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Amazon Echo Dot review: The 5th time is definitely the charm
A nightstand-friendly smart speaker that's versatile, affordable and incredibly easy to use. The clock version is even better.
Amazon all but pioneered the smart-home speaker ('sup, Alexa?), so it's no surprise that the company's 5th-generation Echo Dot excels in virtually every area. It sounds good for its size, performs a staggering array of functions and costs only $50. The only thing better is the Echo Dot with Clock, which runs $10 more; I'll discuss that option below. While I wouldn't make this the centerpiece of my home stereo system, it's a perfect — and very worthwhile — addition to a nightstand, guest bedroom, small office or anywhere else a small speaker is sufficient. Here's my Amazon Echo Dot (5th gen) review.
PROS: Small enough to fit nearly anywhere; low price (and often on sale); good sound; compatible with a huge range of devices; doubles as an Eero Wi-Fi extender
CONS: Not great at high volumes; Alexa app needs work; power cord color doesn't match device
VERDICT: Whether you're just getting started creating a smart home or looking to extend it, the Echo Dot is an affordable, versatile smart speaker that's hard to beat.
Amazon Echo Dot design
True to its name, the Dot is shaped like, well, you know. An orb, really, one that's compact enough to find a home in any of the aforementioned locations. It's available in charcoal, white and blue, and it can work as a standalone device or pair with any other Echo speakers you might already have. (Two Dots, for example, one on each end table, would give you true stereo sound and double the audio power.)
The Dot has four buttons: two for volume, one that mutes the always-on microphones and one multi-function "action" button (used for things like answering or ending a phone call or manually activating Alexa). These are all fairly small and hard to identify by touch alone, but the whole point of this device is to use voice commands. That said, if you end up using the Dot as an alarm clock, you can simply tap the device to snooze it; no button-fumbling required.
Amazon Echo Dot features
Assuming you've been on this planet since 2014, you should have at least passing familiarity with Alexa, the onboard smart assistant. She can give you the time, date, weather forecast, daily news, sports scores and more. She can set alarms, reminders and timers. She can play music, make calls, send text messages, order stuff (from Amazon, natch), help with recipes, help with math, roll virtual dice and on and on. Needless to say, she's quite capable.
Alexa also works with a huge range of smart-home devices — and not just from Amazon. A simple voice command can, for example, switch on a light, lock a door, turn off the TV or even check if the laundry is dry. (These and other features require additional hardware, of course.)
Like books? The Kindle Read Aloud feature will turn any e-book in your Kindle library into an audiobook; just ask Alexa to read it to you. And that's just one of several accessibility features the Dot offers to users who may have issues with vision, speech, hearing or mobility. (It's also one reason Amazon Echo products top the charts in our list of the best smart speakers for seniors.)
There's one more feature I find both surprising and very welcome: If you have an Eero mesh network, the Dot can function as a range-extending beacon. That's pretty amazing considering that a standalone Eero beacon costs $120. Granted, the Dot doesn't provide the same speed or coverage, but for something like an office or spare bedroom where Wi-Fi might be weak to begin with, it may indeed help. It's like a freebie extra for Eero users.
Amazon Echo Dot performance
Make no mistake, this is a small speaker. As such, it's not going to make a room sound like a concert hall. But for a small space like a bedroom or den, it's perfectly good, especially for the likes of what you might want to play in there: a low-volume romantic playlist, a mindfulness meditation, a podcast, news radio, white noise to help you fall asleep and so on.
I listened to those kinds of items and more and found the Dot's audio quality to be quite solid overall, especially considering its size. At maximum volume, some music tracks sounded a bit harsh, but that's true of a lot of small speakers. If music is an important part of the equation for you and you want a bump in both power and fidelity, consider the slightly larger Amazon Echo ($100) or the excellent, designed-for-music Echo Studio ($200). (Note: The latter lacks Eero capabilities.)
One minor gripe: In my testing, the tap-to-pause feature didn't work especially well; it was difficult to find the "sweet spot," and I felt if I tapped too hard I'd accidentally press the microphone-mute button, which is top-center on the Dot — right where you're meant to tap. But, again, just use your voice: "Alexa, pause."
Amazon's Alexa app, which is necessary for the initial setup process, lets you set up speaker groups (assuming you have more than one Echo), control music and podcasts, manage devices and more, but it's a messy, unintuitive tool that I try to avoid using. Thankfully, although I do have multiple Echo devices around the house, I find I don't need to use it much.
Should you buy the Amazon Echo Dot?
The Dot competes with a couple other small smart-speakers: the Apple HomePod Mini ($99) and Google Nest Mini ($50). The former is twice the price and doesn't work with nearly as many smart-home devices or music streaming services; the latter hasn't been upgraded for nearly four years. That said, the HomePod sounds a little better, while the Nest is better at fielding general information queries (because Google, natch).
That said, I consider the Echo Dot an excellent device, one that's incredibly useful and versatile. Whether it's your first foray into smart speakers or simply an extension of an existing smart-home setup, you'll find it an amazing asset. Plus, at only $50 it's quite affordable — and Amazon discounts it regularly, so consider waiting for the next sale.
If you're planning to put one on your nightstand, it's worth upgrading to the Echo Dot with Clock. It displays not only the time, but also a scrolling ticker with song titles, weather info and more. That's an extra $10 well spent.
For just $10 more, you get everything that's great about the standard Dot, plus an embedded LED display that shows the time, weather, song titles and more. It's definitely worth it if this is headed to your nightstand.
