John Darko
Voice control of a WiiM device? An outboard Alexa device catches our voice commands and relays them to the cloud, with the returning audio stream routed to the WiiM streamer running on the same data network.
But as of this week, we have an alternative way to control WiiM streams with our voice. WiiM has announced the imminent availability of its Voice Remote 2, a Bluetooth remote control with push-to-talk functionality. With the remote, we can tell Alexa what to play on our WiiM streamer but without the need for an outboard Alexa device.
Inside its aluminium body, the Voice Remote 2 carries a 475mAh rechargeable battery that can be replenished in under an hour via the USB-C socket. It also gives us physical buttons for standby, play/pause, previous/next, volume up/down, mute and input change. Four user-programmable preset buttons allow us to “instantly launch favorite playlists, radio stations, inputs, or device groups. Customize them to adjust EQ settings, switch sources, and more, all with a single press.”
The new remote wand also improves the overall accessibility of WiiM’s streaming devices.
Price? US$39.
Further information: Amazon
