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This review is broken down into two parts. Part 1 is short and sweet, while Part 2 is more detailed.
PART 1:
The all new Echo Pop (2023) is a stylish looking speaker, available in several colors with similar sound to the Echo Dot, but not as loud. Both the Echo Dot and New Echo POP are designed to be used in smaller rooms. The Echo Pop sounds good for its size however there is minimal bass and it doesn't get very loud. For better sound you can use 2 Echo Pops and Pair them in Stereo which greatly improves this speakers sound performance but at a twice the cost. The Echo Dot (baseball looking speaker) sound slightly better but has other features such as tap gestures, temperature sensor and option for a built in LED clock display.
The Echo Pop is perfect for someone who wants a slightly smaller speaker and wants added style, color and flair. Both the Dot and Pop sound similar but the dot will go louder so the Pop is for small rooms and more of a convenience speaker for smart home control, timers, weather, etc ... as opposed to listening to music.
Overall I like the Echo Pop a look. I prefer the LOOK of the POP and like the color choices. The sound is decent for it's size but a bit overpriced for a music speaker. If you're buying a speaker for music get the larger, full sized Echo Smart Speaker. The echo POP is perfect for kids where they can have their own colourful smart speaker that can't be turned up too loud so the music is blaring throughout the house. Again as a small, personal speaker it's great. Kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, and personal office desk speaker are the obvious choices for this stylish smart speaker. The microphone is excellent and if you can pick it up on sale it's a great value priced Smart Speaker. I would recommend and would purchase another one for use as a Stereo Pair when they are on sale.
PART 2:
I have owned all the Echo Speakers from the past decade. In the product lineup the Echo Pop is in the middle between the Echo Flex and Echo Dot. The Echo POP is bigger and sounds better than the Echo Flex but not quite as good as the Echo Dot.
The Echo Pop looks better and is much more stylish than any of the other echo speakers.
The microphones on the Echo pop are sensitive and work well even from across the room or when the music is full blast.
The sound is good considering the size of the POP but it does lack bass and volume. I was surprised that the Echo Pop did not distort too much at loud volume levels with lots of base. That's partly because there is not a lot of bass with this speaker to begin with and it processes the sound to give you the most volume it can while cutting back the bass the louder you turn the volume up.
MISSING FEATURES:
The Echo Pop is $15 less than the Echo Dot, however you do give up a number of features and a bit of bass and volume for the price drop. There is No Free Lunch here .... Yes the Echo POP is lower priced but it does not have the temperature sensor, EERO mesh Wi-Fi access point feature, tapping and touch features and the option for a clock. The temperature sensor can be used to trigger home automation rules. If you have an EERO Wi-Fi mesh network the Echo Dot 5th gen can be used as a wireless access point. The tap and touch feature can be useful to tap to play or stop an alarm for example. If you have any need or value for these features then the Echo Dot would be a better smart speaker choice.
RECOMMENDATION:
I think the Echo POP will become one of Amazon's Best Selling Smart Speakers, not because it sounds great, but because it looks so good and has decent sound for its size. The vast majority of smart speaker users probably don't need the temperature sensor, EERO network integration and tap/touch capability. Let's face it, most of us want to talk to our smart speaker and don't ever touch it. I can't remember when I'm touched any of my smart speakers. Voice commands are generally the way most of use will interface with our smart speakers.
I would recommend the Echo Pop, especially if it goes on sale. The sound from the Echo Pop is much better in stereo so if you can afford two, I would recommend buying two and hooking them up as a stereo pair. While the Echo Dot is not Amazon's Best Sounding Speaker it may become the most popular ... time will tell.
