Amazon's Alexa assistant has a variety of skills to show off at home but hasn't yet become widely used outside the house. It's a realization that Motorola is looking to address with its latest Moto Mod, the Moto Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa. Snapping onto the back of the Moto Z with magnets, it essentially turns your phone into a portable Echo.
The Moto Smart Speaker has a 1,530mAh battery and is capable of outputting 8W of sound. According to Motorola, it is possible to get up to 15 hours of battery life out of the speaker under regular use. Four far-field microphones are used to pick up voice commands from a distance.
Designed with an asymmetric backing, the Alexa-enabled accessory allows the phone to be angled towards a user even while the phone or speaker is charging. Although this may make for a somewhat irregular shape when in your pocket, the speaker is reasonably light at 168 grams.
The largest downside to the latest Moto Mod is price. The Moto Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa carries a retail price of $150. Considering that the Amazon Echo, Tap, Echo Spot and Echo Dot all are quite a bit cheaper, this is an add-on reserved for hardcore Motorola / Alexa fans.