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Control your smart home, get information, and make calls using just your voice with the most powerful Echo Dot yet. An LED lighting system displays text like the time or song titles. Meanwhile, built-in temperature sensors add even more home automation features to the small smart speaker.
For
- Improved display functionality
- Best sound performance
- Eero integrated
- Ambient temperature sensor
The revamped Amazon Echo Spot sits between the Echo Dot smart speaker and the Echo Show 5 smart display. It’s a good compromise for those who want a smart speaker with visual notifications for their bedside. You can see the time, weather, album art, and incoming calls, but you won’t be able to take video calls or watch shows on its screen.
For
- Customizable and dynamic display
- Sleek and compact design
- Immersive sound
Against
- It lacks home automation temperature sensors found on the cheaper Echo Dot
- Unable to take video calls or watch content
Think of the new Amazon Echo Spot as a cross between an Echo Dot and an Echo Show smart display. It focuses primarily on great sound, but it comes with a small LCD touchscreen to show you the essentials. It displays basic information like the time, weather, album art, and smart home control widgets with big, colorful icons.
At just $80, the Echo Spot is cheaper than the best smart displays We tested it but it lacks a camera and basic features like watching shows, making video calls or viewing security camera feeds. On the other hand, it offers visual information that the best smart speakers In fact, the closest it competes with is its little sibling, the Echo Dot with Clock , which uses LEDs to display pixelated text and icons through the smart speaker’s front mesh.
The Echo Dot and Echo Spot are both great additions to your living space because they’re loud, affordable, and offer the same Alexa smart assistant experience. Choosing an Alexa smart speaker depends on your style preferences and the smart home features you need. Read on to find out which one is best for your smart home setup.
Echo Spot vs Echo Dot: Price
The Echo Spot smart speaker has a colorful touchscreen and is available in glossy black, ice white, or teal for $79. That’s $20 more than the $59 Echo Dot with Clock, which displays basic text information like the time and song titles using LED lights.
However, at the time of writing, the Echo Spot was priced at just $44; the Echo Dot with Clock wasn’t available on Amazon, but you could get it at Best Buy for $59.
Winner: Echo Dot with Clock
Echo Spot vs Echo Dot: Design
Between its more dynamic and customizable screen themes and its gorgeous flat-faced body, the Echo Spot is a sexy device. At 4.5 inches, it’s compact enough to fit into any room, but it looks especially good at its bedside or on your desk. You can use its color touchscreen to control smart home devices, check the weather, or view album art while music plays. All of its icons are unique and pop off the screen.
The smaller, rounder Echo Dot (3.9 x 3.5 inches) doesn’t look as stylish because it takes a utilitarian approach to maximizing audio quality. Its fabric exterior and pixelated LED lights feel a generation behind the Spot. If aesthetics matter to you, it’s important to keep in mind that you can’t customize the Dot’s light color like you can on the Echo Spot, and it also comes in more basic finishes.
Winner: Echo Spot
Echo Spot vs Echo Dot: Sound Performance
The Spot’s flat front and angled back allow sound to come straight out the front of the speaker. Still, it creates a rich, room-filling sound as long as it’s pointed toward you. This directional sound doesn’t offer as wide a soundstage as the rounded Echo Dot, giving all the layers a little more room to breathe and move around the room.
The Echo Dot gets louder and fills the room to deliver a surround sound experience no matter where you are on the speaker or how far away you are. The Dot lets vocals and bass breathe more for a richer overall sound. And while neither speaker is great at bass, the Dot has a noticeable punch that the Spot lacks.
Winner: Echo Dot
Echo Spot vs Echo Dot: Smart Home Management
Spot’s precise microphones and sleek touchscreen make it a great smart home command center. You can use voice or touch commands to control light widgets, adjust the temperature on your smart thermostat, or lock your door with a simple tap. Even something as simple as answering a call is more convenient with a single tap rather than having to ask Alexa to answer the call.
The Dot, which is only available in audio mode, requires you to speak your commands rather than press a button. At the same time, you have to listen carefully to the day’s weather forecast, since you won’t see it spread out on a screen. I prefer the Spot, because it can tell me if a light is on or if your door is locked without having to listen to it.
Winner: Echo Spot
Echo Spot vs Echo Dot: Features
| Line 0 – Cell 0 | Echo point | Echo point |
| Motion detection | Yes | Yes |
| Temperature sensor | Yes | No |
| Eero Mesh Wi-Fi Node | Yes | No |
| Screen | No | Yes |
| Advanced sound detection | Yes | Yes |
The Echo Dot packs a lot of useful smart home features into an affordable package. The Spot is newer, but its features are a bit more basic because it lacks built-in sensors to trigger specific automations and can’t act as a mesh Wi-Fi node for an Eero system.
Motion detection
Both smart speakers can detect motion and room occupancy. This can help you create routines to adjust the temperature or turn on lights when you enter or leave a room. This reduces energy waste and helps you save money.
Temperature sensor
The Spot doesn’t come with a temperature sensor. That’s a shame, because the cheaper Echo Dot has one that can tell you the current temperature of the room it’s in. Better yet, it can be used as a trigger for Alexa smart home routines, like turning on the air conditioning or heating if your room temperature drops below or rises above a certain temperature.
Eero Mesh Wi-Fi Node
Another handy feature the Spot lacks: the Echo Dot can act as a beacon to extend your Eero Wi-Fi network throughout your home.
Screen
You can view album art, weather animations, and the time on an always-on display with the Echo Spot. While the Echo Dot has LED lights that can display pixelated text like the time and song titles, it’s not as attractive or informative. Plus, you can even tap the screen to control alarms, smart home devices, or open notifications.
Advanced sound detection
Both smart speakers can detect sounds like appliances beeping or glass breaking to send a push notification to your phone. You can even use these sounds as a trigger to start a routine, like lights flashing around the house when a load of laundry is done.
Winner: Echo Dot
Echo Spot vs Echo Dot: Overall Winner
| Line 0 – Cell 0 | Echo point | Echo point |
| Price | X | Line 1 – Cell 2 |
| Design | Line 2 – Cell 1 | X |
| Her | X | Line 3 – Cell 2 |
| Smart Home Management | Line 4 – Cell 1 | X |
| Features | X | Line 5 – Cell 2 |
| Total | 3 | 2 |
While the Echo Spot is newer and has a nifty touchscreen, the Dot’s advanced sensors and features still give it an edge for those looking to integrate it into their smart home. The ability to monitor the temperature of a specific room, extend the range of your Wi-Fi, and enjoy a wide soundstage from anywhere in a room is better for most people. Plus, it’s more affordable.
That said, the Echo Spot offers more customization with the ability to choose colors and the clock face. If you want touch controls for easier use or simply don’t want to wake a partner while you’re sleeping, this is the best option.
You can’t go wrong with either device, but the Dot fits more situations thanks to its versatility and capabilities. Especially if you’re like me and pair it with a smart speaker battery base to cut the cord and take it with you around the house.