How does the Echo Spot compare to Amazon’s other bedside device – the Echo Dot?
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Amazon added to its already extensive range of Echo speakers by bringing the Echo Spot back from the dead in July 2024. It offered a new and improved form factor compared to the 2017 model, taking a couple of leaves out of the Echo Pop’s design playbook.
We’ve compared the new Echo Spot to the Echo Pop separately, but here, we are covering how the Echo Spot (2024) compares to the Echo Dot and the Echo Dot with Clock. Which is the right Echo speaker for your bedside table or kitchen counter? Let’s take a little trip through the Echo Spot and Echo Dot differences.
Echo Spot vs Echo Dot: Price
The Amazon Echo Spot launched on July 8 as a celebration of Prime Day 2024. As part of this celebration, its price was $44.99 / £49.99 for Prime members, while stocks lasted. It then went up to $79.99 / £79.99 after Prime Day.
You’re currently in luck though as Amazon’s next Prime shopping event is taking place on 8-9 October, and the Echo Spot is already reduced again for those days, taking it back to the $44.99 / £49.99 launch price.
The Amazon Echo Dot costs $49.99 / £54.99, while the Echo Dot with Clock is a little more expensive at £64.99, though not available in the US or UK anymore following the Echo Spot’s launch. As with the Echo Spot, the Echo Dot is discounted for Prime Big Day Deals already, costing just $22.99 / £22.99 at the time of updating.
When there is no Prime Day sales or Black Friday, the Echo Spot is more expensive than the Echo Dot, though you do get the screen.
Echo Spot vs Echo Dot: Design
Unlike the Echo Pop and Echo Spot where some design similarities can be found, the Echo Dot and Echo Dot with Clock are quite different to the Echo Spot. As we mentioned, the Echo Spot has an angled front and a domed rear, featuring a speaker element at the bottom and a small, 2.83-inch touchscreen (240 x 320) display at the top.
The Echo Dot and Echo Dot with Clock are both spherical in shape. The Echo Dot with Clock has a clock within the material on the front, but neither offers a display in the same sense that the Echo Spot does.
All three devices do have physical buttons on top however, with the Echo Dot, Echo Spot and Echo Dot with Clock all offering volume up, volume down and a mute button.
When it comes to color options, the Echo Spot comes in Black, Glacier White, or Ocean Blue. There are also customised displays however, with six themes comprising orange, violet, magenta, lime, teal, and blue, plus you can mix and match with different clock faces.
The Echo Dot with Clock came in one color option, which is a light blue, while the Echo Dot comes in three color options of Charcoal, Glacier White and Deep Sea Blue.
Echo Spot vs Echo Dot: Sound quality
The Echo Spot has a full range 1.73-inch front-firing directional speaker, which is the same size driver as what is offered on the Echo Dot and Echo Dot with Clock.
The differences in design mean the Echo Dot devices are slightly better at delivering sound however, with a 360-degree speaker mesh compared to the small section on the front of the Echo Spot. It may not matter to you too much though, given the Echo Spot and Echo Dot are both designed for a bedside table.
Both the Echo Spot and Echo Dot devices will respond to Alexa, play tracks from popular music streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music, as well as play podcasts and audiobooks.
Echo Spot vs Echo Dot: Alexa and smart home features
The beauty about Amazon’s Echo devices are that while they might all differ in terms of their appearance and designs, the Alexa experience under their hoods is largely the same.
The Echo Spot does have a few extras given it has a screen, but that screen is smaller than the likes of an Echo Show so it’s really about the clock and basic information like weather.
There are some visual animations, theme colors that we mentioned, new alarm tones and illustrations like a sun, rain cloud or snowflake not he Echo Spot, but otherwise, the features offered between the Echo Spot and Echo Dot are virtually identical.
That means you can control any smart home devices you have set up using Alexa, get alerts from Alexa-enabled doorbells, call other Alexa-enabled devices and use Alexa Routines. You can also do basics like add to your shopping list, order Amazon products, play games and of course play music and podcasts as we mentioned.
Echo Spot v Echo Dot: Connectivity
The older Echo Dot actually trumps the newer Spot, slightly, on the connectivity front as it is able to extend your home Wi-Fi using Eero built-in.
Aside from that extra option on the Dot though, they are much of a muchness for connectivity.
Both operate over dual band, 2.4 and 5GHz Wi-Fi, both can act as Matter controllers (Wi-Fi only) and both can tap into Amazon’s Sidewalk network.
Echo Spot vs Echo Dot: Which could you choose?
The decision between the Echo Spot and Echo Dot will be a little trickier than the decision between the Echo Spot and the Echo Pop. The Echo Dot delivers a slightly better sound experience than the Echo Spot, though that won’t always matter with these smaller speakers as they aren’t designed to fill your home with music for a party.
The Echo Spot has a small screen and a big personality. It is a little more money than the Echo Dot devices, but it will add a little more character to your bedside table than the Echo Dot especially.
Both the Echo Spot and the Echo Dot are cheaper for Prime users currently, though this will only apply until the Prime Big Deals Days is finished or stocks run out. Currently though, both the Echo Spot and Echo Dot are a steal, especially in the case of the Dot so whichever you choose, your bedside table will no doubt be grateful.
FAQs
No, the previous Echo Spot that launched in 2017 had a camera, but the new Echo Spot does not.
