Key Takeaways
- The Echo Spot doubles as a smart speaker and smart alarm clock, offering rich sound and customizable face.
- Easy to set up using the Alexa app, the Echo Spot can control smart home devices and display reminders.
- Priced at $80, the compact Echo Spot lacks a camera but is a solid budget-friendly smart home upgrade.
You don’t need to pour in hundreds of dollars to upgrade your home to a smart home. A modern smart system doesn’t always mean a brand new security system or outdoor lights , or even a new pet feeder . Especially when it comes to the modern multi-functional smart speaker, there are smaller smart solutions for your budget and space.
The newest smart speaker from Amazon falls into its Echo lineup as the new Echo Spot is a small and compact version compared to some of the other previous iterations. It isn’t as flashy as an Echo Show , and it isn’t meant to be. It is a simple smart speaker that offers some of the great smart home functionality that Amazon’s Alexa devices are known for.
I’ve been able to test out the Echo Spot for a while, and while I came into my testing questioning who it was for, I came to the conclusion it’s the perfect solution for someone looking to upgrade their home on a budget. Read on for details.
Recommended
Echo Spot
The new version of the Echo Spot is a smart speaker that is also a smart alarm clock. The face can be customized and the sound is rich and vibrant. You’re able to control other smart home devices from this as well as check on reminders.
- Rich sound
- Customizable face
- Compact size
- Have to use app for automations
- Slanted design isn’t great to see from all angles
Price, availability, & specs
Small in stature and price
The Amazon Echo Spot retails for $80. But it has been frequently on sale since it came out earlier this summer. It has gone as low as half off during some sales. It can be purchased at major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and B&H Photo. It is a small device that stands 4.5″W x 4.1″D x 4.4″H and weighs just less than a pound. It has a 2.83″ touch screen display made out of glass while the rest of the alarm clock is mostly made out of plastic, although it is made out of 36% recycled materials. It is offered in three different colors: Ocean Blue (which I received for testing), Glacier White, and Black.
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There is no camera on this smart speaker, so it’s not like the Echo Show in that respect. However, it does offer dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity with both 2.4 and 5 GHz networks. It comes ready to connect to your Wi-Fi. Included in the box is the Echo Spot and the power cord that is meant to be plugged into an outlet. I found the included user manual to be helpful in getting my speaker all set up.
Echo Spot
- Brand
- Amazon
- Clock
- Yes
- Colors
- Black, Glacier White, Ocean Blue
- Speakers
- Single 1.73-inch front-facing speaker
- SMART ASSISTANTS
- Amazon Alexa
What I like about the Echo Spot
Easy to get going
Whether or not you have owned Amazon Alexa products before, the Echo Spot is simple to set up, just requiring the Alexa app and the scanning of the display’s QR code. From there, the app immediately jumped into syncing my Echo Spot with my account. Just be sure you’re connected to Wi-Fi.
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From there, the Echo Spot displays the current time, which is great and convient if you simply want to use it as a clock. Of course, if you do want to get more out of the Echo Spot, you can just say the word “Alexa” and give it a command. I asked the Spot to set my alarm, show my reminders — like to pick up groceries, displayed my timerms, and even played my favorite songs on both Apple Music and Spotify . When I played music, I found that the front-facing speaker delivers a strong sound with rich bass, which is impressive for such a small speaker. While it isn’t going to blow away any audiophiles with its sound, it is solid for most people looking to amplify home entertainment.
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Perhaps my favorite part about using the Spot as an alarm clock was that I could tell Alexa to set an alarm or timer for a set time, and it automatically displayed what time my alarm is set for. When the alarm starts going off, I simply touched the touchscreen to shut it off or tapped the top of the clock, and it snoozed for the set snooze time I selected — 9 minutes.
You can adjust how long the clock snoozes for in the Alexa app.
Speaking of adjusting in the Alexa app, you can customize the clock’s face in the app and choose the font and style that you like. You can also set it in night mode from the app, meaning the display will dim to not keep you up.
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What I also liked about the Echo Spot is the fact that you can use it to control other smart home devices. You can make announcements to other Echo speakers, use it to lower your smart thermostat , or even set up motion detection to trigger smart devices to turn on and off. It can be used as a hub for your smart home needs.
What I didn’t like about the Echo Spot
The slanted design isn’t always ideal
It might be particular, but I didn’t love how if I wasn’t standing right in front of the Echo Spot, I couldn’t read the slanted design on the screen. That may not be the biggest issue for some folks, but for people who may be glancing to see the time and can’t read it from the angle they are at may get frustrated. Additionally, it can be a bit cumbersome that so much of the customization and automation involved going into the app instead of on-device — it just adds more time.
Should you buy the Echo Spot?
If you use it for multiple reasons, yes
It’s really simple: if you’re going to utilize all that the Echo Spot for all of it’s multi-functionalities, yes. If you’re going to use it to control other smart home devices, set alarms and timers, have it read you your reminders, and use it as an alarm clock, it is a solid addition for not a ton of money for a smart home user. If you’re simply looking to this device as an alarm clock and let it sit ideally on your nightstand for much of the day, it may not be worth it. It’s sleek and has pretty good sound for a simple design. If you want more, such as a video screen, upgrading to an Echo Show 5 or 8 might be a smarter move. But for all intents and purposes, the Echo Spot does what it says it’s going to do and a little bit more.
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Echo Spot
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