Alexa is a cloud-based voice assistance service developed by Amazon. Obviously, there need two types of systems one is to process the voice commands and the other is to give the output for the voice commands.
Both hardware and software (server) contribute to this virtual assistant service.
So, In simple,
Alexa is a voice assistant that processes the input voice commands and provides the output, while Echo is a smart speaker that gives the output for the voice query.
What is the difference between Alexa and Echo?
If you buy Amazon Alexa for your smart home, it comes with a smart speaker which looks like an ordinary speaker where the Alexa virtual assistant is loaded into it.
When a user asks Alexa using a voice command along with a wake word, the speaker will get into listening mode and receives the commands. After processing the voice commands at the server level, an appropriate answer is given to the user Via the smart speaker.
Alexa mobile applications are also available you can install on your smart devices. Here you don’t need an extra speaker, but your device speaker acts as the output device.
| Alexa | Echo |
|---|---|
| Virtual Assistant | Physical Speaker |
| Process Alexa commands | Acts as Input and Output device |
| Software part of the system | Hardware part of the system |
| It is a must service | You don't need speaker if you are using Alexa app on your device |
| We cannot see | We can see the device |
| Managed By Amazon | Managed by us |
What Alexa can do?
You can ask Alexa to play the songs you wanted, turn ON/Off lights, set an alarm, order any product from Amazon, etc with a simple voice command.
A wake word should be added in front of the voice command in order to invoke the system. By default, the wake word is “Alexa”, but you can set some other reserved wake words like Computer, Echo, etc. But you can’t set a custom wake word.
For example,
Alexa, Play a song from slum dog millionaire
This command will play a song from the movie slum dog millionaire.
A hell lot of devices can be connected to the Alexa virtual assistant and can control all of the with voice commands.
Once you connected your Alexa-supported decoration lamps, if you want to reduce the brightness of the lamp, you can do this with a simple Alexa command.
Enable Alexa skills kit (ASK)
Skills are like apps for Alexa which are software frameworks that let you create content, and with interactive voice commands you can enjoy many more features.
The skills are free to enable. A lot of skill sets are incorporated into Alexa’s core system. And thousands of skills are developed by third-party developers to empower their products on Alexa virtual assistant.
For example, if you enabled the Alexa skill for the Ring video doorbell, you can simply connect the doorbell device to Alexa and can control each and every activity with voice commands.
Hope you got what I mean.
What an Echo speaker can do?
Echo is a smart speaker it plays music, radio, or the answer to the query you had given to Alexa as a voice command. This is connected to an Internet or WiFi network and interacts with the Alexa servers.
It’s not a common speaker just like others but a smart speaker. It has some built-in smart features. Once you start saying the command with the wake word Alexa, once it receives the wake word, a Blue light will start to glow which means it is ready to receive the voice commands.
A microphone is built into the speaker so that it can listen to you.
Different types of Echo smart speakers are available based on the different versions.
Conclusion
Only a small investment is required to buy an Amazon Echo speaker but then using the Alexa service is completely free. There are no hidden costs. But when your smart speaker got damaged, you should repair it. So, place it in a place where kids and pets can’t reach.
It’s better to place it at a small height where the Echo smart speaker can easily accept your Alexa voice commands. If it is far from you, you should command louder.
Read more:-
- How to turn off the audio description on Amazon Prime?
- How to change Alexa’s voice to Jarvis/Samuel L. Jackson?
- Stop Alexa from saying OK
