Amazon Echo Glow Review, Pros & Cons and Specs 2022

THE BOTTOM LINE for Amazon Echo Glow

The Amazon Echo Glow is a small Wi-Fi-enabled nightlight designed for children. It offers 16 colors and touch controls, but it doesn't have a microphone or speaker and depends on another device for sound control.

Amazon Echo Glow PROS

Easy to install and use

Dimmable

Tap control

Interacts with other smart devices via Alexa routines

Amazon Echo Glow CONS

Light could be brighter

Requires Echo device for voice control

Lacks IFTTT support

The Amazon Echo Glow ($ 29.99) is a children's smart light that rotates in 16 colors with the tap of your hand. This little Orb-shaped lamp is easy to pick up and operate, works with Amazon's free-time service, and can be programmed to follow Alexa's routine, along with other Alexa-powered products. Allows interaction. That said, you'll need a separate Alexa device to control the glue with your voice because it lacks a speaker and microphone, and it's not so bright that it's anything other than mood lighting or colorful night lights. Can be used for anything.

Design and features

About the size of a softball, the glue is a round white LED lamp with a flat base and a raised white light lens. It measures 3.9 inches and has a hard wired USB power cord and an action button.

The glue can display 16 colors, including a warm white (2600K) and a variety of blue, green, orange, red and yellow. It even has salmon color. The dimming bulb emits only 100 lumens, which is fine for use as a night light or for the subtle lighting effects of the mood, but not bright enough to illuminate the room. There are several ways to change the color; Through the mobile app, Alexa uses voice commands (if you connect it to another Echo device with a microphone), and Alexa's routine. You can also easily tap the lens - each time you tap it, the brightness reaches the next color in the palette.

Despite its name, Echo Glow is not an echo speaker. You can control it via the Alexa app, but it doesn't have a microphone, and even if it does, it lacks the technology that allows you to control it directly with your voice. However, it does have a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio that lets you connect it to an Echo speaker or other Alexa-capable device so you can control it via voice commands.

The lamp supports a freetime subscription service for children, and offers a rainbow timer that uses colors to help children complete tasks such as homework or brushing teeth on time. It also supports Alexa routines that allow it to integrate with other smart home devices connected to your Alexa account, including indoor / outdoor cameras, thermostats and video indoor bells. However, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, and IFTTT applets are not supported.

Glue uses the same Alexa app on all other Alexa devices. When you launch the app, tap Devices at the bottom of the screen, tap Lights, then tap the tab with the name of your glue lamp. It opens a screen with an on / off button, a brightness slider, a color tab, a mode tab, and a button labeled Create Routine.

Tap the set button on the color tab to select colors and tap the mode button to select the effect of campfire, color flow, disco, fire truck, mood light, siren and underwater lighting. There are seasonal lighting effects for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, and Valentine's Day, as well as solid color choices. Create a routine for scheduling Tap the button, react to the glue on your phone's location, and let it work with other smart home devices connected to your Alexa. In the upper right corner is a gear icon that opens a settings screen where you can change Wi-Fi settings, view firmware information, and disable Lite.

Installation and performance

Echo Glue is easy to install, but you'll need to download the Alexa app and create an account if you don't already have one. I put the glue in the power outlet, opened the app, and tapped the devices in the bottom right corner. I then tapped on the Plus icon to add a device, selected Light, then Amazon Echo. I used my phone's camera to scan the QR code at the bottom of the device, and the app automatically connected the glue to the same Wi-Fi network that my phone uses. The glue was attached immediately and I was given the option to add it to the group or skip this step. I gave the light a name and came to a screen where I had to enter my Amazon password and CVV code from the credit card associated with my account (there are no charges on your card, but this information proves you Are required to. An adult).

After that, I was offered a parental consent agreement that allows you to use glue as part of Amazon's children's services as part of free time. By agreeing to this, you are allowing Amazon to collect information about your child or children, including their name, birthday and email address. It also allows Amazon to access your child's photos, videos and location information. Once I have agreed to the above terms, the glue installation is complete.

The light provided good soft colors in the test, but as mentioned earlier, it is not too bright. That said, it's easy to cycle through the color palette using a tape control, such as changing colors and brightness levels using the Alexa Voice commands and mobile app.

The lighting methods worked well. I especially like the campfire and color flow effects. I have made an Alexa routine to turn on the glue every afternoon at a color that sets to blue and she has followed this routine without fail. Whenever the Arlo Pro 3 camera detected motion, it had no problem following my Alexa routine of turning on the glue with red.

Conclusions

Designed with kids in mind, Amazon Glow is a fun mode / nightlight that can be incorporated into Alexa's routine to let your child know it's time to get ready for bed. It can also be used to tell you when an Alexa-powered camera or doorbell has been triggered. Glue provided soft, colorful light in the test and had no trouble responding to Alexa voice commands and routines. However, a more powerful bulb would be a welcome addition, especially if you are using this device as a bedside lamp. In addition, support for IFTTT will allow it to interact with smart devices outside the Alexa ecosystem.

If you are looking for an LED bulb that does all this, consider the $ 25 Yeelight Smart LED, our editor's choice for affordable, color-changing bulbs. It's not a table top device like Glue and it doesn't support touch commands, but it works with Alexa, Google, and Siri voice commands, supports Apple Home Kit and IFTTT applets, and some light coolers. Offers effects and scheduling options.