The 5thgen Amazon Echo Dot With Clock Is A Great Addition To Any Smart Home

There's a reason Amazon's Echo Dot speakers are so popular. Compact and easy on the eye, these smart speakers fit in any room in the house and offer an affordable way to add smart home functionality for $50-60. There's nothing wrong with Amazon being the first company to launch its Alexa virtual assistant technology in 2014.

Now in its fifth generation, the latest Echo Dot Clock is still attractive and affordable, but packed with features like better sound quality, temperature sensors, and faster Alexa responses. Plus, it can now work as an Eero-mesh Wi-Fi extender for faster home internet.

I've been using the Echo Dot with my watch for two weeks now, listening to podcasts and music, snoozing the alarm, and checking the weather and song titles on the small LED display. I didn't think I needed a place to watch because I already have an Echo Spot and Echo Show in my house and are integrated into my smart home, but it was a nice and useful addition.

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

The best budget smart speaker just keeps getting better

The latest version of the Amazon Echo Dot improves on our favorite budget smart speaker with better sound, Wi-Fi expansion, and a better LED display on the watch model.

At first glance, the Echo Dot with Clock is very similar to the fourth generation model: the top half of the spherical device is covered in fabric, while the bottom half is covered in matte plastic. There are four slightly raised controls on the top for volume, mute, and motion, all of which can be used to activate Alexa, and it comes in muted charcoal white.

But take a closer look and you'll see that the LED screen on the front now has a brighter scrolling display so it can display the time, the weather, the music you're listening to and all sorts of other useful information. It may not sound like much, but I have found it to be surprisingly useful.

I used to listen when I asked Alexa about the day's weather, but now I looked at the screen and saw that it was also scrolling through the numbers. For example, a small rain or cloud icon gave me an instant idea of what to expect during the day. You can check if the alarm is set by looking at the bottom, which is helpful because I'm constantly afraid that I forgot to ask Alexa to wake me up. Having a watch face adds $10 to the price (the last Echo Dot was $50 without the watch), but I think it's worth upgrading.

New temperature sensors and gestures

Another cool new feature is two new Echo Dot sensors: one for measuring temperature and an accelerometer for using gestures to interact with the speaker. In addition to voice control, you can tap the top of the dot to perform actions such as play and pause music, snooze an alarm, or set a timer. I was so used to saying "Alexa, stop the timer" that I had to remind myself that I can only touch her when I'm around. It worked well and was extremely responsive, which is great because sometimes I need to say something more than once in order to control the Echo Spot.

As for the temperature sensor, yes, it shows the temperature in any room you live in. But it's more useful than it sounds, especially if you have Alexa Routines at home. For example, this sensor can communicate with other smart home devices to turn the ceiling fan on or off when the room reaches a certain temperature.

The Echo Dot won't give you the rich, crisp sound of more expensive audio hardware, but it does sound pretty good for a small Bluetooth speaker. The updated fifth generation model uses a larger driver for cleaner vocals and deeper bass.

Apart from Alexa's weather reports and daily calendar, I mainly use it to play podcasts and audiobooks. I've been streaming music for a few days now, and while it can't compete with my Sonos speaker, it's great for everyday listening. I found that it delivers clean, room-filling sound, and while it doesn't deliver massive bass, it doesn't sound loud either. Obviously you won't get the frequency range of a device with multiple drivers, but one driver is enough.

Of course, if you're looking for better sound, you can always use Bluetooth to pair the Dot with other Echo or Fire TV devices in your home. If you don't normally use the soundbar, you may find that it offers better sound quality than your TV's speakers. However, Amazon removed the 3.5mm audio jack from the fifth generation Echo Dot, so you can't physically plug it into a larger speaker.

As an Eero mesh Wi-Fi user, the idea of using an Echo Dot with a watch to extend Wi-Fi throughout my home sounded very appealing, but unfortunately, I never managed to get speeds in my 1,550 square feet. space. increase. cottage. Go home

The Amazon Eero Mesh Wi-Fi system uses beacons to send and distribute a Wi-Fi signal throughout your home. The number of beacons you use depends on the size of your home. To test this, I upgraded my Eero router to a newer generation (Eero 6+) and replaced the main Eero router in my office and the beacon or power strip in the middle of my house. I was hoping to use the Echo Dot with the clock to extend the range to the guest room across the street.

Amazon says that the built-in Eero functionality can add up to 1,000 square feet of coverage to your existing Eero Wi-Fi network (it won't work with any older routers) and supports speeds up to 100 Mbps, but my results are wrong. support it. East. While most of my house has 200+ Mbps and 12+ outlets, the living room is a dead zone, my son tells me when he comes in, averaging 40 Mbps and 7+ traffic. This is enough to ring the Bell Video doorbell at the front door, but not enough to prevent buffering when streaming video.

After connecting my Alexa app account and downloading the update, I connected the Echo Dot and enabled the Wi-Fi extension option. After some testing with the Speedtest app on my phone and also on my son's phone, it seems like I'm losing speed rather than gaining it.

When I discussed this with Amazon via email, they noted that several factors can affect home Wi-Fi performance and coverage, including layout, wall thickness, and distance between Eeros. They advised me to move the devices and suggested removing the extra beacon I was using. I still didn't get the speed boost I expected when doing the speed tests below, but at least it didn't fall behind anymore.

While it didn't quite work in my situation, if you know there's a dead zone at home and you're an Eero user, there's a chance the $60 Echo Dot can help. You won't get the speed and range of the extra $99 Eero Beacon or $79 Eero Extender, but if you're just trying to extend the signal to reach a smart door lock or outdoor video camera, this is a more affordable solution. . , especially if you're going to buy an Echo device anyway.

As Amazon continues to update its devices, it would be great if the company also updated its old app. The current Alexa app is difficult to navigate and not intuitive, and as consumers continue to add more smart home devices, the app struggles to properly organize and access them. The main tab of the app contains information about things I want to do or try, like connecting my calendar or managing my Alexa profiles, but I prefer to show the devices I have and how to manage and control them.

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

The Echo Dot works in tandem with Amazon Alexa, making it the best choice for fans of Alexa-enabled products or those with an Eero Wi-Fi network system. It also has a useful temperature gauge and an LED clock that scrolls through useful information.

The $50 Google Nest Mini is also a smart speaker with access to Google's high-performance voice assistant, but you don't get extra features like a clock or an LCD screen. Unsurprisingly, it integrates better with other Google or Nest Smart Home devices, so if you control your Nest thermostat or Nest security system with your voice, you might want to consider the Nest Mini.

Then there's the $99 Apple HomePod Mini, which has better sound quality than the Echo Dot with Clock but costs almost twice as much. While Apple users appreciate its Apple HomeKit support, it is not compatible with many music streaming services such as Echo Dot. In addition, you lose the look of the clock, LCD screen and manual controls.

If you have a 4th generation Echo Dot with clock and don't want to add a new device to your home, you don't need to upgrade, but if you're looking for a new smart speaker or an old Echo smart home. The Echo Dot with Clock is a convenient way to add smart features and music to any room in your home. It's an upgraded version of our best budget smart speaker in a long time and makes a great holiday gift.

Existing Eero users will be happy to know that the Echo Dot Watch and the 4th Generation Echo Dot Watch will receive an update to provide better Wi-Fi support in the coming months. Despite the limitations I found in the Eero's functionality, it offers a number of great features that make it a worthy purchase for anyone looking for a voice assistant with smart home integration. It's even more useful if you're already fully immersed in the Amazon ecosystem.