As an avid technophile and diehard smart home enthusiast, I‘ve tested nearly every Alexa-enabled speaker on the market. Some have been clear winners, elevating Amazon‘s voice assistant with premium sound and nifty features. Others, like the ill-fated Amazon Tap, were doomed out of the gate.
Originally billed as an Alexa speaker "you can take anywhere," the portable Tap aimed to free Alexa from the confines of kitchen counters and bedside tables. But a confounding interface and lackluster sales quickly turned the Tap into an afterthought in Amazon‘s burgeoning Echo lineup.
So where did it all go wrong for the Tap? And what can its failure teach us about the fiercely competitive smart speaker market? Let‘s take a deep dive into the brief history of this forgotten device and unpack key lessons from a retail insider‘s perspective.
Table Of Contents
- Tap‘s Last Dance: A Post-Mortem of Key Missteps
- A Closer Look at Tap‘s Hardware and Performance
- Untangling the Ultra-Competitive Smart Speaker Market
- Assessing Amazon‘s Smart Speaker Strategy
- Does Amazon Have Another Portable Alexa Up Its Sleeve?
- Alexa On the Go: Today‘s Top Picks for Portable Smart Speakers
Tap‘s Last Dance: A Post-Mortem of Key Missteps
When Amazon first unveiled the Tap in March 2016, expectations were sky high. The portable, Alexa-enabled speaker promised to fulfill every gadget lover‘s dream of bringing our favorite virtual assistant everywhere we roam.
But despite an initial wave of buzz, it soon became clear the Tap was out of step with what made its Echo brethren so great: frictionless, hands-free voice control. Unlike other Alexa devices which sprang to life with a simple wake word, the Tap required physically pushing a button before every query. This crucial flaw turned an on-the-go asset into an on-the-fritz annoyance.
Even the device‘s name was a misnomer. As Wired noted in its 5/10 review, "‘Amazon Tap‘ is a terrible name for this product…the point is specifically that you don‘t need to tap it" once a hands-free mode was enabled via software update. Confusion around the Tap‘s core functionality likely left many potential buyers scratching their heads.
Design-wise, the Tap felt out of place next to the sleek curves of the flagship Echo and the minimalist charm of the Dot. Its angular, 6.5 x 2.6-inch frame and 6 colorways were more Bluetooth boombox than smart home chic. "It‘s mostly just a hunk of plastic that plays music," The Verge‘s review bluntly declared.
A Closer Look at Tap‘s Hardware and Performance
Under the hood, the Tap‘s hardware also failed to impress discerning audiophiles. The 360-degree omni-directional speaker with dual 1.5-inch drivers and twin passive radiators pumped out enough volume to fill a small room or picnic area, but audio quality fell short of premium peers like Bose and Sonos.
According to CNET‘s Tap review, the bass lacked kick even at max volume, while the treble range sounded tinny at times. Overall the sound was "passable" for casual background listening but lacked the pristine presence of an Echo or the portability of a UE Boom.
Battery life, at least, was respectable. The 2000 mAh Li-ion battery powered up to 8-9 hours of continuous tunes on a single charge. An included charging cradle made for easy docking when the Tap needed extra juice.
Connectivity options were par for the course. In addition to Wi-Fi for Alexa voice control, the Tap could pair via Bluetooth to a phone or tablet for standard wireless audio streaming. Dual-antenna Wi-Fi aimed to boost signal range compared to single-antenna rivals.
Untangling the Ultra-Competitive Smart Speaker Market
In theory, the Tap‘s hybrid smarts and portability should have made it a smash hit. But in the cutthroat smart speaker market, it faced an uphill battle against big-name brands with big marketing budgets and decades of audio expertise.
For context, the smart speaker category was still in its infancy when the Tap launched. Amazon itself had kickstarted the craze with the original Echo in late 2014, and by 2016 was racing against the clock to solidify its early lead before behemoths like Google and Apple joined the fray.
Complicating matters further, several portable alternatives to the Tap from established audio brands hit the market around the same time. Most notably, the UE Megablast and Blast offered superior sound, battery life, ruggedness, and hands-free Alexa to boot.
According to a Strategy Analytics report, 4.2 million smart speakers shipped in Q2 2016, up a whopping 300% from 0.9 million a year earlier. But Amazon took home a commanding 82% market share, thanks largely to the best-selling Dot and full-size Echo.
As smart speaker sales continued to surge in the coming years, the Tap failed to crack Amazon‘s top-seller list. In a major milestone, 2019 became the first year smart speaker ownership reached over 100 million units globally, per data from Futuresource Consulting.
Assessing Amazon‘s Smart Speaker Strategy
Against the backdrop of intense competition and runaway growth in the smart speaker space, Amazon likely discontinued the underperforming Tap to streamline its Echo lineup and refocus resources on new form factors like the Echo Show and Echo Look.
