Fabriq
US$50 / thefabriq.com
What’s the story?
Rather than staying faithful to Amazon’s hardware, Alexa has decided to play the field, popping up in all manner of devices. The Fabriq is one of them – a Bluetooth speaker, in fact – and it’s really rather good. At $50 it costs the same as the Echo Dot but is portable, more stylish and far better connected, with Bluetooth, Wi-Fiand Apple AirPlay all on board.
Is it any good?
It’s clear to see how this cutey – a US import only for now – turned Alexa’s head. It’s clad in seductively fluffy fabric, offers much better audio quality than the Echo Dot, and opens up your connectivity options. But despite all that, the Fabriq just can’t compete with the Dot, mainly because…