Amazon Echo Dot with Clock review (5th generation, 2022)

There’s a reason why Amazon’s Echo Dot speaker is so beloved. Compact and easy on the eyes, these smart speaker benefits any room in the house and offers an affordable way to add smart home functionality for as little as $50 to $60. And it’s no shame that Amazon was the first to use virtual assistant technology. by Alexa in 2014.

Now in its fifth generation, the latest Echo Dot with Clock is still attractive and affordable, but upgraded with features like better sound quality, temperature sensing, and faster Alexa responses. Plus, it can now double as a Eero . Mesh Wi-Fi Extender for faster home Internet.

I used the Echo Dot with the Clock for two weeks, listening to podcasts and music, snoozing alarms, and glancing at the small LED display for the weather and song title. Even though I already have an Echo Spot and a Display echo in my house and integrated into my smart home functionality, I don’t think I need a Dot with a Clock – but it has proven to be a useful and welcome addition.

If you are the current person Echo Dot fourth generation owners, you may not need to upgrade, although the new information on the LED display is indeed a useful feature. Can’t decide? Here’s what you need to know about the latest Echo Dot with Clock.

At first glance, the Echo Dot with Clock looks a lot like the fourth-generation model, with fabric covering the top half of the spherical device, while the bottom is wrapped in translucent plastic. There are four slightly raised controls at the top for volume, mute, and actions — all of which can be used to activate Alexa — and it comes in Deep Charcoal and Glacier White.

But look closely and you’ll notice that the LED display on the front is now brighter, the screen scrolls so it can show things like the time, the weather, the music you’re listening to, and all sorts of useful information. useful. It may not seem like much, but I find it surprisingly useful.

I used to listen when I asked Alexa what the weather was like for the day, but now I find myself glancing at the screen to see it scroll by the numbers, too. For example, a small rain or cloud icon told me immediately what to expect for the day. You can also check if an alarm has been set by looking for a dot at the bottom, which comes in handy because I frequently fear that I’ve forgotten to ask Alexa to wake me up. Has a display meter that adds $10 to the price (latest Echo Dot is $50 without clock), but I think it’s a worthwhile upgrade.

New sensors for temperature and gestures

Another cool new feature are the Echo Dot’s two new sensors: one for temperature and an accelerometer to use gestures to interact with the speaker. In addition to voice control, you can tap the top of the Dot to do things like play and pause music, and snooze alarms or timers. I was so used to saying, “Alexa, stop the stopwatch” that I had to remind myself that I could just touch it if it was next to me. It works well and is extremely responsive, which is great because sometimes I have to say a lot to give the Echo Spot a command.

As for the temperature sensor, yes, it tells you the temperature of whatever room it lives in. But it turns out this is more useful than it sounds, especially if you have Alexa Process Set Up at your house. For example, this sensor can interact with other smart home devices to turn the overhead fan on or off when the room reaches a certain temperature.

The Echo Dot won’t give you the rich, crisp sound of a more expensive audio device, but it sounds pretty good for a small Bluetooth speaker. The updated fifth-generation model uses larger drivers for clearer vocals and deeper bass.

Aside from Alexa’s statements about the weather and my daily calendar, I mainly use it to play podcasts and audiobooks. I spent a few days streaming music and although it can’t compete with sonos speaker, it is good for casual listening. I found it to deliver powerful, room-filling sound, and while it may not deliver big bass, it doesn’t sound low either. Obviously you won’t get the frequency range of a device with multiple drivers, but its one driver is capable enough.

Of course, if you’re looking for better sound, you can always use Bluetooth to pair the Dot with another device. Echo or Fire TV devices in your home. If you don’t often use sound system, you may find this provides a better audio experience than the TV’s speakers. However, Amazon removed the 3.5mm audio jack from the fifth-generation Echo Dot, so you can’t physically connect it to an even larger speaker.

As an Eero mesh Wi-Fi user, the idea of ​​using the Echo Dot with the Clock to extend my Wi-Fi in my home sounds appealing, but unfortunately I never got to speed it up in a 1,550 tier. square-foot home.

