The Echo 4 is actually beyond my expectations. It is physically fairly heavy, the quality of manufacture and finish is good. There is a standard screw thread tripod socket on the bottom of the Echo 4 and the power cable is about 2 metres long. I have two Echo 4’s which I easily paired using the Alexa app on my iPhone into a stereo group with left and right channels. I was also able to choose several streaming programs, including Amazon Music (default) and Apple Music. You can also use TuneIn, Spotify and Deezer. The amount of bass is very impressive and a bit heavy out of the box but you can adjust the bass, treble and midrange using the app or by asking Alexa. The communication ring light on the base of each unit is easily visible, it’s very ‘Gort’ in operation, especially in a darkened room. I had seen in some influencer reviews complaints about putting the ring on the bottom but it works well in this location. Alexa, hears my voice even over fairly loud music about 90% of the time and when the music is playing at low levels all of the time.

I absolutely love my new Echo Dot! The design is sleek and modern, and the setup was incredibly easy—just downloaded the Amazon Alexa app and plugged it in. Within minutes, I was playing music, asking questions, and setting reminders.
The sound quality is impressive for such a compact speaker, and the voice recognition is super responsive. I also really appreciate the built-in privacy features, like the microphone off button.
If you’re looking for a smart assistant that fits seamlessly into your home, this is a fantastic choice. Highly recommended!

I love my Alexa! It’s super easy to set up and makes everyday tasks so much easier. I use it to play music, set alarms, check the weather, and control smart devices. The sound is great for its size, and it responds quickly. Definitely a great addition to my home!

Number 1 pro is it is unique looking being a red ball

number 1 con is the manual controls are harder to use compared to the previous-gen

sound is about the same to my ears

Replaced my decade old alarm clock with this and couldn't be happier. She hears me from the hallway. She is like having a personal assistant, which is super helpful for me while recovering from a concussion I got a month ago. I can turn music on/off, volume up/down, set verbal reminders and alarms. With buying a smart plug I can turn my A/C on/off verbally or through the app. I can ask her questions, she's very responsive and hasn't gotten confused by my voice or wording yet. I dont know how I got through the last month without one. I think my Ma needs one for Christmas, dont know what youre missing til you have one.

I love the design, the size and feel. The sound is adequate for my night music needs.
The voice recognition is poor, making me repeat Alexa often. Whisper mode works well, so I don’t understand why it does not wake when I say Alexa normal voice often.
It lost my Sengle smart light just after a month of working perfectly...also a mystery why. Now it will not recognize the light at all. I will have to talk to the nice amazon techies soon.

My Smart Home Essential: The Alexa [Specific Model, e.g., Echo Dot (5th Gen), Echo (4th Gen), Echo Show 8]
I recently added the Alexa [Specific Model, e.g., Echo Dot (5th Gen), Echo (4th Gen), Echo Show 8] to my smart home setup, and it has quickly become an indispensable part of my daily routine. This speaker is much more than just a device for playing music; it's a powerful and incredibly convenient smart assistant.
First off, the sound quality for its size is surprisingly impressive. Whether I'm streaming my favorite playlists from Spotify or Apple Music, listening to podcasts, or just catching up on the news, the audio is clear, rich, and fills the room nicely. For a compact device, it really delivers a good listening experience.
The real magic, however, lies in Alexa's voice assistant capabilities. Controlling smart home devices like my lights and thermostat with simple voice commands is incredibly convenient. I can ask for weather updates, set timers and alarms, check my calendar, get quick answers to questions, and even make hands-free calls – all without lifting a finger. It integrates seamlessly into my daily life, saving me time and effort.
Design and Ease of Use
The design of the [Specific Model] is also a huge plus. It's sleek, modern, and blends beautifully into any room without being an eyesore. Setting it up was a breeze; I just plugged it in, connected it to my Wi-Fi via the Alexa app, and it was ready to go in minutes.
The responsiveness of Alexa is consistently good. It rarely mishears commands, and its ability to understand natural language makes interactions feel very intuitive. Even with background noise, the microphones do a great job of picking up my voice.
In conclusion, if you're looking to streamline your life, enjoy easy access to music and information, and take your first (or next) step into smart home automation, the Alexa [Specific Model] is an outstanding choice. It's a versatile, user-friendly, and powerful smart speaker that I highly recommend.

