Amazon Echo Pop

If you want a compact Alexa smart speaker, the Pop is now the cheapest choice - but what does it really add?

- MIKE PROSPERO

How do you shave £10 from the price of the Echo Dot (see issue 341, p64)? Apparently, by taking a knife and slicing off the Dot's spherical front to create a flat surface. Then remove the Alexa button, but leave three at the Pop's top: two to adjust the volume, one to turn off the microphone. And finally, rather than use a circular ring of LEDs around the bottom, switch to a small light bar at the top. This activates to indicate when Alexa is listening to you.

The hidden sacrifice is to its smart home features. While the Pop supports the Matter smart home protocol, the Echo Dot includes temperature and motion sensors that you can use as part of your Alexa smart home routines.