While it feels like every company at CES has something to add to Amazon’s Alexa, it’s refreshing to see Smartē has something to take away from Alexa — its listening ability. Smartē’s Mute+ is a voice canceller that prevents Alexa from hearing everything you have to say. Plop it on top of an Echo, set the duration you want Alexa on time-out and you’Put Alexa on time-out with Smartē Mute+
ll have yourself a little more privacy.
The Mute+ is about the size of an Echo dot. It perfectly cups the top of an Amazon Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot and there’s nothing to screw in, latch, or buckle. There’s a center button to set the amount of mute time in increments of 10 minutes, and up to 60 minutes. The device takes three AAA batteries and is very straight forward.
While Echo does have its own mute functionality, the Mute+ gives you two things: First, confidence. You can leave Echo’s mic on, call for Alexa, and notice that Alexa can’t hear you with Mute+ enabled. And secondly, you get a timer. So, unlike Echo’s mute, you can tell Alexa to mind its own business for a sensitive phone call or conversation. The technology supposedly works much like noise-canceling headphones. It provides an anti-noise that keeps Alexa from interpreting your voice.
Pricing in at $24.99, we can’t say whether or not it’s a good purchase. If you have trust issues and don’t feel like unplugging Alexa, it could be a good purchase. If you have Echos all over the house, then you may have a tougher (or more expensive) time getting complete privacy that you can count on.
The Smartē Mute+ is not available on Amazon, but it’s available to purchase through mysmartelife.com. It comes in black or white.