Smart speakers are a new category and India is gradually warming up to its concept. Amazon had the first-mover advantage with its range of Echo branded smart speakers last year before Google played its card with its range of Home smart speakers earlier this year. These speakers start at Rs 4,499 for base no-frills variants and go up to Rs 14,999 for the fully-loaded ones, which may put the technology still out of reach for most. Luckily, owning one of these right now is pretty light on the wallet — thanks to the various sales going on the e-commerce platforms.
The Prime Day Sale on Amazon and Big Shopping Days sale on Flipkart are offering super sweet deals on smart speakers. Let’s begin with Amazon’s Echo series, which is only available on Amazon.in. The e-tailer is offering massive discounts on all the Echo devices — the base Echo Dot is now up for grabs at Rs 2,499 instead of Rs 4,499, offering a discount of 45 per cent. The slightly superior Echo, which retails for Rs 9,999, is now being sold for Rs 6,999. The Echo Spot, which is equipped with a display, is available for Rs 8,999 instead of Rs 12,999. The Echo Plus isn’t getting any discounts as of now, retailing for Rs 14,999.
Meanwhile, Flipkart is offering massive discounts on the whole Google Home lineup in India. The Google Home Mini, which was launched at a price of Rs 4,499, is now selling at a discounted price of Rs 2,499. The standard Google Home speaker is also retailing for Rs 6,999 instead of the actual Rs 9,999 price tag.
Do note that these offers are limited — Flipkart’s offers will last till July 19th whereas the Amazon’s Prime Day sale will last on to 17th July. Post the sale, prices of these products will be reverted to their original figures.
The Amazon Echo smart speakers run on Alexa voice assistant whereas Google’s Home series of speakers utilise the Google Assistant. Both the speakers are equally capable — they can schedule reminders, play songs from curated playlists, connect and control to other smart home appliances, and much more. The speakers require an active Wi-Fi network for most of their smart functionalities.
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