Alexa Echo Auto 2: Upgrade Your Infotainment
Amazon Echo Auto 2
If you have a smart home set up with Alexa, having Alexa in your car can give you peace of mind when away from home. Alexa Guard can notify you of unusual noises, lock the door and close the garage if you leave them open. As you start home, Alexa can start a connected microwave to cook dinner, turn on the dryer, or control other Alexa-connected devices.
But there are benefits to Alexa Echo Auto in the car, even if you aren’t a diehard Echo fan at home. It can keep you company on long drives with interactive games, tell you movie times, business hours, and you’ll never be lost again with Find My Car.
This second-generation model has been dramatically improved from the first model. It responds quicker, is more reliable, and can hear a voice command even when the defrost is blaring, or windows are open. It’s small and unobtrusive, and it’s worth the upgrade.
Alexa Echo Auto 2 is a marked improvement from the original Echo Auto released in 2018. Sure, there are many ways to improve a car’s infotainment system— CarPlay or AndroidCar adds features like messaging, calling, and streaming music using voice commands (typically with the touch of a button). But the Echo Auto 2 has bonus features, especially for those with Alexa-compatible devices and Echo speakers in the home.
What’s New in the 2nd Generation Echo Auto
Amazon has made considerable changes in the physical Echo Auto unit. Wherethe original Echo Automodel was about the size of a fat credit card, the new model is a little bigger than a cube of cheese that mounts to a small included mount for the dash or can connect to vent slats with the additional adapter.
Although there is a slightly larger unit along the cable, it’s near the USB end and likely will hide in a dash opening. Five microphones can pick up your voice even when using a noisy defrost fan, having music playing, or wind from open windows. This is a marked improvement to the responsiveness of the original Echo Auto.
The 2nd gen is faster to respond and more reliable. It comes with a quick charge 3.0 adapter to charge a phone using a USB or USB-C port.
The Echo Auto uses your phone with the Alexa app to connect to any car entertainment system or radio. For car radios without physical connections or Bluetooth, the phone can connect via Bluetooth over an FM transmitter that sends the signal to an empty radio station.Here are all the ways to connect your phone to your car entertainment.
Because the Echo Auto doesn’t connect directly to your car’s radio or infotainment system, it works any way you connect your phone to the car using an auxiliary or USB port or Bluetooth. For vehicles without a screen, the Auto Mode in the Alexa phone app becomes the screen that mounts to the dash. It also works with CarPlay or Android Auto, adding more features to the experience.Learn more about CarPlayandAndroid auto wireless.
Like other Alexa Echo speakers, the Echo Auto is set up using the Alexa app on a smartphone. The Echo Auto only works when the car is running.
Plug the Echo Auto into power. It comes with an adapter if your car’s audio doesn’t have Bluetooth, Auxiliary in, or a USB connection. A notification will appear in the Alexa app that it has found the Echo Auto. You’ll need to confirm that you are not driving while doing the setup. A list of available Alexa devices will be displayed. Choose the Echo Auto (usually starts with “AMZ”).
Continue following the instructions for pairing and mounting.
The next step indicates how you connect your phone to your car’s infotainment system or radio. You can use Bluetooth, Auxiliary connection, or CarPlay wired or wireless on iPhone. Android will show Android Auto. Follow the setup based on your selection. Next, the app runs a test to ensure you will hear the responses through your car speakers. Finally, you’ll need to set up the features you want Alexa to control. This is important for those who want to add Alexa’s features to their current system. You can choose to have Alexa only control specific tasks and let your CarPlay or Android Auto cover the rest.
You may want CarPlay or Android Auto to handle your music, phone calls, and texting, but want Alexa to control directions and your phone.
There are a few features that Alexa does better. Alexa has a slight advantage over CarPlay as it’s better at finding directions based on the name of a business. If you are a Prime member, you can listen to Amazon music for free (although it’s a shuffled Pandora-like experience). CarPlay has a slight advantage for messaging, with better notifications that automatically read the message that comes through.
