There’s no shortage of Echo models to choose from, but it’s often the Echo Dot with Clock or the Echo Show 5, that’s highlighted as the best for your bedside. That’s all going to change, however, with the return of an old friend, the Echo Spot.
The Echo Spot was first launched in 2017, took on a spherical design before Amazon had moved other devices to that design, and offered a small display. The display was also something of a novelty as the Echo Show was also introduced in 2017. Echo Show went on to enjoy many more devices – most recently the Echo Show 8 – while the Echo Spot appeared to have been assigned to history.
IMAGE CREDIT: AMAZON
Well, the Echo Spot is back, now looking like an evolution of the Echo Pop, Amazon’s cheapest Alexa device. Echo Spot has a similar semi-spherical design, with a more pronounced foot at its base and the front split between speaker mesh and the display.
This time Amazon is saying that it’s “built for the nightstand”. The display is smaller than you’ll get on the Echo Show 5, much closer to the dot display of the Echo Dot with Clock. It also supports the same sort of functions – alarms and weather details – with song titles and smart home devices getting a look in too. You can change the colour of the display to match your room and the Spot itself comes in Black, Glacier White and Ocean Blue colours.
The Echo Spot will rule your nightstand with Alexa
The Echo is always about Alexa, because get past the hardware and the Alexa experience is the same across all devices. That means that you can speak to Alexa to access a full range of functions including controlling all the smart home devices you’ve setup, playing music or listening to internet radio and podcasts.
Alexa is also there for trivia and other fun through a full range of apps and skills, but I suspect that the Echo Spot will be about alarms, radio and little else.
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There’s no camera on the front, which means you don’t have to worry about your Nan dropping in with a video call when you’re in bed.
The speaker in the Echo Spot is listed as 1.73-inches and I suspect that the sound will fall somewhere between the Echo Pop and the Echo Dot. There’s not a huge amount of space to let the sound out and that might affect its performance – but on a device designed for bedtime company, that probably doesn’t matter.
One thing that was controversial on the original Echo Spot seems to have changed, however. There’s no camera on the front, which means you don’t have to worry about your Nan dropping in with a video call when you’re in bed. You can still make voice calls via Alexa, however, and Alexa’s fantastic broadcast functions around the home will be just as effective.
The new Amazon Echo Spot is available now, with Prime members able to benefit from a massive reduction, so it’s just £49.99 through the Prime Day sales period. If you’re not a Prime member it’ll cost you £79.99.
