Alexa Echo Dot Kids in Test: A pure misunderstanding

Let’s start as a regular user: with setup. to me Echo Dot Kids from Amazon setting, it is necessary for Alexa to learn the child’s voice. Voice ID must be set up for this. On the one hand, this is done via the Alexa app on the parent’s smartphone and the simultaneous presence of the child. The application asks the child to repeat certain sentences. The problem with our test: The roughly five-year-old boy tried the setup routine several times with his dad.

I tried Amazon Echo Dot Kids

But even the training sentence “Alexa, let’s play something” Alexa didn’t recognize despite repeated attempts. Either Alexa didn’t even recognize the word Alexa triggered or it’s supposed to be way too loud in the area – in a perfectly quiet apartment. Even the crutch to which the father uttered the trigger word “Alexa” and the son repeated the sentence did not help. Alexa did not recognize the sentence. Maybe also because of the “play” with the “sh” sound. This is a big problem for many children when learning to speak.

The result of the many failures: the test kid lost interest in Alexa’s kids and walked away disappointed. Amazon He himself advertises the smart speaker for children from three to twelve years old. However, we suspect this amounts to an unqualified assessment. The snag is that Alexa has to recognize the child. So the child has to adapt to the product. In addition to possible language problems, the child also has a natural reluctance to speak to strangers on command. This also applies to technology, as we have noted.

Amazon could have solved it better if it was a microphone sound echo DotKids listens the moment parents open the routine on their smartphone and records what the child says. The product then adapts to the child – the smarter version.

Second attempt – a few weeks later

The kid’s frustration ran deep, and just a few weeks later we dared him for a second try. The child was very upset at the first attempts. The kid-friendly Echo Dot with a dragon design got frustrated at being in the corner. During the waiting period, the child’s speech also improved. However, the installation wasn’t worry-free this time either – but it was a success. That Alexa couldn’t pronounce the baby’s name correctly – for free.

Even if the setup worked this time, our child and Alexa didn’t want to form a true friendship. Alexa simply refused commands like “Alexa, turn on Teddy’s radio”. Specially advertised Alex Kids apps require specific commands that even a five-year-old would find difficult to remember. Since writing down commands for a child unable to read is useless, interest in the Echo Dot in designing a dragon quickly faded. The idea that the child even without it my mom And Dad can play and learn with the voice assistant fails.

The child’s mother spoke during the test: Alexa recently stopped understanding her in the living room and refuses smart home control commands. Mystery solved: Her voice was never trained on the Amazon system and now the AI ​​assumes the female voice belongs to the child. But the sounds really have nothing to do with each other. On the other hand, the child profile was not allowed to control the smart home at that time. These settings about file Alexa parent dashboard possible.

Children’s echo ignores adults

But even without these sonic confusions, a friendship between parents and the kids’ Echo Dot didn’t work either. Because the little smart ball refused smart home control commands even if spoken by an adult who had a stored audio file. In our opinion, children’s echo points generally refused to communicate with adults. And so we followed up with our child’s Alexa assessment for kids: “It could come back again.”

the The Echo Dot for kids costs €69.99 on a regular basis A little more than a “regular” Echo Dot, but an Amazon Kids+ subscription with its listening and learning content is included for a year. This might work for older kids, but for our five-year-old, the content wasn’t fun or constantly inaccessible due to difficult voice commands. After one year, the subscription costs €4.99 per month – in addition to the Prime subscription.

Bottom line: Amazon Echo Dot Kids is not for young children

Of course, this test is purely subjective. But at least our impression is that the Echo Dot Kids isn’t for young children. With older children, the question arises of whether the special edition Echo Dot is actually needed. You definitely “save” Kids + costs for 1 and 2 years carefree in all respectsguarantee Promises to replace dropped devices. But isn’t the Echo Dot plain enough — if it has to be a language assistant in the kids’ room? It also offers enough skills for children. The fact that they don’t do anything stupid with the device should be part of the kids’ media and education skills.

In the end, it’s also clear that every child and every home is different, and there may be children for whom the Echo Dot Kids is the right device. After all, there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee if you don’t like it.