Echo Spot review: this smart alarm clock hits a sweet spot

I’ve been looking for a bully siren timepiece pinch sound power for years now — and pinch Amazon’s newest smart speaker, I deliberation I’ve recovered it. The Nest Hub is excessively large for my nightstand, the Echo Show 5 is excessively bright, but nan caller Echo Spot ($79.99) is conscionable right.

While it’s not perfect, nan Spot’s mini footprint, minimalist display, awesome sound (for its size), built-in sound assistant, and snappy responses capable astir of my needs. These features make it a bully action if you want nan benefits of a smart speaker and immoderate basal ocular accusation successful your chamber without nan distractions of a ample screen. 

The sequel to the original Echo Spot (which was discontinued successful 2019), nan caller Echo Spot ditches nan camera, which was our main gripe pinch nan earlier version. It besides replaces nan afloat information surface pinch a semicircular show that shows nan clock. While that show is simply a spot too mini (and somewhat cheap-looking), overall, nan Spot is simply a tin smart siren timepiece for a bully value (especially connected sale).

Small screen, large personality

An Alexa-powered smart speaker, nan Spot follows nan creation cues of nan Echo Pop pinch its level information front, but it adds a mini 2.83-inch show supra nan speaker grille. This is simply a touchscreen show that shows a timepiece aliases various animations erstwhile playing music, telling nan weather, mounting timers, and controlling smart location devices. It’s very responsive to touch, though constricted successful what you tin do pinch it.

The Spot besides responds good to Alexa's sound commands pinch minimal lag and tin trigger Alexa Routines pinch beingness discovery utilizing an ultrasound sensor. It’s a Bluetooth speaker (there’s nary line-out) and an Alexa Matter controller (over Wi-Fi), but dissimilar nan Echo Dot, there’s nary somesthesia sensor, and it doesn’t enactment arsenic an Eero mesh Wi-Fi extender.

The Spot’s surface is chiefly designed arsenic a timepiece — showing conscionable capable accusation to beryllium useful and not truthful overmuch to beryllium annoying. Instead of nan rotating contented you find connected nan Echo Shows that sometimes push ads for Amazon’s services, nan Spot conscionable shows nan existent clip and nan clip your adjacent siren is set. There’s besides an action to show nan upwind and date. 

The show is mini capable to not beryllium distracting astatine nighttime acknowledgment to a nighttime mode that switches to a elemental reddish LED display. It has six nosy clockfaces for daytime, though 2 of them consciousness a spot squished successful nan mini rectangle allotted to them. It would look amended if nan surface took up nan full precocious semicircle alternatively of conscionable two-thirds of it. This could person enabled nan neat Echo Show sunrise siren timepiece feature that gradually brightens nan full screen. 

The Spot’s mini surface intends that nan timepiece either goes distant aliases becomes very mini erstwhile it’s being utilized for thing different than a clock, which tin beryllium annoying. When it plays music, it shows a schematic visualizer and playback controls; erstwhile you’re listening to a book, it shows nan title (oddly, nary controls), and for timers, it displays nan countdown. If I want nan full-screen timepiece to show while doing immoderate of these tasks, I person to say, “Alexa, spell Home,” aliases swipe down and pat nan Home button.

This speaks to nan truth that nan Spot isn’t a smart display; it’s much of a smart speaker pinch a screen. It’s person successful usability to nan now-discontinued Echo Dot With Clock than to nan Echo Show 5. I recovered nan Spot’s show easier to publication connected my nightstand than nan Dot, and I liked nan further power options, but if you for illustration nan no-frills LED dot-matrix look of nan Dot pinch Clock, past nan Spot will person excessively overmuch surface for you. 

The Spot’s touchscreen allows for basal power complete things for illustration euphony playback and smart location devices. But while it shows a fastener to move a ray connected aliases disconnected and a slider to set brightness for, say, a lamp, I person to usage my sound to get those controls to show up. I besides couldn’t usage nan surface to group an siren connected nan Spot’s screen. Again, I had to usage sound aliases nan Alexa app. This feels for illustration a miss successful a instrumentality designed to beryllium an siren clock. 

Otherwise, nan Spot’s siren timepiece usability is very good. There’s a wide array of wake-up tones, including a classical ring. I tin besides say, “Alexa, aftermath maine up astatine 6AM to Taylor Swift,” aliases aftermath up to a circumstantial power station. Plus, I tin person nan smart lights successful my chamber turn connected pinch nan alarm aliases person an Alexa Routine run. 

Annoyingly, nan “snooze” and “stop alarm” buttons connected nan surface are mini — excessively mini to easy deed erstwhile you aftermath up bleary-eyed. But utilizing sound aliases tapping nan apical of nan Spot to snooze useful fine. Also, there’s nary backup artillery — that’s not easy to find connected immoderate smart speaker / siren clock, but it’s an important characteristic for my family.

As acold arsenic audio is concerned, nan Spot’s forward-facing 1.73-inch mono driver makes it a bully speaker for listening to music, slumber sounds, aliases an audiobook successful bed. It’s not arsenic room-filling arsenic nan Dot but has clearer vocals and delivers a richer sound than nan smaller Echo Pop. 

The Spot besides useful pinch Alexa audio calling, and I tin usage it arsenic a location intercom pinch nan Alexa Drop In feature — useful erstwhile I want to show my teen to move his euphony down. It’s nan only dedicated smart siren timepiece I’ve tested that has this feature. There are a number of third-party smart siren clocks pinch built-in Alexa, but nary support Drop In. 

This is not a smart display

As I mentioned previously, nan Spot is not really a smart display (despite that being what Amazon calls it). You can’t usage it arsenic a integer photograph framework aliases video calling instrumentality aliases watch video contented aliases position a livestream from a information camera connected it. But I didn’t miss immoderate of these features successful a bedside device. If they’re important to you, see nan Echo Show 5, which tin do everything nan Spot tin positive each of nan supra but is bigger and brighter pinch its larger screen. 

Overall, I for illustration nan guidance is taking Amazon pinch its newest Echos — creating much defined usage cases for its smart speakers and displays beyond streaming euphony and mounting timers. First, location was nan Echo Hub, a smart location controller; now, there’s nan Echo Spot, a smart siren clock.

While $80 is costly compared to nan $50 Echo Dot, you’re getting much functionality pinch nan Spot. Plus, if you tin find it connected waste (like nan recent heavy discount for Prime Day), it’s an easy buy. There’s room for improvement, but if you’ve been looking for a amended voice-controlled smart siren clock, nan Spot deserves a spot connected your nightstand.

Photography by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge