Echo Dot (4th Gen, 2020 release) | Smart speaker with Alexa | Charcoal

I got a Dot with clock to try out the new shaped Echos and really enjoy it. I enjoy it so much I decided to buy a second , without clock , to make a stereo effect when using Alexa for music. Little did I know I can incorporate my full size Echo to enhance the bass , like is a sub woofer. Does it rattle the windows ? No. Does it sound very nice ? Yes About this particular Dot . I got black because of where it'll be located so it would basically disappear but if you're not trying to hide one the other colors are really nice as well. The white isn't bright white but isn't bordering cream either. I really liked the sky blue color of my first one (until I discovered a black Sharpie worked well to make it black while not blocking out the clock ) so it's a nice way to go as well. My last full size Echo was the blue and it is a nice color choice for just about any color scheme room , unlike the white and black that can really become an unwanted drawing of the eyes point but I digress. The buttons on the unit are easy to find and work well . Set up was darn near automatic , much much better than Echo devices just a year ago. The volume can easily fill a room by itself but at a cost of sound quality if its trying to do things by itself. For a large room a big brother Echo will have a lot more oomph and punch whether music or vocal . This Dot will work but sound cheap and Tinny at higher volumes . The 3rd gen Dot doesn't get as loud as this one but was really a little too much in my daughters bedroom when she set it above 5 (50% volume ) . For that size room the 2nd gen Dot was just right. She has a smaller (15'x 15' ) room by far than my 28'x30' den . This one , just like the other 4th gen devices have the microphones near the volume buttons and work very well unless trying to compete with my sound bar they sit on top of . Then they just ignore my attempts to talk with Alexa. At that point I can just talk to the full size Echo by my sofa (across the room ) . You ask any smart device to discern my voice from a tv voice when the tv is inches away and I'm yards away isn't fair so I won't give it a knock but when the sound bar isn't on the Dot can hear me easily even if I speak just above a whisper and the one closest to my den door can hear commands when I first enter the house so by the time I get to the den my lights are lit and I can have music playing if I so choose . Alexa software has really come a long way in 2020 from clunky and not able to discern me from my dog to being able to understand what my 4 year old granddaughter is trying to get to happen and myself practically having a 2 way conversation with it. Catching it on sale and using the interest free 5 payment plan made this one an easy choice that is very budget friendly. The only Echo device cheaper is the Flex but I'd recommend that one only for using Alexa features and routines. The sound and volume on it are not room filling and rich at all . Fine for voice searches and such but not so much even for audio books. For that the Dot more than suffices . If I had to choose 1 Echo device and only 1 it'd be a Dot for it's value and usability . Since I could choose more than 1 ,my most used is the full size 4th gen Echo but I really like the new Dots shape , sound quality , light bar on the bottom , button user friendliness and color choices . If you want a great value , don't need a clock and oomph in your music /audio books listening isn't a must you can't go wrong with this one unless you don't like a device the size of a baseball sitting on your furniture or shelf .

I hesitated and thought very long and hard about having these smart devices in my home for fear of privacy issues. I generally keep up with technology and really wanted an Alexa. HAHA. I received this echo dot from my daughter as a Christmas gift. I have been very pleased with it. The setup was very easy to do and there are so many fun and useful features to be used everyday. I love being able to be hands free and just call out a command. For instance, I can say "Alexa, play classic rock." And I can say, "Alexa, reduce volume by 5%" etc... all while having my hands in clay or in gloves working on a project across the room. Theres no need to go over to a radio and find a channel I want. There are fun options s too. Try asking Alexa to play cat meows or meow like a cat. That's a funny one. You can connect to other Echo dots in other rooms too for a surround sound experience. If you have other Bluetooth speakers that you want to connect to thats an option too and its easy to set up. I wondered if the sound on this echo was going to be good quality before I bought it. I can tell you in my opinion the sound quality is close to a Bose. Echo has a crisp clear quality to it and if you connect other ones from other rooms it gives you an even better surround sound experience. i have only one Echo at the moment but I would say by itself it has a bit of surround sound too. There are alot of accessories to go with this too, which I'll be buying..I can't wait to buy the plugs and bulbs to make my home a smart home. There are holsters for the wall and many other accessories. I am planning on buying one for my bathroom and kitchen to replace my current Bluetooth speakers that are in there simply because of the sound quality and the ability to turn the volume down hands free.

One of the main features I’d like about alcohol over Google is that they allow you to change the name you used to call them up. I don’t like seeing Alexa or hey Google, I’d like to be able to use my own word and in my case are used the word computer. Yes that sounds like I’m a geek but I like seeing computer and then stayed in my commands much better than Alexa or hey Google. That just makes me feel like one of the sheep in the herd. It does seem to interface very well with all the devices I have but of course you will eventually find something that is difficult to pair it up with especially when you try to get different manufacturers to work together. Sometimes it can be as difficult as getting Windows 95 to work online. That was a joke back then. Down side to heaven a customize name is when you use a name that is brought up in normal conversation it can activate for no reason. For instance, I have one in my living room not too far from the TV so when someone mentions the name computer once in a while it will activate but no big deal as it only happens some of the time. just remember the Echo Dot is the smaller one. I have had only one issue which is real easy to correct but I still have not figured out why it occasionally happens. Sometimes I look at it and I see a red lighted ring on the bottom lit up. That indicate someone turned off the listening capability so it is not listening or story what you say. For some people that is done deliberately when you don’t want it listening. In my case there are only two people in my house and no one is turning it off. There is a button on the top when you push it muted and turned the light red so correctly this means just pushing the button on the top to turn it back on. The only annoying thing is that I do not know why it turned off several times on me so far and I have not been able to related to any activity in the house so maybe there is a voice command and it is picking up the command from listening to the TV. It’s sort of like if you remember the old device sold a long time ago called the clipper, which would turn your lights on or off when you clip your hands. I often wonder what would happen if their device was near your TV and on the TV the audience was clapping , will the lights flash on and off in your house. LOL.

