New Echo Dot: Smarter, Louder, and Ready to Extend Your Wi-Fi!

Amazon has released the fifth-generation Echo Dot, including a model with a clock, introducing significant upgrades. The new Echo Dot with Clock features a more functional, brighter LED dot-matrix display capable of showing time, volume, alarms, weather forecasts, and song titles. It also includes a temperature sensor, improving smart home automation, and an accelerometer that makes tap-to-snooze and other gestures reliable.

The fifth-gen Dots deliver improved sound quality with deeper bass and clearer audio at higher volumes. They are powered by Amazon's AZ2 neural edge processor, enabling faster Alexa responses and quicker motion detection. A key new feature is the ability for these speakers to act as Wi-Fi extenders for Amazon's Eero mesh network, potentially expanding coverage by up to 1,000 square feet.

Despite the enhancements, Amazon has removed the 3.5mm audio jack from the new Dots, a feature present in previous generations. This limits the ability to connect to external speakers. While the regular Echo Dot is more affordable, the Echo Dot with Clock offers the added benefit of its glanceable display, making it a compelling bedside smart speaker.

The larger fourth-gen Echo, currently on sale, is recommended for those prioritizing superior sound quality and Thread border router capabilities for the Matter smart home standard, though it lacks the new AZ2 processor and LED display. However, for those seeking the functional LED display, the fifth-gen Echo Dot with Clock is the recommended Alexa smart speaker.