If you’ve already gotten used to having Alexa throughout your home, you may find yourself wishing for the same features while you’re on the go. That’s where Echo Auto comes in. Currently only available by invitation, Echo Auto will sell for $49.99, about the same as an Echo Dot.
The device itself is incredibly simplistic. It is about a half inch high and three inches across and almost completely black. Effectively, it’s the microphone portion of an Echo. According to Amazon, it contains 8 microphones and far-field technology to hear the user’s voice over music and road noise. It connects to your smart phone via Bluetooth, taking advantage of the Alexa app to process voice commands. It connects to your car stereo, which acts as the Echo speaker, via either Bluetooth or auxiliary cable. The device has its own internal speaker, but it’s mostly meant for announcements such as “Your Echo device is in pairing mode, open the Alexa app on your phone to complete setup.” Beyond that, it doesn’t have the power to be heard over road noise.
The Echo Auto should be able to do just about anything that Echo speakers do. You can listen to music, get answers to questions, set reminders, add to lists, and control smart home devices. In addition, you can ask Alexa to start navigation on your phone using Waze, Google Maps, or Apple Maps.
At this time, Amazon is warning that the Echo Auto does not work well in cars that have Android Auto or Apple Car Play. There is also a list of specific auto makes that the Echo Auto is known not to work with. Click the link for the full list, but it includes a handful from Acura, Chevrolet, Dodge, GMC, Honda, and Toyota.
Here’s a first look at the Echo Auto. It comes in an incredibly understated black box with black text.
Inside, neatly packed is the speaker/microphone unit, a USB cable, car power adapter, auxiliary audio cable, a mounting base, and some documentation.
It’s nice to see Amazon isn’t skimping on any accessories here such as the aux cable. The power adapter even has two USB ports, so you can still charge your phone or other device while the Echo Auto is plugged in. You will be committed to having that USB cable running up your dash though.
The Echo Auto is designed to go horizontally on top of your dash. The main reason this placement is important is that it uses the array of microphones and the layout to isolate out background noise from the car. However, I tested with the microphone in a variety of odd positions before permanently mounting it and had very little trouble with it picking up my voice.
