It's hard to believe that the first Amazon Echo was released over five years ago. Since then, it's evolved from a standalone smart speaker into an entire ecosystem of radically different products. You'll find an Echo on just about every website and in every store these days, but with so many different models to choose from, how do you know which one is best for you? Well, we're experts on Amazon's Echo lineup, and below you'll find a detailed guide on buying an Alexa-powered speaker or screen for your smart home. We think the Echo Dot (3rd Gen) is the best choice for most folks, but if that's not your cup of tea, there are plenty of other options to choose from. Let's dive in.
Best Alternative - Amazon Echo Dot with Clock
Best Mid-Range Speaker - Amazon Echo (3rd Gen)
Best for Music - Amazon Echo Studio
Best for Smart Homes - Amazon Echo Plus (2nd Gen)
Want a top-notch Echo experience? That's where the Echo Plus comes in. Featuring a stunning fabric design and great speakers, the Echo Plus impresses.
The highlight of the Echo Plus is its ability to serve as a smart home hub - if the devices you're looking to support use Zigbee to connect (you're forgiven if you don't know what Zigbee is - it's not something an end-user should ever have to worry about). It likely won't solve all your smart home problems, but it's a nice little addition nonetheless.
Best for Bass - Amazon Echo Sub
Best for Kids - Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition
Best for Old Speakers - Amazon Echo Input
Best for Alexa Super Fans - Amazon Echo Show (2nd Gen)
All of the Echo speakers we've talked about so far are great, but there's something they've all been missing - a screen. With the Amazon Echo Show, you get all the power of Alexa in addition to a screen that can be used to view the weather, calendar appointments, make video calls, and even watch Amazon Prime Video.
The original Echo Show failed to live up to the hype Amazon created for it, but the 2nd Gen version proved to be well worth the wait. The screen is a lot bigger despite the overall body of the Echo Show being smaller, the speakers are ridiculously good, and the build quality is top-notch. Also, just like the Echo Plus, the Echo Show can double as a smart home hub for compatible devices.
The Echo Show's definitely not cheap, but if you want the best Echo money can buy, this is it.
Best Mid-Range Display - Amazon Echo Show 8
Best Affordable Display - Amazon Echo Show 5
Best On the Move - Amazon Echo Buds
Best Face Forward - Amazon Echo Frames
While technically a Day 1 product available by invitation only at this point, the Echo Frames may be one of the most exciting Echo form factors to come out since the original black canister.
The frames come with clear, non-prescription lenses which you can replace with your own prescription. They are also equipped with four microspeakers and two microphones in the temples so that you can hear Alexa, and she can hear you. There is a small LED indicator light on the inside of the frames, so you know if Alexa heard your command and if she's muted, and there is a combination of buttons and touchpad controls along the right temple to manage your information.
We got a chance to test these out before they have become a mass consumer product, and we were really impressed with the sound quality and responsiveness. If you get a chance to purchase them, we definitely recommend it!
Best for the Car - Amazon Echo Auto
With so many different Echos being offered, it's kind of impossible to say that one of these is 100% better than everything else. Everyone has different wants/needs, and as such, everyone will gravitate to a particular Echo device that speaks to them the most. With that said, we do think that the Echo Dot (3rd Gen) offers the best overall experience.
The Echo Dot is one of the cheapest Echos that Amazon sells, and even so, it's a joy to use. You can place it in virtually any room thanks to the compact size, the fabric design looks gorgeous, and for having such a small form factor, it's shocking how good the speaker sounds.
Considering the price that Amazon's asking for the Echo Dot, you can buy a few of them, scatter them throughout your entire home, and come out the other end without having blown through your bank account.
The Echo Show 8 and Show 5 are Amazon's two most appealing smart displays, mostly thanks to their comprehensive feature set and low prices. Both are fantastic smart displays, but we have to give the upper-hand to the Show 8.
Amazon struck gold with the Echo Show 8. It has a display that's big enough for comfortable content consumption while being in a small enough form factor so that it's easy to put in just about any room. The display is also crisp and colorful, the speakers are great, and you get a video camera with a physical cover to hide it. Add all of that together with the low price, and you have a winner on your hands.
The Show 5 stands out thanks to its ultra-compact design and even lower price, but for just a few dollars more, the Show 8 delivers a better-looking screen and better-sounding speakers. If space is limited, however, the Show 5 probably makes more sense.
You can't go wrong with an Echo Dot. The Dot series is Amazon's cheapest and most popular for Echo speakers, and right now, the two highlights are the Echo Dot (3rd Gen) and Echo Dot with Clock.
With the Echo Dot (3rd Gen), you're getting a lot of speaker for not a lot of money. It fits anywhere, has a great design, sounds better than you'd expect, and works with every Alexa command out there. There's a reason this thing has become as popular as it is.
The Echo Dot (3rd Gen) is an easy purchase, but if you spend just a little more, the Echo Dot with Clock makes things pretty interesting. It does everything the regular Dot does, but its LED display serves as a showcase for the time, outdoor temperature, and a timer countdown. That may not sound like a lot, but for all of those times when you want to glance and see what time it is quickly, the Echo Dot with Clock does that automatically and saves you a voice command in the process.
Amazon's Echo Plus used to stand out as Amazon's best-sounding Echo speaker, but that title now belongs to the Echo Studio. The Echo Studio is big, bulky, expensive, and sounds insanely good. If you're an audiophile, it's the Echo speaker you want.
So, where does that leave the Echo Plus? The Echo Plus still sounds excellent, and it also still has the built-in Zigbee hub that makes it a solid choice for smart-home enthusiasts. This is something you'll also find in the Echo Studio, but the Plus benefits from a smaller size and lower price.
You'll get the best audio experience with the Echo Studio, but if you're mostly interested in the Zigbee hub and want to spend as little as possible, the Plus is still a great purchase.
At first glance, you may not be able to tell the difference between the Echo Plus (2nd Gen) and the Echo (3rd Gen), and that appears to be intentional. When Amazon refreshed the "regular" Echo (3rd Gen) in late 2019, it even called this out, saying that the device was inheriting the "sound architecture" of the earlier Echo Plus (2nd Gen), along with the Plus's more plush, softer design.
The biggest (and only real) difference between these two Echos is the fact that the Echo Plus (2nd Gen) has a built-in Zigbee smart hub, which allows it to communicate more easily with more smart home products right out of the box. This increased functionality results in a slightly higher price over the Echo (3rd Gen), but we question whether it's worth the additional money. Amazon has introduced a new Certified for Humans program which promises easier setup and use of smart home devices with its Echo products, so having a built-in smart home hub is not the selling point it once seemed to be.
While it may seem obvious, choosing between the larger Echo Show and the new smaller Echo Show 5 is quite tricky. The former has a massive 10-inch screen and a super-loud, bass-heavy speaker to go with it. If you're into music at all, the Echo Show (2nd Gen) is the one to get.
However, if you value space, or have another speaker for music, the Echo Show 5 is a perfect compromise. You still get a bright, decently-sized display that can show you the news, weather, and any Echo-related updates you may want to see. There's also a camera for Skype video conferencing, and the price is more palatable.
Decide accordingly!
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