Today I have a brand new product from Eufy, the Eufy Genie. This Genie is like the Amazon Echo Dot which I also have. A special thanks to Eufy for sending me the Genie to feature on my channel and compare it to my Echo Dot. My feeling is that this is going to be a little longer review but I will try and keep it short.
For a limited time you can get the Eufy Genie under $30 on Amazon by using this link http://amzn.to/2wk2wXP
The Eufy Genie is black glossy plastic around the edges with flat black plastic on top. It’s round in shape and it’s profile tapers in. On top there is a small LED ring of multiple RGB LED’s that light up when in use and give a status indicator.
I really like how when the Genie is not active the lights shut off. It seems like my Dot likes to come awake all the time. I didn’t like it in my bedroom for this reason. However the Genie so far is great in my bedroom as it doesn’t produce extra light when not actively being used.
The speaker is downward firing and is even from all angles. There is a Micro USB power input in the rear and a ?” audio connector for audio out. Both the power supply and audio cable are included in the packaging.
Setup is slightly more complicated with the Eufy Genie then the Amazon Dot. After powering on I launched the Eufy Home app. You have to create a login, and it’s not shared with the Eufy website. I do wish they added SSO signin options which would make signing in with your Google or Facebook account. Once logged in the app guides you through joining the wifi network the Genie creates, once joined you pick your real wifi network, input your password. You can stop there but you shouldn’t you want to signin to your amazon account to allow the Genie to get access to Alexa services and skills. Once logged into Amazon basic setup is done and you can start asking your Genie to do stuff like ask it the weather.
Sound Quality & Voice Responsiveness
The speaker is much louder on the Genie then on my Dot. Anker seems to be doing some EQ processing on it on to prevent distortion when loud which is good but has the side effect of removing the lower tones. When listening to Local radio, podcasts, etc. It leaves something to be desired when listening to the latest top 40 hits.
The synthesized voice is good, it’s a little different then the Dot but sounds similar. I found voice responsiveness to be equally as good as my Echo Dot.
Pros
- Price point is lower. This makes it great for a second device or someone just wanting to try the technology.
- Louder & better quality speaker (Although less low end) then the Amazon Echo Dot for a lower price
- Has most of Amazon Echo Dot’s feature set built in including all the skills.
- Will control Eufy other smart home devices like the upcoming robovac or lightbulbs.
This is a brand new product and Eufy is making firmware upgrades to address some of these issues. As of August 2017 here are a few of the limitations.
- The Genie can’t be used to voice command Spotify or Pandora (This is expected to be fixed soon)
- The Genie can’t use the call Echo feature yet but this is expected to be fixed soon.
- The Genie can’t do voice ordering from Amazon at the moment
- There isn’t a bluetooth radio but there is an aux cable to attach a larger speaker system if you wanted to. I don’t’ think this is as big of deal given the improved sound quality.
- As of right now you can’t rename the command key phrase
- Setup is slightly longer due to having to set it up in the Eufy app and the Amazon Echo app.
Value Proposition and Summary
As of late August 2017 the Eufy Genie has a few limitations when compared to the Amazon Echo Dot. Most of these will be fixed with software updates soon according to Eufy within 2 weeks. Once the firmware is updated and many of these fixes are in place, I feel like the two devices will compare closely enough that I can with confidence recommend the Eufy Genie. I like that the speaker is louder than the Dot. In my bedroom it’s easily loud enough to read me the news, stream a local radio station in the morning while getting ready, or listen to a podcast. It won’t be my main music device in my bedroom due to lack of low end tones but it’s great for something that’s easy and voice controlled. I like how the Genie builds on an already established platform and nearly all the Amazon Echo skills are available and compatible. Best of all is the price. At normal prices you can save about $10-15 over a Dot and get a louder speaker.