What Hi-Fi?

Amazon Echo Dot (5th Generation)

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Smart speaker | £55 | whf.cm/EchoDot5

Smart speakers are becoming more and more integrated into our daily lives. No, we haven’t quite arrived at the point at which all aspects of our domestic existence can be governed by a series of brusque commands to Alexa or Siri, like something from 2001: A Space Odyssey, but voice-controlled speakers hooked up to the wi-fi aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

Amazon has been at the forefront of the smart speaker explosion, its Alexa AI assistant now practically synonymous with the whole concept of smart domestic audio. Apple’s own effort in the form of Siri in the HomePod speakers is one of the few that can challenge Jeff Bezos’s bid to dominate the so-called home of tomorrow. But Alexa

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