Anker's new Amazon Alexa-powered smart speaker is a cheaper alternative to the Echo Dot

While Microsoft and Apple are busy building premium smart speakers powered by Cortana and Siri, companies like Anker are introducing affordable smart speakers. The company is today introducing the new Eufy Genie, a $35 smart speaker powered by Amazon Alexa. The Eufy Genie is slightly bigger than Amazon’s Echo Dot, but it offers better audio quality — at least according to Anker.

Since the Genie is powered by Amazon Alexa, you will get all the features and voice commands that are available on Amazon’s Echo speakers. There isn’t any difference between the Eufy Genie and the Echo Dot in terms of the features, so it sounds like a very good alternative to the Echo Dot from Amazon. However, the Eufy Genie will be able to control Anker’s other Eufy smart home devices, and the company is also planning on launching new smart home devices in the coming weeks.

Steve Rabuchin, the Vice President of Amazon Alexa said:

“With the Eufy Genie, customers can get Alexa, her 15,000+ skills, and high-quality sound for less than $35. Now even more customers will be able to simply ask Alexa to set a timer, play the news or their favorite music, control their smart home or order a meal with just their voice.”

Now, of course, it isn’t confirmed if the Genie is actually better than the Echo Dot. The device is cheaper, but whether its audio quality is actually better than the Echo Dot is unknown. We should have the answers to our questions when the Eufy Genie starts shipping on the 16th of August, however.