Amazon Echo Pop is a new compact speaker from Amazon. It comes in 4 colour choices: charcoal, glacier white, lavender bloom, and midnight teal. We can use it to play music from various streaming services, such as Amazon Music, Apple Music and Spotify. I can still use its Bluetooth connectivity to play songs directly stored in my phone.

This little speaker is designed to be a smart home accessory with Alexa at its centre. However, I use Apple HomeKit for my smart home system and has no intention to use yet another system, so I just turn off the mic on this speaker completely. There is a physical button to switch off microphone, but it would cause the built-in LED to shine red with no option to turn off.

Why would I get a smart speaker if I do not plan to use its voice command functionality? Because I simply want a compact speaker that sounds nice without rechargeable battery. It is so hard to find small speaker that takes power directly from AC mains without rechargeable battery in today’s market. Echo Dot was a nice product that meets this criteria, and it was also my reason to try the new Echo Pop.

Speakers with rechargeable battery normally comes with non replaceable battery. Every battery in consumer products will degrade after some years. Getting a compact speaker with rechargeable battery might seem like a plus for most people, but it is a minus for me because it means that the life of the product depends on the degradation of the battery. All the other components could still work perfectly normal, but if the battery has stopped working, I have to replace the whole product.

What about continuously plugging it to a charger? That could work, but I will not. I had 2 experiences in the past with old rechargeable battery in a device got seriously swollen with continuous charging. That is a fire hazard, a risk I choose not to take, especially because I use these compact speakers in the bedrooms for sleeping music.

Back to Echo Pop, the initial set up is easy, just like other Echo speakers. Amazon shipped my speaker already linked to my account, it makes everything even easier. Sound quality is pleasantly decent. It is not the strongest speaker, obviously, given its compact form-factor, but it sounds good and balanced for its size. One thing I do not like from Amazon’s speaker is that it announces new connection. Every time it connects to my phone’s Bluetooth, it would say “playing from <phone name>”, often in volume louder than what I would like.

Like the sound, like the colour (mine is teal), like that fact that it takes so little space on a bedside table. It always connect to power, which fits my use case, and I can hope to use it longer than typical age of rechargeable batteries. This speaker is not for everyone, but if it fits your use case, definitely worth to consider.