This is my first ever Echo device, so my review is more of the whole system than of just this particular device - as I have nothing to compare it to. The good is most everything. Sound quality is fine for me, as I keep it pretty quiet for the most part. It's in my living room, so I don't normally want it blaring in my face when I am playing music. The voice recognition software seem to work very well. Alexa always recognizes her name, although to my credit I always speak to her clearly and plainly, at a volume slightly higher than my normal conversational one. A normal robot tone, in other words. So I can offer no input on how she does for the "less robotic" speaker. Functionality-wise is where things can use improvement. Although there is still "good" there. I like hearing the weather every morning. Although I can't seem to get the news feed for my morning routine customized the way I like it. And the commands Alexa recognizes seems to be a mixed bag. She knows and does some things I would expect her to, but not all. And if she mis-understands, she normally does what she thinks you are asking for. Which can get annoying. The only other devices I have integrated into the system are my Ring doorbells. So I have no input on how she controls lights, thermostat, etc. As for the Rings, that has been a disappointment. The thing I do most often with my Rings is to 'silence' motion alerts for periods of time when there are people outside in my yard doing activities. So my hope was that instead of going into the Ring app and silencing all three of the devices, one at a time, that Alexa could do all of them at once for me. That is not the case, unfortunately. In summation, I am glad I got this... since I got it on some crazy deal for $10. At the normal price, I would not buy one. Doesn't do enough for me to make it worth the cost, beyond it being a novelty. Although I do use the bluetooth speaker functionality to play music a lot, so it has pretty-much replaced my living-room bluetooth speaker. It's just easier to say "play music" than it is to have to get up, walk over, and turn on my battery operated speaker. Although I do prefer to control the volume of that speaker though the app on my phone, which is easier than constantly saying "Alexa, turn it up/down."

The Echo Dot 4th Gen 2020 release was a gift for my chiropractor. He loves it! It definitely "echos" through his office and it is clear sound. Very good product, very happy with this purchase!

Years ago my wife wanted an Amazon Alexa. We thought it was be just something fun to have. After having one and enjoying it, we purchased a couple Echo Dots (3rd Generation) for our kids rooms. Now about 5 years after buying our first Alexa we have a total of 6 in our house including this new 4th generation dot. Not only are they fun they are extremely functional. We have a two story house and thus the connected Alexa's act as a wireless intercom that we can use to drop in and speak to any room in the house we want to. We can play the radio either in all rooms or specific rooms on our Alexa's. Things like setting timers or reminders we use on a daily basis. Sure you can do some of that stuff on your phone or computer but I find it much easier just to speak to my Alexa. It is connected to our smart plugs so things like turning on lights, security cameras or Christmas lights is controlled with our Alexa devices. They serve as an alarm clock for my kids as well as allows them to listen to music or a sporting event when they go to sleep and will even shut off after so many minutes (so that it is not playing all night). It can turn on or off things like their Xbox, etc. This 4th generation is pretty similar to the 3rd except larger in size but the sound quality is much better than the 3rd generation. Six Alexa devices currently in our house and counting, we use them all the time and are just as happy with this 4th generation as we were with the earlier ones.

The set up was easy, and this was my first echo, which is now 4 years old. It has been amazingly durable, easy to set up, and re set up after power goes out or when I moved…. It’s also compatible with my newer echos. I am surprised by how much I have integrated it into my daily life…. Playing music, setting alarms, getting reminders. It’s very useful.

After connecting the Echo Dot to my network and using decided to get a second one which I linked to the first one as stereo speakers. No kidding it is actually stereo each speaker is designated to a separate channel which can be switched between left and right. The sound is not bad and depending on placement the “split stereo” is apparent for playing music but not for TV since my TV does not support multiple speakers for stereo only mono when connected through Bluetooth. There is not a balance feature to adjust sound level on left or right but I am fine with that was not expecting great sound for under $40. As far smart functions with Alexa works as advertised and set up very easy. Can turn on TV, adjust sound, change channels as well as turn on lights with smart plugs. Need every smart device is capability with Alexa but quite a few are you need to research if important. I am a Apple user but would say Alexa as good or better than Siri. I am also a Prime member so I play music on Amazon Music but the speaker will support Apple Music if you have a subscription. Sorry Google your Nest speaker could not do that kept going to You Tube music so I returned. Also there is a built in Guard feature which can be turned on to listen for glass breaking and send a notification alert to your phone. I tested with an app (yes there is an app for that) it worked but determined the sound must be within about 10 feet. You also have home and away settings which you can tell Alexa to perform certain functions turn on lights, activate guard etc so it can act as a basic security device somewhat. I sound like a Amazon Echo Dot commercial but there was a lot of technology and features for the price. Still learning Alexa. Overall Impressed with the “speakers”.