Editors’ Be aware: That is the newest model of the Amazon Echo Dot. Learn our authentic evaluate from October 31, 2022 under.
Amazon tends to push its Echo good audio system ahead with small steps, not massive ones, however typically small steps are simply sufficient. The fifth-generation Echo Dot ($49.99) doesn’t sound a lot totally different from the earlier model, however new movement sensors now allow you to work together with the speaker with a faucet. It is a succesful good speaker, however for $10 extra the Echo Dot With Clock options an LED show that may present helpful info, whereas providing all the identical options as the usual Echo Dot. Due to this, the Echo Dot With Clock stands as our Editors’ Selection for small good audio system.
(Editors’ Be aware: This evaluate relies on testing carried out on the Amazon Echo Dot With Clock (fifth Gen). Aside from the dearth of an LED show, the Echo Dot (fifth Gen) is an identical to the Echo Dot With Clock, and we count on comparable efficiency.)
A lot the Similar Sphere
The fifth-generation Echo Dot seems virtually bodily an identical to the fourth-generation mannequin. It’s a barely squat 3.9-by-3.5-inch sphere (HD) accessible in gentle blue or white. The sphere is cut up diagonally, with the highest and ahead half lined in grille material and the underside and again half sure in matte plastic. 4 rubber buttons (motion, mic mute, and quantity up and down) protrude from the material alongside the highest of the sphere. A light-weight ring runs across the flat base; it glows blue if you work together with Alexa and can focus a very vivid level to point the course from which it registered the voice command.
Amazon has upgraded the interior speaker driver, however not by a lot. It’s barely bigger, measuring 1.73 inches throughout in contrast with the 1.6-inch driver of the fourth-generation Echo Dot. Regardless of the bigger membrane, the newer speaker is an ounce-and-a-half lighter, at 10.7 ounces. Since this isn’t a conveyable speaker and is designed to be stationary, that weight discount doesn’t make a lot of a distinction in on a regular basis use.
New movement sensors within the Echo Dot result in extra methods of interacting with the speaker past utilizing your voice and the few bodily buttons on prime. Now you’ll be able to flippantly faucet the highest of the speaker to play or pause songs, finish calls, cease ringing timers, or snooze alarms.
Amazon has additionally added Eero mesh community help so the Echo Dot can function a node to your Eero community for those who use one. Amazon says the node permits for as much as 1,000 sq. toes of Eero Wi-Fi protection, with speeds as much as 100Mbps for as much as 10 units at a time. The Echo Dot additionally helps Bluetooth and dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and may work with the Amazon Sidewalk shared community (although we suggest not enabling this throughout setup as a result of privateness and safety considerations).
Sadly, Amazon lower a important characteristic of the earlier Echo Dot: a 3.5mm jack. This implies the brand new Echo Dot can’t be linked to a bigger speaker.
The Energy of Alexa
As an Echo speaker, the Echo Dot is designed to make use of Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. Alexa is eight years outdated now—virtually a tween!—and Amazon has ceaselessly pushed a gentle stream of updates to its assistant to offer it extra performance. It’s a robust voice assistant that permits you to search out sports activities scores, climate reviews, and different helpful info; set alarms and timers; seek for and play music and audiobooks; management good residence units; and make voice calls.
For leisure, Alexa can sift via music on Amazon Music and web page via audiobooks on Audible. It could actually additionally entry Amp, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Saavn, SiriusXM, Spotify, Tidal, and TuneIn to play music, podcasts, and radio stations through these providers. For those who pair the Echo Dot with an Amazon Hearth TV Stick, Hearth TV Dice, or Hearth TV, you’ll be able to management that streaming gadget and numerous video providers via Alexa, too.
Alexa is without doubt one of the most generally supported voice assistants for controlling good residence units. 1000’s are supported throughout all main shopper residence automation manufacturers, and embody video doorbells, safety cameras, good bulbs, good locks, good plugs, and good thermostats. You may arrange routines to manage a number of units with a single voice command or when sure circumstances are met, such because the time of day. Alexa can develop Hunches, whereby it evaluates the state of good residence units primarily based in your previous habits and prompts you to do issues like lock the doorways or flip off the lights if you’re away from residence.
Alexa helps making voice calls via a wide range of providers. You may name any commonplace (non-toll-free, premium-rate, or emergency) quantity in the USA, Canada, Mexico, and the UK, and obtain calls by linking your AT&T or Verizon telephone account. You may discuss to different Amazon customers via Drop In, which helps you to straight converse to your Amazon contacts via their Alexa units (or the Alexa app on their telephone). Alexa additionally helps Skype calls via the Echo Dot.
Most of those options are comparable with these accessible to Google Assistant and Google’s Nest line of good units. Whether or not you select to be an Amazon family or a Google family is a private one. Traditionally, Google Assistant is best at pure speech recognition, whereas Alexa helps extra third-party expertise. At a base characteristic stage, nonetheless, they’re roughly equal.
Balanced, However Not Booming Audio
Regardless of the bigger speaker driver, don’t count on much more energy from the fifth-gen Echo Dot. Our bass check observe, The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” sounds weak on the speaker, with little low-frequency response. It additionally distorts at larger quantity ranges. “Silent Shout” is a very punishing sub-bass-heavy track, although, and the Echo Dot sounds considerably higher with different music.
The opening acoustic guitar plucks in Sure’ “Roundabout” sound full and get loads of low-mid resonance mixed with a little bit of high-mid readability to carry out some string texture even when it isn’t very crisp. When the observe totally kicks in, the bassline, drums, guitar strums, and vocals all share consideration pretty evenly. The bassline doesn’t have a lot low-frequency presence and sounds a bit poppy, and the cymbals and guitar don’t have sufficient high-frequency response to essentially lower via the combination. However throughout the small speaker’s modest frequency vary, it sounds full and properly balanced.
The riffs and vocals in The Crystal Technique’s “Burn Too Sluggish” get loads of high-mid consideration, although once more the pretty restricted vary of the speaker is obvious. The backbeat will get some low-mid energy, but it surely isn’t the deep, ominous thump the observe ought to have. Equally, the voice and riffs, whereas outstanding, don’t have a number of high-frequency edge.
These complaints are to be anticipated for a tiny $50 good speaker. A small, single driver simply can’t ship the type of frequency vary {that a} bigger speaker with a number of drivers (just like the a lot bigger $199.99 Amazon Echo Studio) can. In the end, the Echo Dot supplies a balanced, if restricted, sound that may capably fill a small room.
A Extra Helpful Dot
The fifth-generation Amazon Echo Dot is a minor improve over the earlier model, including solely a barely bigger driver, movement sensors that allow handy faucet gestures, and mesh networking. It doesn’t sound a lot better as a speaker, however for $50, it isn’t designed to be the principle speaker for many rooms. That stated, it sounds higher than the $49 Google Nest Mini, although neither is as interesting because the Echo Dot With Clock and its LED readout, which is well well worth the $10 premium over the Nest Mini or the usual Echo Dot. If you need a wise speaker with extra energy and superior audio, the bigger Amazon Echo and Google Nest Audio are each wonderful picks at round twice the worth, whereas the Echo Studio is much more spectacular, with room-filling spatial audio for $199.99.