Amazon’s Eero mesh Wi-Fi system uses beacons to transmit and extend Wi-Fi signals throughout the home. How many beacons you use depends on the size of your home. To test this, I updated my Eero router to a newer generation (Eero 6+), replacing the main Eero router in the office as well as the beacon or extender in the middle of my house. My hope is to use the Echo Dot with the Clock to extend coverage even further to the guest bedroom, located at the opposite end.

Amazon says built-in Eero functionality can add up to 1,000 square feet of coverage to your existing Eero mesh Wi-Fi network (it won’t work with any older routers), and supports speeds up to 100Mbps — but my results didn’t support that. While most of my house has download speeds of over 200Mbps and upload speeds of 12, the guest room, as my son repeatedly tells me when he visits, is a dead zone and speed about 40Mbps download and 7 uploads on average. It is enough to power Doorbell with picture at the front door but not enough to avoid loading into the buffer when he streamed the video.

After linking my account in the Alexa app and downloading the update, I connected the Echo Dot and enabled the Wi-Fi extension option. After running multiple tests on my phone using the Speedtest app, as well as on my son’s phone, it seems I’ve actually slowed down instead of accelerated.

When I discussed this with Amazon via email, they mentioned that there can be a number of factors that affect indoor Wi-Fi coverage and performance — including layout, wall thickness, and distance. distance between Eeros. They advised me to change the location of the devices and suggested removing the additional beacon I was using. When I ran the subsequent speed tests, I still didn’t get the expected increase in speed, but at least it didn’t slow things down anymore.

While it doesn’t quite work in my settings, if you know you have a dead zone in your home and you’re an Eero user, there’s a good chance the $60 Echo Dot with Clock could help. . You won’t get the speed and coverage that the additional $99 Eero beacon or $79 Eero extender will provide, but if you’re just trying to extend your signal to reach the door lock smart phones or outdoor video cameras, it’s a more affordable solution, especially if you’re still looking to buy an Echo device.

While Amazon is constantly refreshing its devices, it would be nice if the company also refreshes its outdated app. The current Alexa app is difficult to navigate and completely unintuitive, and while consumers continue to add more smart home devices, the app has trouble helping to keep them streamlined and easy access. The app’s home tab offers information about things I might want to do or try, such as linking my calendar or managing my Alexa profile, but I want it to show me the devices I already have. as well as how to manage and control them.

Echo Dot $60 with Clock is similar to Google Nest Mini. Both are small, affordable smart voice assistants with relatively good sound. But there are a few differences.

The Echo Dot works in tandem with Amazon’s Alexa, so it’s a better choice for fans of Alexa-enabled products or those with Eero mesh Wi-Fi systems. It also has a useful temperature sensor and useful information scrolling LED meter.

$50 Google Nest Mini It’s also a smart speaker with access to Google’s highly trained voice assistant, but you won’t get extras like a clock or LCD screen. As you might expect, it integrates better with other Google or Nest Smart Home devices—so if you control your Nest or Nest Thermostat security system With your voice, you might want to consider the Nest Mini.

Then $99 Apple HomePod Mini, which boasts better sound quality than the Echo Dot with the Watch but also costs almost twice as much. While Apple users will appreciate its Apple HomeKit support, it doesn’t support as many music streaming services as the Echo Dot. Plus, you’ll lose interest in the fun watch, LCD display and manual controls.

If you own a fourth-generation Echo Dot with Clock and don’t want to add a new device to your home, there’s no need to upgrade, but if you’re looking for a new smart speaker or you’re using Much older than the Echo smart home, the Echo Dot with Clock is an affordable way to add smart functionality and music to any room in the house. It’s an even better version of our perennial pick for best budget smart speakerAnd it makes a great holiday gift.

Existing Eero users will be pleased to hear that the fourth-generation Echo Dot and Echo Dot with Watch will be upgraded to allow for expanded Wi-Fi support in the coming months. Despite the limitations I found with the Eero functionality, it offers a host of great features that make it an affordable choice for anyone looking for a voice assistant with smart home integration. bright. And it’s even more useful if you’re already fully immersed in the Amazon ecosystem.