Without official sales data, it‘s impossible to say exactly how many units the Tap moved in its two-year run. But based on its conspicuous absence from Amazon‘s quarterly earnings reports, it‘s safe to assume the device was a rare dud for the retail giant.
In many ways, the Tap‘s failure was more a reflection of Amazon‘s scattershot hardware strategy at the time than an indictment of the concept itself. With its Prime-fueled cash cow to fall back on, the company has never shied away from throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks.
"Amazon has a history of aggressively experimenting with new products and killing off the ones that don‘t work," noted Ben Schachter, an analyst at Macquarie. "They‘ve had some real hits, but they‘ve also had more than a few misses along the way."
By contrast, rival Google opted for a more measured approach when it eventually entered the smart speaker race. "We wanted to make sure we took time to get it right," said Rishi Chandra, VP of product management for Google‘s Home division, in a dig at Amazon‘s fast-fail mentality.
To be fair, the Tap did get a few things right. Its grab-and-go ethos and no-frills design foreshadowed the rise of ultra-portable smart speakers like the Sonos Roam and Bose SoundLink Revolve years later. And its hands-free mode, while kludgy to enable, ended up becoming a standard feature on battery-powered Alexa devices.
Does Amazon Have Another Portable Alexa Up Its Sleeve?
Looking ahead, it‘s clear Amazon has no intention of ceding any ground in the smart speaker wars. With over 100,000 Alexa-compatible smart home devices and countless third-party Alexa integrations, the company‘s virtual assistant is more ubiquitous than ever.
Amazon‘s own Echo hardware also continues to push the boundaries of what‘s possible with a smart speaker. The 4th-gen Echo and Echo Dot sport a radical new spherical design, while the Show 10 features a screen that automatically swivels to face you as you move around the room.
But one thing still missing from the Echo lineup is a true portable option to rival the likes of the Sonos Roam or UE Megablast. Could Amazon be gearing up for a second go at an on-the-go Alexa speaker?
While anything‘s possible, the tea leaves suggest it‘s not a top priority. Amazon‘s recent moves signal a greater focus on expanding Alexa‘s reach in the connected car, wearables, and hospitality markets than on portable audio per se.
Still, with the runaway success of battery-powered Bluetooth speakers, it‘s hard to imagine Amazon leaving money on the table. A next-gen portable Echo with beefier sound, better battery life, and a more intuitive interface could be just the ticket to win back the Tap‘s lost market share.
Alexa On the Go: Today‘s Top Picks for Portable Smart Speakers
For now, those who want to take Alexa on their adventures have plenty of great third-party options to choose from. As a picky shopper, audio snob, and smart home super user, here are my top recommendations based on hands-on testing:
Sonos Roam ($179)
With the Roam, Sonos shrunk its signature sound into a pint-sized package you can literally throw in a backpack. Automatic Trueplay tuning optimizes the audio for your surroundings, while an IP67 waterproof rating and 10-hour battery life make it ready for anything. Seamless setup, AirPlay 2 support, and your choice of Alexa or Google Assistant round out this pocket-friendly pick.
Bose Portable Smart Speaker ($349)
Leave it to Bose to cram concert-quality audio and every bell and whistle into a 2.3-pound powerhouse. The aptly named Portable Smart Speaker pumps out 360-degree sound with thunderous bass and glistening highs for up to 12 hours on a charge. It‘s equally at home indoors and out, with an anodized aluminum enclosure that resists dents, dings, and spills. Alexa, Google Assistant, and AirPlay 2 are all along for the ride.
Ultimate Ears Megablast ($179)
If you want to make a splash, literally, it doesn‘t get much better than the UE Megablast. This burly Bluetooth speaker is waterproof, dustproof, and drop-proof, with an IP67 rating that can withstand full submersion. It‘s also seriously loud, with a max volume of 93 dBC and 360-degree audio that sounds stellar even at a distance. Hands-free Alexa is just the icing on the cake.
Conclusion
Amazon may have missed the mark with the Tap, but its legacy lives on in today‘s best portable smart speakers. As the category continues to evolve at a breakneck pace, it‘s anyone‘s guess what the future holds for Alexa on the go.
One thing‘s for certain: Amazon won‘t be caught flat-footed again. With deep pockets, an unrivaled logistics network, and a proven track record of innovation, the retail giant has all the tools to tap into the next big thing before the competition catches up.
For now, we‘ll have to pour one out for the Tap, a noble experiment that burned out too soon. But who knows, maybe one day Amazon will take another stab at a battery-powered Alexa speaker and get it right. Until then, we‘ll keep our eyes peeled and our ears open for the next game-changer in portable audio.
