Analysis of the Amazon Echo Auto: good, but with limitations

We tested the new Amazon Echo Auto, a device that Alexa brings us to our vehicle, offering us a good handful of interesting functions and voice control, but with many limitations due to its own design and Apple's restrictions. Do you want to know what it can and cannot do? Well, we explain it here.

Everything you need

This Amazon Echo Auto includes in the box everything you need for its installation and operation. In this regard, you can not put a single hit on Amazon, which In addition to the device itself, it includes a magnetic support to place it in the ventilation grill and a car cigarette lighter charger that includes two USB charging ports, quite a detail. We also have the necessary cables: USB to microUSB to connect to the charger, and a Jack cable to connect it to the speaker system of our vehicle if it does not have a Bluetooth system for audio transmission. We will not have to buy any extra accessories for this Echo Auto, and that today is something unusual.

The device itself is small, with a very simple design. A button to mute it, another to invoke Alexa manually, the microUSB connector (Amazon still resists USB-C) and the Jack connector. On the front we will find eight holes that are the microphones for this Echo Auto to hear us. Why eight microphones? Because inside a car there is generally always noise from children, the air conditioning, music ... and it is not easy to be heard, but this Echo Auto the truth is that it behaves quite well and recognizes our voice well.

Bluetooth or cable

The Amazon Echo Auto can be connected to our vehicle through the car's own Bluetooth or by cable in those vehicles whose Bluetooth is not used for audio transmission, or simply do not have it. It will also connect to our iPhone via Bluetooth, and it will be from our smartphone who will get the internet connection necessary for our operation. That is, this Echo Auto needs a connected smartphone to work, it does not have its own connectivity.

Let's use the system we use, the configuration is quite simple and we only have to follow the steps indicated in the Alexa application of our iPhone, as you can see in the video that accompanies the article. Once all the steps have been followed, we can now use Alexa to give the orders we want it to obey, and all responses will be heard through our vehicle's audio system.

It's not CarPlay, it's an Amazon Echo

In many articles and videos I have seen how this Echo Auto compared with CarPlay or Android Auto, which is a big mistake that all it does is create expectations that this device cannot meet. The Amazon Echo Auto looks like CarPlay what a salmon looks like to a chicken, and this is no exaggeration. If it has to resemble a device, it is the Amazon Echo that you have at home, with which it has many similarities (most) plus some characteristics of its own because it is intended to be used in the car, but nothing more. And I'm not saying this as a negative thing, it's not that it doesn't look alike because it doesn't reach the level, it just doesn't look like it because it's not your goal.

Having Alexa in your vehicle has many advantages, all of which you can imagine after using a virtual assistant at home. From choosing what music you want to play in your vehicle to searching for a podcast, listening to internet radio, receiving the weather information, or a summary with the latest news from your favorite radio station. We can also tell us to take us to a specific place, but since it does not have a screen, it uses our iPhone for it. Here we can see one of the limitations of using Alexa with the iPhone: the Maps application does not open directly to us, but we have to click on the notification that appears on our screen, something not recommended while driving. We can make calls but not send messages, or read us the WhatsApp that we receive or send them.

Why use Alexa when you have Siri?

The Amazon Echo Auto does nothing that cannot be done with Siri, what's more, Siri can do more things than Alexa with our iPhone, like reading us messages, sending them, or directly opening Maps with instructions for our trip. With the Echo Auto you have to say "Alexa", with the iPhone you have to say "Hey Siri" or press the dedicated button on the steering wheel, that's the only difference. In addition, in some vehicles you have a dedicated button on the steering wheel to invoke the assistant of your smartphone, as long as it is connected to the car's bluetooth. So what's the point of this Echo Auto? Yes there are several situations in which this device can be very interesting.

The first one is that your vehicle does not have Bluetooth or is not capable of transmitting audio (calls only), since by making use of the Jack cable (if your vehicle has an auxiliary input, of course) you will be getting not only a virtual assistant but you will also listen to your music through the car speakers and have a hands-free, all with a single and small device with a very interesting price. The second, that you do not have that button on your steering wheel for the virtual assistantSince invoking Siri while driving while listening to music or there is noise in the cabin is really complicated using "Hey Siri" and this Echo Auto listens to you much better than your iPhone thanks to the eight microphones it incorporates. The third, that you hate Siri so much that you want to forget her and spend the price of this Echo Auto to do the same (even less) using Alexa.

Editor's opinion

The Amazon Echo Auto is a very interesting device for many users who want to bring a virtual assistant to their vehicle, which lacks the most modern systems that already incorporate these functions. But before your purchase, I would recommend to those who are thinking about it to see if they can do the same with Siri, because surely many do not know it. If your case is one of the three that I mention in the previous paragraph, I'm sure this device looks fantastic to you and the € 59,99 it costs at Amazon (link) seem more than deserved.