Anker’s Eufy Genie Smart Speaker Is A Compelling $35 Amazon Echo Dot Clone

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You may know Anker for its line of mobile accessories that include car chargers, USB cables, portable batteries, Bluetooth speakers and dash cams. However, the company is increasingly getting into the consumer electronics space with its own brand of devices. The company sells robotic vacuums (similar in design to iRobot’s Roomba) via its Eufy (pronounced “You-Fee”) line, and now it is expanding with the arrival of the Eufy Genie smart speaker.

Looking at the Genie, you can see that it clearly gets its inspiration from the Amazon Echo Dot. That is no mistake, as the Genie largely apes the functionality of the Echo Dot thanks to its inclusion of support for the Alexa AI assistant. By supporting Alexa, Genie immediately gains access to over 15,000 Skills, and largely gives customers access to functionality normally reserved for the Echo Dot or the larger and more expensive Echo.

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So, if the Eufy Genie is basically a [admittedly cool-looking] knockoff of the Echo Dot, why wouldn’t consumers just go with the tried and true version from Amazon along with the support staff that comes along with it? Well, Anker is hoping that its pricing advantage will call out to consumers. The Genie will be priced at $35 when it launches later this month on Amazon. That undercuts the Echo Dot by a sizable $15 (although the Echo Dot can often be had for that price if you catch it at the right time).

And while the Genie will still allow you to connect to an external speaker (like the Echo Dot), it will have superior sound quality for playing music. However, that isn’t exactly a hard thing to do considering the tinny sound that emanates from the Echo Dot.

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The Genie will be the centerpiece of an expanded Eufy Smart Home System. The family will grow to include smart light bulbs, wall switches, and wall plugs. And of course, all of these devices — along with a next generation RoboVac — will be Alexa-enabled, giving you access to all with the sound of your voice.

The Eufy Genie will be available on August 16th, and the company is hoping that its faithful customers will be willing to give the tiny smart speaker a shot.

Brandon Hill

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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