As smart as your home assistants are, they’re not always particularly mobile. Alexa and Assistant, after all, are generally tethered to your smart speaker, which means that you have to bring yourself to them when you want to issue a command. But lifestyle technology brand Ninety7 has been bucking that trend for the past year, and now, is making smart home mobility easier still with its latest product. Meet the Sky, a new portable battery base for the Amazon Echo 2 that brings your smart speaker to you.
The Sky comes on the heels of the company’s previous success with its top-selling battery-powered speaker Vaux, which was released a little over a year ago to rave reviews. As a portable combination speaker and dock for the second-generation Amazon Echo Dot, the Vaux helped smart home enthusiasts cut the cord, and now, the Sky is here to continue that practice. The powerful, lithium-ion battery is rechargeable and allows you to enjoy eight hours of unplugged Echo 2 use. The battery base comes with four LED lights on the front so that you can easily see how much juice you have left, and there is a carrying handle for maximum portability. But don’t confuse your Sky-outfitted Echo 2 for a travel mug — the aesthetics are oddly similar.
In order to install the Sky, you will need to remove the Amazon Echo 2’s original factory sleeve and its rubber nub, upon which you should find Echo 2 power pins. Then, insert the Echo into Sky’s battery sleeve and you should be equipped with mobile functionality for hours on end. Plus, the Sky makes the Echo 2 a bit taller and even with the coffee cup handle, quite a bit sleeker, too.
“With the popularity of voice assistants dominating the market, the need to move beyond the power outlet is becoming more and more desired by consumers,” Kevin Brennan, CEO and co-founder of Ninety7, said in a statement. “The Amazon Echo 2 is a robust smart speaker with quality audio, and with Sky, you can elevate the experience even further with cordless portability.”
Sky can now be pre-ordered from the Ninety7 website for the early bird price of $50. Once this pre-sale period ends, the eventual retail price will increase to $60. Pre-sold units are expected to begin shipping in early June, just in time for your outdoor shenanigans.
