Echo Dot (5th generation, 2022 release) | Big vibrant sound Wi-Fi and Bluetooth smart speaker with Alexa | Charcoal

Product Information

The speaker itself has been massively upgraded, The sound is leaps and bounds better than the previous model, with thumpier bass and louder volume. Among its robust lineup of smart speakers, the Echo (Fourth Generation) and Echo Dot (Fifth Generation) are eerily similar, despite the former being almost twice as big as the latter. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. Eero says each Dot can add up to 1,000 square feet of coverage and support speeds of up to 100Mbps and up to 10 devices. Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing.

It can only show a few characters at a time, so you have to stand there for 30 seconds to read a song title and artist when you could simply ask Alexa to name the song. It’s honestly so big that we didn’t have much room on a side table for anything else but the device.View image in fullscreen The new Echo Dot on the right is slightly larger in every dimension than the previous version on the left.

Still, with the Dot's new-and-improved front-firing speaker, there's no question that it wins the contest when it comes to quality audio. Since the intelligence of Echo devices lies in the cloud, users do not have to update the software version that it is currently running. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. It uses Eero’s TrueMesh software technology, tapping into the dual-band Wi-Fi radios in the speakers to find the strongest connection and then extend it. Mashable is a registered trademark of Ziff Davis and may not be used by third parties without express written permission.It won’t beat larger speakers, but for the money it sounds pretty good, edging out Google’s Home Mini. But where Alexa was the only game in town, it’s now a two-horse race between Alexa and Google Assistant. While it’s the same dimensions as the last version – 100 x 100 x 89mm – the new version has gained a tiny bit of weight at 340g to the predecessor’s 328g. Actual performance can vary and certain eero, Echo, or Alexa features may be incompatible with eero Built-in. Putting the new model and the 2020 version side by side on my desk and switching the music between them using Spotify Connect, the difference is noticeable, but not as great as the change from third-gen to fourth-gen.

When I asked for the weather or to set a timer, the Dot usually responded in less than two seconds, compared to just over three seconds on the fourth-gen device. I mean, what other speaker will listen for the sound of broken glass and immediately alert you to a potential robbery happening when you're MIA from home? I don’t say that lightly: I’ve had both side-by-side for days, switching between the two to hear the (minor) differences, and at times I’ve forgotten which is which, relying on the differently coloured buttons on top for a hint. We were able to set up personalised voice recognition for each family member as well, and Alexa skills worked a dream.The onboard ultrasound motion sensor, which is also in the fourth-gen Dot, is handy for turning lights on when you walk into the room.