Pros & Cons
-
- Easy to install and use
- Dimmable
- Tap control
- Interacts with other smart devices via Alexa routines
-
- Light could be brighter
- Requires Echo device for voice control
- Lacks IFTTT support
Amazon Echo Glow Specs
| Base Type | Standalone |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi |
| Dimmable | |
| Geofencing/Location Services | |
| Integrations | Amazon Alexa |
| Light Color | Color |
| Light Color | White |
| Light Color Temperature | 2,600K |
| Output | 100 |
| Scheduling | |
| Wattage | 7 |
The Amazon Echo Glow ($29.99) is a kid-friendly smart light that cycles through 16 colors with a tap of your hand. This smallish orb-shaped lamp is easy to get up and running, works with Amazon's FreeTime service, and can be programmed to follow Alexa routines that allow it to interact with other Alexa-enabled products. That said, you'll need a separate Alexa device to control the Glow with your voice as it lacks a speaker and microphone, and it's not bright enough to be used for anything other than mood lighting or a colorful night-light.
Design and Features
About the size of a softball, the Glow is a round white LED lamp with a flat base and a frosted white light lens. It measures 3.9 inches around and has a hardwired USB power cord and an Action button.
(unknown)The Glow can display 16 colors including a warmish white (2600K) and variations of blue, green, orange, red, and yellow. It even has a salmon color. The dimmable bulb only puts out 100 lumens, which is fine for use as a night-light or for subtle mood lighting effects, but not nearly bright enough to illuminate a room. There are several ways to change colors; through the mobile app, with Alexa voice commands (if you connect it to another Echo device with a microphone), and using Alexa routines. You can also simply tap the lens—each time you tap it, the Glow will cycle through to the next color in the palette.
Despite its name, the Echo Glow isn't an Echo speaker. You can control it with the Alexa app, but it doesn't have a microphone, and even if it did, it lacks the technology that allows you to control it directly with your voice. However, it does have a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio that lets you connect it to an Echo speaker or other Alexa-enabled device so you can control it using voice commands.
The lamp supports the kid-friendly FreeTime subscription service, and it offers a Rainbow Timer that uses colors to help motivate kids to complete tasks like homework or brushing their teeth on time. It also supports Alexa Routines that allow it to integrate with other smart home devices that are linked to your Alexa account including indoor/outdoor cameras, thermostats, and video doorbells. Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, and IFTTT applets aren't supported, however.
(unknown)The Glow uses the same Alexa app all other Alexa devices. When you launch the app, tap Devices at the bottom of the screen, tap Lights, then tap the tab with the name of your Glow lamp. This opens a screen with an on/off button, a brightness slider, a Color tab, a Mode tab, and a button labeled Create A Routine.
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Tap the Set button on the Color tab to select a color and tap the Mode button to select a lighting effect including Campfire, Color Flow, Disco, Firetruck, Mood Light, Siren, and Underwater. There are also seasonal lighting effects for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Valentine's Day, as well as a Solid Color choice. Tap the Create A Routine button to create schedules, have the Glow react to your phone's location, and to make it work with other smart home devices that are linked to your Alexa. In the upper right corner is a gear icon that opens a settings screen where you can change Wi-Fi settings, view firmware information, and disable the light.
Installation and Performance
The Echo Glow is easy to install, but you'll have to download the Alexa app and create an account if you don't already have one. I plugged the Glow into a power outlet, opened the app, and tapped Devices in the lower right corner. I then tapped the plus icon to add a device, selected Light, then selected Amazon Echo. I used my phone's camera to scan the QR code on the bottom of the device, and the app automatically connected the Glow to the same Wi-Fi network used by my phone. The Glow was connected immediately and I was given the option of adding it to a group or skipping this step. I gave the light a name and came to a screen that required me to enter my Amazon password and the CVV code from the credit card associated with my account (there are no charges to your card, but this information is required to prove you're an adult).
(unknown)Next, I was presented with a Parental Consent agreement that lets you use the Glow as part of Amazon's kid's services such FreeTime. By agreeing to this, you're allowing Amazon to collect information about your child or children including their name, birthday, and email address. This also gives Amazon permission to access your child's photos, videos, and location information. Once I agreed to the above terms, the Glow installation was complete.
The light delivered nice soft colors in testing, but as previously mentioned, it's not very bright. That said, cycling through the color palette using tap control is easy, as is changing colors and brightness levels using Alexa voice commands and the mobile app.
The lighting Modes worked nicely; I particularly like the Campfire and Color Flow effects. I created an Alexa routine to have the Glow turn on daily in the afternoon with the color set to blue and it followed this routine without fail. It also had no trouble following my Alexa routine to have the Glow turn on with a red color whenever an Arlo Pro 3 camera detected motion.