During the holidays, we are often gifted with smart devices intended to simplify our lives. However, without a compatiblesmart speakeror hub, these devices can cause complications instead. Fortunately, solutions to such modern-age dilemmas don’t have to be pricey. The Echo Dot is an economical way to change the settings ofsmart lights, locks, and thermostats. More buyers can begin voice-controlling their households with the5th Generation Echo Dotat an all-time low price.
Amazon’s latest mini Echo speaker is spherical and just under four inches tall. Many owners never need to access its physical controls, but buttons exist to change the volume, mute the internal mic, and prompt Alexa commands. The Echo Dot comes in Deep Sea Blue and Glacier White, but the Charcoal colorway is the cheapest. A light ring at the speaker’s bottom indicates when there are notifications or when Alexa is listening.
Echo Dot 5th Generation Smart Speaker
The Amazon Echo Dot is even better in its 5th iteration with an added temperature and motion sensor built into the smart speaker. It also throws in an accelerometer that allows it to control interactions with Alexa, such as changing music with a simple tap. With a larger 1.73-inch speaker that can double as part of an EERO mesh network, this is an excellent purchase and a core part of any capable smart home.
The latest Echo Dot boasts other modest improvements over earlier versions. It can now be tapped to control media or silence alarms with simplicity. The Echo Dot also detects motion and triggers routines to activate lighting. Finally, Amazon installed a temperature sensor to improve the efficiency of smart heating and cooling systems.
Buyers already invested in Amazon’s ecosystem will benefit most from the Echo Dot. After Amazon acquired Eero in 2019, it integrated many of its products to work with these mesh routers. The Echo Dot costs less than add-on mesh routers or extenders, but can act as a node to expand a home’s Wi-Fi coverage. It’s tempting to stockpile Echo Dots for this purpose, but they don’t quite match Eero extenders' speed or coverage.
Even if the Echo Dot is designed for Alexasmart gadgets, Matter support makes it more versatile. This protocol is gaining popularity and allows the speaker to communicate with previously unsupported devices. Matter connectivity is hardly seamless at this point, but it can lead to more options for Google or Apple Home products. However, unlike the larger Echo speaker, the Echo Dot can’t communicate with low-latency Zigbee devices.
At less than $25, the Echo Dot justifies its cost, even if it only entertains with responses to voice searches. Nevertheless, Amazon has discounted several slightly fancier Echo devices this month. Unfortunately, Amazon discontinued the Echo Dot with Clock, leaving theEcho Spotas the closest substitute. The Echo Spot replicates much of the Echo Dot’s functionality, but adds a color display for time and notifications. At a higher price, yet still nearly half-off, the standardEchois also a powerful speaker, as well as a more complete smart home hub overall.