It kills me to only give 3 stars for this product because I love the entire Echo/Alexa series but this Echo 4 is just nothing special compared to the other ones and can never hear me when I call it. Sometimes I call it 7-9 times before giving up and asking Google Nest or another Echo device. The ring light on the bottom is a poor design choice as well. There's just nothing new or exciting (besides colour) about Generation 4. Yes she's a bit quicker but sometimes that's a negative because she closes out before you get a chance to say anything/finish your question. Too much hassle to send back but will be last Amazon smart device until they come up with something new/exciting.
I can't even find any use or even mention of the zigbee hub. The one thing I love which is probably unimportant to most is the indoor temperature feature. Love knowing the temperature in my room by asking. This is extremely hard of hearing and never wakes up when I ask it to, yet wakes up when its dead quiet. Very strange experience this purchase. Hopefully Amazon can release a fix (OTA) for the hearing issue as its a major issue and walking to control the echo 4 defeats its purpose.

Update- no firmware updates have fixed anything yet, I love my echoes but I wish I had of bought another one with a screen as I find those ones 1000 times more useful. A Red ball is cool looking but that’s about it. Having a screen has spoiled me.

I have this unit in the kitchen, paired with the Amazon Echo 10 (the one that follows you around) and I have to say that the sound quality just blows me away. It gets quite loud, but I've yet to hear any distortion. Bass is good without thumpiness and trebles are clear, articulate and detailed. And it's a hoot connected to a music streaming service! Just tell Alexa what you want, and boom! Ya got it. This was purely a luxury item that I didn't actually need, but I'm glad I bought it. Tech is great when it works, and this does.

The new Echo 4th Gen is a big change in aesthetics and design for the Echo line. The new spherical shape is wider and shorter than previous Echo versions, and now focus sound in one primary direction instead of 360 degrees. It adds an extra tweeter, and seems to produce more sound than previous versions. Here are my early thoughts so far, after using it for about 24 hours:

THE GOOD:

Setup was incredibly simple. I just powered the device on, and the Echo announced that it was ready for setup. I opened the Alexa app on my phone, and the new Echo was automatically detected and set up instantly. I didn't have to enter any information at all. It can't get any easier than this.
BETTER SOUND. This new Echo has an extra tweeter, for a total of two 0.8 inch tweeters, and the same 3.0 inch Sub from the Gen 3 Echo. This new Echo is designed with the tweeters pointed forward, and the speaker placement seems to generate more bass also somehow, even with the same Sub as the Gen 3. All in all I think it sounds much better than Gen 3, with a little more bass and louder max volume. This could also be do to the sound-mapping feature that allows Echo to maximize the sound by detecting the acoustics and shape of the room. You can also pair two of these in stereo; and you are supposed to be able to use it as a speaker for your FireTV device, though I haven't tested that out yet.
Temperature sensor included. Yes, you can ask Alexa what the temperature is, and it seems very accurate so far. This is a nice touch, and I look forward to doing more testing, to see if I can set up routines based on temperature.
AZ1 Processor. This new Amazon processor promises better voice recognition and faster Alexa responses. In my testing so far, I have barely noticed a slight speed improvement (for example turning on certain room lights) but there are supposed to be upcoming updates that will make an even bigger difference in speed.
Zigbee + Sidewalk Bridge. This comes with a Zigbee hub, just like previous versions of the Echo Plus. It also contains the new Sidewalk Bridge, which allows the Echo to use bluetooth and radio connections to connect to some smart devices at long range, and push data to the internet.

THE BAD:

No 360 degree speakers. While I personally prefer the sound of this new version, some people might miss the 360 degree speaker setup of previous Echo generations. It certainly might lead to a situation where the ideal placement of the Echo in your room could be different.
White power cord. This is minor, but a strange choice. No matter what color Echo you get, the power cord is white. Some people might find that annoying.
Voice detection is not great while loud music is playing. This surprised me, as previous generations haven;t really struggled with this in my experience. I'm not sure if it is because this speaker is much louder, but Alexa hasn't heard me a few times when I talked while the music was playing at max volume. This could be annoying if you often listen to very loud music.

NEUTRAL:

-Aesthetics. I think I preferred the look of the cylinder design, instead of this new sphere shape. This is totally personal preference of course. I also wish the entire sphere was fabric, instead of being plastic on the back side. Some people might prefer the ball shape though, so that is up to you.

All in all, I'm keeping this new Echo because of the better sound and faster responsiveness, but it is not really a massive upgrade. Pretty decent so far, I'll update this review and try to answer any questions in the future!