I tested Amazon’s bold new Alexa gadget – there’s no camera and two other features are missing but that’s a good thing
AMAZON has released loads of Alexa-enabled gadgets over the years and shows no sign of giving up anytime soon.
The firm recently discontinued the much-loved Echo Dot with Clock – but there’s another device to fill the void.
And that’s the Echo Spot.
This is the second version of the Echo Spot which has a whole new look and design compared to its 2017 predecessor.
The 2024 edition has launched at a much cheaper price.
There are some features missing too – but as The Sun’s review explains, these omissions are actually a good thing. Read on below for the full verdict.
Echo Spot (2024) review
The Echo Spot is a pretty dinky, circle faced speaker measuring 11.3 cm x 11.1 cm x 10.3 cm.
Little under half of the circle front is a fabric-covered speaker, and the rest is for the screen, where you’ll find a 2.8-inch rectangular display.
This is different to the last Echo Spot, which was a full circle display and I like this one a lot more because of the simplicity.
No fancy, detailed illustrations, just very basic icons and text.
You can customise it with six different clock faces and and six different icon colour schemes.
Amazon has positioned the Echo Spot as more of a bed-side alarm Alexa device and I think the stripped back approach suits it for this reason.
The scaling back goes further too – there’s no camera on this Echo Spot.
Most might think that’s a step back but for privacy, especially when you’re likely to place the Echo Spot in your bedroom, is a move in the right direction.
But it also means the gadget doesn’t support video streaming either, so you can’t do video calls with your Ring doorbell (though you can still speak to the person).
Nor can you play videos on Netflix, Prime Video or YouTube and the rest.
This again is another omission for the better, catering to those who primarily want a voice-based experience with some simple, visual, glance-able cues for things like the time and weather.
There are three physical buttons on the top – two for volume control and another to switch the mic off.
Echo Spot: more highlights
The Echo Spot is Bluetooth-enabled so you use it to connect to another more powerful speaker if you want.
It’s built for the nightstand, with a gradual lighting display that makes it easy to set and view alarms, see the time, weather, or song titles at a glance.
The Echo Spot is available in three colours: black, white and blue.
It features a touch screen, not that you can do a great deal with it – buttons to skip tracks or adjusting settings like brightness.
You can physically tap the top to snooze alarms too.
As for the sound, I’m quite impressed given the Echo Spot’s small size.
The speaker can blast pretty loud without distorting the quality.
There are settings to adjust the base, mid range and treble in the Alexa app.
As for Alexa itself, nothing new the voice assistant can do here that any other Alexa-enabled gadget can’t.
Hopefully we’ll see whether rumours of a smarter AI-infused Alexa will come true sometime in the near future.
Echo Spot: Verdict
Final thoughts from Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor at The Sun
The new Echo Spot is a welcome addition to the ever-widening range of Alexa-enabled devices.
Removing the camera is a good move – it’s almost surprising Amazon hadn’t done it sooner in this form factor for an Echo.
I think £79.99 / $79.99 is a little steep for an Echo but Amazon routinely runs discounts so you might want to hold out before buying one.
Buy now from Amazon UK / Amazon US.
All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.
Always do your own research before making any purchase.