As Alexa continues its steady march towards all of our beloved devices, we wonder each week which new iteration will pop-up next. Today, it is the new iHome IACS16 Alarm Clock. This old-school take on your bedside timepiece delivers a wide range of modern day features.
That includes Alexa voice assistance, along with support for Amazon Music, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Of course it also has the expected USB ports and a built-in speaker, checking most of the boxes we’d hope to find on a product like this in 2017.
iHome’s latest release looks a lot like your traditional alarm clock radio. It’s a black rectangle with a LCD display, buttons on top for playback controls and a nice illuminated base. Users can choose from a range of different colors to set the mood as needed.
You’ll notice the differences start to pile up when it comes to its smart features. Wi-Fi connectivity brings in Alexa services along with the popular streamers we mentioned above, including Spotify Connect capabilities. Users will be able to all up Amazon’s voice assistant thanks to an always-on far-field microphone that has become standard on Alexa devices. Bluetooth capabilities rounds out the list of features if your favorite streaming services isn’t supported natively.
Around back you’ll find a single 2.1A USB port for powering an iPhone or other mobile device. It would’ve been nice to see iHome reach for QuickCharge capabilities here to make this alarm clock a bit more appetizing for Android users.
The iAVS16 is an innovative bedside clock with Far Field Amazon Alexa Voice Service (AVS) to play music, audio books, and more. Control smart home devices, get weather, news, traffic and more. Far Field Voice Activation for Alexa commands from anywhere in the room. Streams thousands of music stations via Wi-Fi audio from Spotify, Pandora, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Tune in and others.
If you were hoping that the new iHome IACS16 Alarm Clock was going to be an affordable entry-point into the world of Alexa, we’re sorry, it’s not. Priced from $150 at launch, this device is going to be a tough sell for many that can simply attach an Echo Dot to their existing alarm clock. We’ve yet to see any listings pop up at Amazon, but you can expect pre-orders to launch soon.
If you’re after a low-cost Alexa Alarm Clock, we recommend checking out the VOBOT Smart Alarm Clock. It currently sells for under $49 at Amazon with a unique cone-shaped design with a touchscreen. Features include a built-in 5W speaker and 3.5 mm AUX-OUT, providing rich sound and music from Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn with no need for extra devices.
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