toothbrush uses USB) and turn my 2 socket outlet into a 3 socket unit. But the bad sound trumps all - making this great idea a very poor execution.
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It is an Alexa enabled device that you can just plug in anywhere
by C.Q. Young (5 out of 5 stars)
November 20, 2019

I use it outside in my caport to control all my exterior lights - I can do it from my phone, but that's a pain, especially if I am dirty, have my hands full, etc. I can get my outside lights on with ease, and I can still get time temp, time, weather, or place calls from it by just telling it to call someone on my contact list or just spout out the number. It has bluetooth which I have not tried, but also a 3.5mm headphone jack so I could hook it to a speaker with ease. Love it so far!

The onboard sound is tinny and very small sounding, but I expected that from this very small device.
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Another great Echo device
by Sonnig Freitag (5 out of 5 stars)
November 18, 2019

Wow! They are finally letting me review this. It arrived several days ago and when I tried to review it earlier today it said it hadn't yet been released. So here are some random thoughts.

It is a nice addition to my 1st gen and 2nd gen Echo family. I've added this to my kitchen where my greatest need was a timer. No need to go to (or yell to and wonder if she really heard) the living room to set timers anymore.

Set up was easy as usual through the Alexa App.

Alexa's voice sounds off, so I was surprised to find the music comes through quite well. Not great, but surprisingly good for the size and just fine for a noisy kitchen.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Flex, but I'm very pleased I got this Price-wise it is a great deal!
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Not My Favorite Echo Device but Not My Least Favorite Either!
by TXEggplant (4 out of 5 stars)
November 20, 2019

I'm a HUGE fan of Echo devices. I have one in nearly .... *thinking* ... yes, nearly every room (I don't have one in the dining room but only because the ones in other rooms can pick up my voice while I'm in the dining room). I even have a car one so ... when I saw this one ... I was PRETTY intrigued. I bought it to go in the bathroom, to replace my Dot that I have in there, plugged into and hanging on the wall via a bulky thing made just for it that you can find on Amazon (that I don't mind ... I'm just saying it's bulky).

The set up on the Flex is just as easy as the set up on other devices. You plug it in, it starts up and if it's registered and you have an Alexa account on your phone, you're set to go.

PRO - there's a USB port on the bottom of the Flex, so you can plug in a charger cord or a fan cord or whatever you want that is USB powered. Nifty! I was going to plug in a night light.

But, the sound. So, the sound is not as good as the most recent generation of Dots (pre the one with the clock, I haven't tried that one yet). It's a much smaller speaker, obviously, and the sound isn't as rich. I plugged it into the outlet in the bathroom, turned on the shower and hopped in for a listen. Even at the highest volume, it wasn't really the sound I was looking for to get me going in the morning. Boo. So, I replaced it with my bulky Dot and took the Flex into my computer room, where I don't really NEED an Echo device because I have a Fire TV with Alexa built in but ... my family can't drop in on that (NOT a bad thing, right?).

Because of my outlet situation, I ended up putting it in an outlet midway up the wall, behind a small lamp. I had to turn it upside down. I noticed that either because it's in a bigger space (13'x9') or because it's upside down, the sound is better but still not like a Dot but still passable. Like a first generation Dot's sound.

Anyhow, my husband dropped in on me with it last night and it worked great. It would be great for a garage or a small bathroom without a shower or somewhere where there isn't a lot of background noise. Of course, you can use the USB to plug in a speaker but ... there's already a speaker. It's literally touted as a mini-speaker!

I also found the voice pickup wasn't as responsive as my newest Dot. It responds but you have to give it a second to wake up to your voice and speak slower.

I don't want you to think I don't like this Flex ... I really do. I think it's perfect for certain spaces ... ones that don't have a lot of background noise and are smaller. I really like the added USB and I like the shape and the way it looks on the wall. I think if you're going to have Echo devices, you should have them in every room (especially as you age) and they should be the right ones for each room. This one serves a purpose for specific spaces and the price is certainly right.
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Great way to put Alexa in awkward places
by J.Essie,Top Contributor: Alexa Skills (5 out of 5 stars)
November 22, 2019

I've been using Echo devices for years now and have Echos, Dots and a Show 5 around the house. But there are still places where Alexa doesn't hear me well and it's either a complete guess which device will respond to me, like in a hallway, or can't hear me at all, like in my master bathroom. The Flex is great for those spots where your need is more for a way to talk to Alexa or trigger a Routine than to rely on the device as a primary speaker.

The mics on it are very good. The speaker is clearly not the selling point of this device, but it's fine for basic questions and commands, most spoken content, communicating with a Ring doorbell, DropIn, or giving commands to another device. You wouldn't want to listen to music on it and it doesn't get terribly loud, but it's loud enough for a small space like a hallway or bath. You can connect the Flex to external speakers via aux cable or Bluetooth.

I purchased this with the nightlight attachment to use in the master bath with a waterproof Bluetooth speaker. It suits that purpose quite well. It replaced my old nightlight, so now I have Alexa access, a nightlight, and a USB charger in a single outlet and device, all with no wires or counter space used. Great if you have a smaller vanity! It's also great for hallways because again, no wires and no need for something to set it on.

The Flex and the nightlight attachment both set themselves up. If you've previously saved your wifi info to your Amazon account, just plug it in and it does the setup for you.

I can see the motion sensor being incredibly useful for kicking off Routines, but figured my dog would be tripping it all the time. For that reason, I didn't add one to the Flex for the hallway.
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A small Dot with an uncertain future
by Steve Harrison (3 out of 5 stars)
November 18, 2019

This is an Echo Dot with a tiny speaker that plugs directly into the wall. That means that the sound quality is low; despite being called a "smart speaker" it can barely play music and even the voice quality is poor (Alexa's own voice is small and tinny). But it can go many more places much less obtrusively than a Dot.

It's called the "Flex" because accessories can be plugged into the USB port on the bottom, potentially giving it many additional abilities. As happens too often in the electronic-gadget market, though, those accessories mostly don't exist yet; whether more than two or three ever will remains to be seen. That is probably why at the moment Amazon's product description doesn't dwell much on the "Flex" aspects. Perhaps many useful and imaginative accessories are coming and Amazon decided to release the Flex before they are ready so as not to miss the Holiday season. Or perhaps not.

There are use cases for a small Dot with a tiny speaker that plugs directly into the wall. But that's just about all this is for now. And suggesting that this device itself qualifies as a speaker is unrealistic.
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This has its uses.
by BJB (5 out of 5 stars)
November 29, 2019

So I wanted this for 2 reasons. One to have a night light in my bathroom that would go on at sunset and off at sunrise and the other so I can ask what the weather/traffic/news is for the day from Alexa with a quieter Alexa voice responding (regular Alexa in whisper mode was too quiet with running water and other morning routine noises.) This fit the bill for me. I'm very happy with this purchase. I've added a pic of the night light and a short video of it talking.
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Maybe you can use in small bathroom a little
by Michelle S. (1 out of 5 stars)
November 19, 2019

Please redo this version with a usable speaker. I wasn't expecting a big speaker but I have a tiny bathroom and was expecting to be able to hear the news and music while taking a shower, while doing my hair, while getting ready eand I was also hoping to be able to hear Alexa a little better when speaking to me this is terrible. Yes it works as an intercom but has terrible feedback which I'm thinking from the terrible speaker. I've only found it to work just OK when nothing is on in the bathroom with complete silence when talking to and mainly now finding out the weather for a second at volume 10. Disappointed. Even at $25 we deserve more from Amazon

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