Kitsound Voice One

Smart speaker that sounds average

Bigger than the Amazon Echo, which it competes with, this fabric-covered Alexa smart speaker has a distinctive shape and places the obligatory LED ring on the front rather than the top, so you’ll be able to see it better if you put the unit on a shelf rather than a sideboard or kitchen counter. Turning the ring adjusts the volume, although the light merely flashes to show it’s responding, rather than dimming or brightening to reflect the level, which would have been helpful. As well as a button to mute the microphones when you feel like chatting without broadcasting your thoughts to a server somewhere in the US, there’s another to switch between smart speaker operation and audio input via Bluetooth or a 3.5mm jack.

In Alexa mode, the Voice One does everything Alexa can do, such as answering random questions, operating compatible home-automation accessories and streaming music from your favourite online service (after a bit of juggling between their apps and the Alexa app on your Apple or Android device to get it working). As with other non-amazon speakers, you can’t voice-chat with other Alexa users and you’re stuck with ‘Alexa’ as the word that activates the unit: if you have a family member called Alexa, they’ll just have to change their name.

A graphic equaliser feature and remote control help to justify the Voice One’s price, but at over £25 more than an Echo, it didn’t sound any better to us.