It is 10 years since the launch of the first smart speaker with Alexa and in this article we ask ourselves if they have really changed much. In 2014, they launched the first Amazon Echo, a device that was going to revolutionize home technology, with a device that we could ask things and it would answer us, in addition to being able to link it to other smart devices. It’s not very different from what happens now, but 10 years have passed and technology advances.
When a novel device emerges, and as long as it is successful, other alternatives begin to appear in a short time. That’s what happened with Amazon Echo and the following smart speakers that have been appearing in recent years. Today, we have a wide range of options available.
Alexa speakers are 10 years old
It was on November 6, 2014 when the first Amazon Echo, a revolutionary speaker, went on sale. Physically it has changed a lot, and the first model was a fairly large vertical cylinder. At that time, the starting price was $179 (about €166, at the current exchange rate). Clearly, we see the first change on a physical level, and that is that different models have been appearing, with the classic ball as the most representative.
On a technical and usability level, that first Amazon Echo could answer simple questions, set timers, read news headlines or say if it’s going to rain or not. It also allowed you to link to other smart devices and control them. However, everything was more limited than now, as you can imagine.
Something to keep in mind is that it initially allowed you to play music from Amazon Music, but Spotify was not included until a few years later. Precisely that, being able to play music, was one of the most important uses from the beginning. At the end of the day, it is a speaker, even if it has more functions.
More quality
Of course, if we talk about quality, beyond the functions that were already available, which have not changed that much, we do see changes. For example, voice recognition was very limited, glitchy, and inaccurate. This has changed a lot, since today it has improved a lot, it is more precise and, ultimately, it fails less.
The sound quality has also improved in these 10 years. Now we have very good quality speakers. In addition, they now include a more advanced voice processing chip, noise-canceling microphone and greater capacity to capture the voice from further away, if there is environmental noise, etc.
As for connections, the first model, the one from 10 years ago, only worked on 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. Now they do use dual band, so you can also connect devices at 5 GHz, which increases the speed and you can also have greater stability by avoiding interference.
We must also mention the functions. Now they are more complete, there are some models that have motion sensors, temperature sensors, built-in cameras or even screens.
In short, Amazon Echo is 10 years old and the speakers with Alexa have changed a lot in these years, although the basics remain similar, with improvements. Mainly, it has a greater ability to detect what we say to it, better audio and additional functions.
