Motorola’s newest mod puts an Alexa speaker on your phone
Ever wanted to have an Amazon Echo speaker with you wherever you are, rather than relying on your phone’s built-in voice assistant? Motorola is betting you do. As promised, it’s releasing an Alexa-powered Moto Mod (the Moto Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa, to be exact) that slaps an Echo-like device on the back of compatible phones like the Moto Z2 Force or Z Play. The key, as you might guess, is that it delivers that across-the-room voice control in a way your phone can’t by itself.
The large dedicated speaker is clearly one advantage, but there are also four mics to make sure it picks up your voice in relatively noisy environments. And with a 15-hour built-in battery, you won’t kill your phone if you’re constantly asking questions. The mod also has a clever dock design that’s intended for use on your nightstand.
If there’s an obstacle, it’s the cost. The Alexa speaker will be available for $150 US (£99 in the UK) when it ships in November to those countries where Alexa has official support. At that price, you’ll have to really like the idea of a truly portable Echo speaker that fits in your pocket; this might be excessive if you just want another Echo for the office.
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