If you choose to use messaging, you’ll be directed to go to the phone’s settings and tap the circled “i” next to the Echo Auto in the list of connected Bluetooth devices on the phone. Turn onShow Notifications.
If you choose to use Alexa for entertainment, a screen appears to pick from a list of which services Alexa will use for music, podcasts, radio, and news. Likewise, if you want to use Alexa maps, pick from Apple Maps, Google Maps, or Waze
The Echo Auto 2 now has pay-as-you-go Roadside Assistance. Roadside assistance is available in the US (but not in US territories) and works for US customers traveling in Canada. Simply say “Alexa, call roadside assistance,” for towing, fuel delivery up to 2 gallons, locksmith, battery jump-start, flat tire change, and winching/extrication for any light-duty vehicle.
Why Use Alexa Auto Instead of CarPlay or Android Auto?
Although I have been satisfied with CarPlay, I’m now sold on using Alexa Echo Auto. It’s not just that it’s wholly voice-activated and hands-free because it’s not a big deal to scoot your thumb over and press the voice button on the steering wheel to activate CarPlay. But it does more than Siri/CarPlay.
Here is how one test drive went. I got into the car and told Alexa to lock my Switchbot front door lock (our review). Echo Auto, like other Alexa speakers, can also perform a routine. By saying (for example), “I’m leaving,” Alexa can automatically lock the door, set Alexa Guard to away mode, turn off the TV, turn on a light, wish you a good day, tell you the weather and traffic, and whatever else you set up.
Choosing apps and CarPlay as a source on my car system, I asked Alexa for directions to the park where I was walking my dogs. It would be muddy, so I requested the names of local pet dog washes and found out how late they would be open by asking for the hours.
A friend called, and I said, “Alexa, answer the call.” My friend wanted to go to the movies later. I told her I’d call her back, then asked Alexa to check my calendar. Next, when I inquired, Alexa recited a list of what movies were playing locally and when they were playing. (Note that Alexa incorrectly told me Avatar wasn’t playing nearby.) I confirmed that it was the original actors in Antman and the Wasp Quantumania and told Alexa to message my friend about meeting me at the theater. Alexa doesn’t send written text messages. Instead, it sends a link to hear a voice message.
That reminded me, and I put popcorn on my shopping list. Asking for my current audible book, Alexa opened the app to read the end of the chapter where I’d left off.
Alexa’s next feature I tested blew me away. The dog park has miles of trails, and after walking for hours, I needed to figure out the best way back to the parking lot. I tapped “Find My Car” in the Alexa app under the Alexa Auto device.
Without marking where I park my car, Find My Car works to show me a pin of where my car is in the grocery store parking lot, but it needs to be more precise. In the dog park, where I could not see the parking area, I could tap directions under Find My Car, and a Google map directed me down the correct paths/trails to take me back to my car. Kudos to both Alexa and Google maps. It is accurate and better than Apple Watch’s Waypoint, which backtracks the way you came if you remember to set it when leaving your car.
Back at the car, I got directions home. On the way, I played the Song Quiz skill. Luckily, I still have the free trial, as premium Song Quiz, Jeopardy!, and other interactive games can cost $10 or more monthly. I turned on the lights at home and unlocked the front door before even getting out of the car.
It’s been said that Alexa Echo Auto is a niche product and that CarPlay or Android Auto are good enough. For under $50, the Echo Auto holds its own and offers many more benefits.
Should You Buy Echo Auto 2?
This second-generation model has been dramatically improved from the first model. It responds quicker, is more reliable, and can hear a voice command even when the defrost is blaring or windows are open. It’s small and discreet, and it’s worth the upgrade.
You don’t have to buy a fancy new car to get the latest smart features.
Obsidian finally feels complete.
Turn these settings on, and your iPhone will be so much better than before.
One casual AI chat exposed how vulnerable I was.
My foolproof plan is to use Windows 10 until 2030, with the latest security updates.
OneDrive is one of the best, but it has a catch.
