Amazon Echo Dot Review: An Affordable yet Efficient Entry Level Smart Speaker
Amazon’s new Echo Dot wins at both sound and appearance. Due to its greatly improved sound and based on our Amazon Echo Dot Review, it can even substitute for the bigger $99 Echo if you’re not too choosy.
You don’t need to upgrade if you use an old Echo Dot already and utilize it to control a larger, better speaker. But if your Echo Dot is your main speaker, you’ll want the latest version.
The Latest Echo Dot is rounder and softer shaped than its predecessor even though they are similar sized. The speaker now comes in three different shades of gray wrapping unlike the former hard plastic wrap. When picking a shade, be careful because unlike the bigger sized Echo, you cannot switch the wrapping after purchase.
ASPECT
Review Price: $49
- Height- 1.7 inches
- Width- 3.9 inches (in diameter)
- Weight- 10.6 Oz
- Color – Gray
- Alexa
DISCUSSION
Like previous Echo Dots, the speaker has a colored light ring around the edge and four buttons on top: volume buttons, a mic mute, and an action button. It’s portable in the sense that it’s easy to pick up and move from room to room, but it needs to be plugged in for power.
The speaker’s portable nature means that it’s easy to move from room to room, however it requires being plugged in to work.
The Amazon Echo Dot can be connected to your WiFi either through a Web browser or the Alexa App. The latest Dot supports 802.11ac, which clearly extends Wi-Fi range for the device on a 5GHz network when paired with an 802.11ac router.
Our Amazon Echo Dot Review reveals that the sound quality on the single 1. 6 inch driver is absolutely better than the previous Dot. The previous Echo Dot had horrible sound, similar to that of a transistor radio from the 1960’s. It worked okay for Alexa’s voice but the music production was very tinny. The newly released Echo Dot gives off what could be considered as Bass as well as a more solid midrange. You could even make a stereo pair by combining two Echo Dots.
However, the new Amazon Echo Dot is still a small $50 range speaker. The $99 standard Echo gives much more rounded bass than the Echo Dot which results in a considerably more enjoyable listening session.
This Dot is very likely to be considered good enough for most people, who are not particular about reading precise speaker reviews. For others, the Echo Dot still comes with a 3.5mm jack on the back and Bluetooth to connect to other audio outfits and speakers.
When playing music, the latest Dot goes up to a significant 7dB higher than the previous version. The new dot is also just 2dB quieter than the bigger Echo. The Edge the bigger Echo has over the dot is in its sound quality and sound form – the drums are shrined less and there is way better attack and decay with strings.
The Dot picked up voice easily and was heard easily as well, from a 30 foot distance in silent surroundings. However, if music is playing, you would need to raise your voice to be heard by the Dot.
However, we had an issue with Alexa’s understanding of some commands. There’s is no denying Amazon’s Alexa reigns supreme in terms of voice enabling as huge array of hardware from various makers. But its problem is in the cloud and language comprehension as well as interpretation of commands.
So if you’re new to the smart speaker experience, we’d recommend going for a Google home smart speaker as Google Assistant is simpler and more fun to relate with. Google Assistant will probably interpret your commands better and answer your queries better as well.
CONCLUSION
The latest Echo Dot works well enough to be used as the default Alexa speaker in most rooms in your home. Its previous awful tinny sound has been fixed and it also comes at half the price as the bigger Echo.
If you want better quality sound, you can attach it to a bigger speaker or another Dot; creating a stereo pair.
The new Amazon Echo Dot is budget friendly, finely packaged and flexible.
For the experience of an entry-level Alexa speaker, the Dot is your best choice right now.
