We put the Amazon Echo smart speakers head-to-head.
Amazon announced the refresh of its Echo range in September 2020. The Echo 4th Generation replaced the 3rd Generation, released a year earlier. It’s no quick and easy refresh. Almost every part has been tweaked or changed. The Amazon Echo 4th Generation has a different shape, a new processor, better hardware for smart home tech fiends and a different driver array.360-degree audio is traded in for Dolby Digital stereo, a good swap unless you want to place your Echo right in the middle of the room and have it fire out in sound all directions. For most of us, this is a no-brainer. The Amazon Echo 4th Generation gets you better tech at around the same price. And, well, the 3rd Generation Echo will be discontinued anyway, making the decision even easier. Don’t rule out the older speaker if you see it selling at a discounted price in one of the Amazon Prime Day deals, but otherwise stick to the new model. What is an Echo speaker? Echo is the name given to Amazon’s smart speakers. Some have screens, some don’t. They cover all ground from the tiny box designed to let you control your smart lights, to the hifi-style Echo Studio. Alexa joins them all up. This is Amazon’s digital assistant, the artificially intelligent pseudo-person who responds when you talk to the speaker. The standard Echo speakers are a good fit more most. They’re not too big, not too expensive, and yet still sound good. What can an Echo do? If the Amazon Echo will be your first smart home gadget, you might want to try asking it to play some specific songs, ask for a weather report or to set a timer. That last one is perfect as a cooking aid. An Echo gets even more interesting when you buy some other smart home tech, like a smart light. You can control the vast majority of gadgets like that with any Echo. How is this different to a Bluetooth speaker? A portable Bluetooth speaker is a great way to get music on-the-go. They have batteries, the Amazon Echo (2020) does not because it’s made to stay at home. It does have Bluetooth too, but mostly operates using your home Wi-Fi network. What’s the difference between an Echo, a Dot and a Show? The standard Echo, the Echo Dot and the Echo Show are the three main lines of the Amazon smart speaker family. Echo Shows have screens, Echo Dots are cheap and small, and standard Echos had a design closest to the original Amazon tower speaker, until this year. More on that below. There are others, like the Echo Spot, Auto and Studio, but the three main lines are a good place to start if you’re new to smart speakers. The 2019 Amazon Echo arrived in September 2019.
