Motorola today announced a new Moto Mod that adds Amazon Alexa voice functionality to devices such as the Z2 Force and Z2 Play. Called the Moto Smart Speaker, the accessory costs $150 and lets you interact with the voice assistant that comes pre-loaded on the Amazon Echo.
You can do all the normal things with Alexa on the smart speaker like set timers, check the news and weather, and control smart home accessories. The accessory even has a ring that lights up to indicate when the user is interacting with it. The Moto Smart Speaker also ships with its own battery that can last 15 hours on a single charge, according to Motorola. Finally, any visual information Alexa wants to display will show up on your phone’s screen.
Of course, charging $149.99 for this speaker is a bit on the high end. For one, you have the standard JBL SoundBoost 2 speaker which costs just $80 and can be used to activate the Google Assistant that comes pre-loaded on the phone itself. And then you have to consider a straight-up Amazon Echo costs just $99, meaning you can buy this and an Echo Dot for the same price as the Smart Speaker. For anyone already invested in the Moto Mod ecosystem, this accessory may be worth the $150. But for anyone else, you may wanna question whether it’ll change your life or not.
If you’re in the former audience, you can pick up the Moto Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa starting this November. It’ll be available from retailers such as Amazon (ironically), Best Buy, and Moto.
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