Remember the Echo Spot, the little round Alexa speaker with a small screen that doubled as an alarm clock? Amazon deep-sixed the Echo Spot almost five years ago, but now the diminutive Alexa device is making a comeback.
The new Echo Spot keeps the overall look of the old Spot—picture a softball-sized sphere that’s been chopped in half, with the upward-angled face sporting a 2.83-inch digital display that can show you the time, current weather conditions, the current music track that’s playing, and other salient details about your day.
The Echo Spot’s 320 x 240-pixel display offers six different color options—orange, violet, magenta, lime, teal, and blue—good for customizing the various clock faces.
The new Echo Spot’s display can show a clock face, the current weather conditions, or the currently playing song (pictured).
The new Echo Spot’s display can show a clock face, the current weather conditions, or the currently playing song (pictured).
Amazon
The new Echo Spot’s display can show a clock face, the current weather conditions, or the currently playing song (pictured).
Amazon
Amazon
Beneath the dome-shaped screen is a 1.73-inch front-firing speaker that—according to Amazon, at least—delivers “vibrant sound” plus “clear vocals and deep bass.” (We’ll make our own call once we’ve heard the new Spot for ourselves.) You can also create a stereo pair using a second Echo Spot to boost the soundstage.
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart speakers.
Sitting at the top of the Echo Spot are three buttons: two for volume control, and a third for mic-mute.
Naturally, the Echo Spot can control your smart home devices via Alexa voice commands, and you can also ask Alexa to deliver weather reports, read breaking news headlines, add items to your shopping list, or tee up your favorite tunes.
Unlike Amazon’s other bargain-priced Echo speakers, the Echo Spot won’t act as an extender for Amazon’s Eero wireless routers—for that functionality, you’ll have to upgrade to an Echo Pop, Echo Dot, or another compatible Echo speaker.
The all-new Amazon Echo Spot is available now for (a somewhat pricey), $79.99, but Prime members can snap up the speaker for $44.99 through Prime Day, which begins July 16.
Amazon nixed the original Echo Spot back in 2019. The official word was that the speaker had simply sold out following “incredibly positive,” but The Ambient reported that a “flickering” screen may also have been to blame.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer, TechHive
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he has covered everything from smart speakers and soundbars to smart lights and security cameras. Ben's articles have also appeared in PC Magazine, TIME, Wired, CNET, Men's Fitness, Mobile Magazine, and more. Ben holds a master's degree in English literature.