Netgear's 3-in-1 Orbi Voice is a WiFi System with Alexa and Harman audio

By Jacqui Dent

Last updated 02 September 2018

This week at IFA Berlin, Netgear has launched a new addition to its Orbi WiFi System – an Alexa-powered smart speaker with audio from Harman/Kardon that is also a WiFi Satellite. The multi-purpose device is known as Orbi Voice and will be available in Australia by the end of the year.

A lot of smart speakers we've reviewed at WhistleOut have focused on conversational abilities over audio quality, so it's nice to see another device coming onto the market that also produces great sound. Harman Kardon is a premium speaker brand and the Orbi Voice sound demo we were given yesterday at IFA Berlin produced a rich and detailed sound that felt like it was all around you, rather than coming from a single speaker source.

The Orbi Voice can play music from streaming services including Spotify, iHeart Radio, Deezer and Amazon Music and uses four speakers to produce 360 degree sound. It has a 3.5 inch front-facing woofer and 1-inch tweeter, comes with far-field voice recognition and touch volume control.

It also extends your home WiFi

As well as being a smart speaker, of course, the Orbi Voice is also designed to become part of Orbi's WiFi mesh system – a WiFi extension solution for large homes where a single router might struggle to provide full coverage, as well as homes and apartments that, for reasons such as appliance interference, suffer from dead zones.

The Orbi Voice comes with two Ethernet ports if you want a direct line connection, or it can support home WiFi at speeds of up to 3Gbps. Not that you'll be able to get internet at that speed. Right now, the NBN can offer speeds of up to 100Mbps. (That's still plenty fast.)

You will need an Orbi router to get Orbi Voice to work as a WiFi sytem for your home. If you already have one, you can buy Orbi Voice as a stand-alone addition to your kit. Otherwise, Orbi Voice will be available as a bundle with the router. You can also add normal Orbi Satellites (that's the non-speaker kind) to extend coverage to an area where you don't want or need a speaker.

Three-in-one is one-of-a-kind

Left to right: Orbi Satellite, Orbi Voice, Orbi router

"There's nothing like this out there," said Amit Rele, Netgear's Product Management Leader for Home Networking when we spoke to him at IFA Berlin. "A lot of these WiFi systems or extenders, that's all they do. In contrast the smart speakers are smart speakers, but they're basically one thing."

"I know a lot of people that have little smart speakers," he said. "And in order to make it sound good they have to run a wire to a separate speaker. That's two devices that you have to power and think about, clutter up on your desk." And if you need a WiFi system or extender, that's another device and another cost.

But how much does it cost?

We don't have information on Australian pricing yet, but it could be that buying an Orbi Voice and WiFi System could be a cost effective solution for Australians who want or need WiFi extension, a good quality speaker and a Alexa in their home.

Orbi's WiFi system currently retails in Australia at around $528. For that money you'll get an Orbi router and one WiFi satellite. If you were to buy that system and then add a high quality sound smart speaker like the Sonos One to your home, that'd set you back another $299, or $827 total.

By contrast, a new Orbi Mesh System with one router, one satellite and one Orbi Voice will hit UK markets next month for £399 which is AUD$718.60 at the time of writing.

If you want to buy Orbi Voice separately, however, it may not be such a bargain. Again, we don't yet have Australian pricing but the Orbi Voice will sell as a stand-alone in the UK for £279 or AUD$503.48 at the time of writing. It seems the best savings may come in the bundle.

Jacqui Dent travelled to IFA Berlin with travel and accommodation costs contributed by Huawei.