Review: Amazon Echo Spot (Best Upgrade From Echo Show?)
We live in a world where we literally don’t have to lift a finger to get a lot of our chores done. From helping robots to smart-speakers, technology has progressed unimaginably. Amazon is here to further deliver convenience to users with the help of its Echo Spot. In this review, we will analyze whether the product is worthy of an investment or not.
What is Amazon Echo Spot?
Amazon Echo Spot is a smart-speaker which is equipped with a screen. For those of you who are aware of Alexa, you will find those features embedded in the Echo Spot as well. Hence, to all the Alexa Al lovers out there, using Echo Spot will feel like a happy reunion. The smart speaker comes with an array of features, as well as improves some of the core specifications of Alexa, the assistant.
Here are some of the features you can expect to be provided with when you use Echo Spot:
See-and-hear
In previous Alexa models, could not do all that much beyond listening to music and asking about the weather. Now, this product takes it further up a notch. Since it comes with a screen, it allows you to watch briefings, weather forecasts and see music lyrics on the screen. Moreover, it makes use of 2nd-generation voice recognition technology, which is far-field in nature. This technology renders it capable to be operated while you are a significant distance away.
Connect with Alexa
If you prefer Alexa over Siri, you might find Echo Spot to be an excellent speaker. After all, it is connected to Alexa. You can give her commands like asking about the news, answering questions, playing music, controlling smart home, listening audiobooks and streaming Amazon Music. The best part is that you are not required to use your hands. Instead, since Alexa is a voice recognition cloud-based software, mere voice commands suffice.
Here are some of the things that you can get Alexa to do for you:
- Turn on the lights of your house.
- Since it comes with a screen, it can be used to monitor front door cameras and view the baby monitor too.
- Ask to lock or unlock the doors of your house.
- Control the room temperature via the thermostat.
- Control the sprinklers (turn them on, off and control their speed).
- Call people without lifting a finger.
- Make a video call using the Alexa app.
- Connect the given device to other Echo devices in your house.
- Change channels and switch the TV on and off.
- Request an e-hailing service for a ride.
These functions are ever-increasing as Alexa is further improved by the developers. While currently, Echo Spot exhibits these functions, you can expect them to increase in the future.
Design
When it comes to design, Echo Spot does not disappoint. The only point of reference is Echo Show. The design of Echo Spot is much better than Echo Show. Echo Show faced quite a few negative reviews when it comes to design. It was just too bulky and not all that good on the aesthetics.
Compared to that model, Echo Spot has been successful in combating the issues of Echo Show. This smart speaker is very small, and hence can be easily placed on side tables. It comes in two colors: black and white. Both of these colors are neutral and hence ensure that you can place the device anywhere in your house and it won’t do much harm to your home décor.
On the contrary, we felt that it succeeded in complementing different room decors perfectly. This is achieved by the shape of the product. The shape of the smart-speaker is round. This gives it a contemporary look. Hence, for all those who wish for aesthetically pleasing speakers, you will find the compact and sophisticated design of this product to be satisfactory.
The Good
At the end of the day, you need to remember that it is a speaker after all. Therefore, the quality of sound matters. If you are not able to use it for listening to music and audiobooks, is it really worth it? in this aspect, this product is excellent. We loved its sound quality. Similarly, the device recognizes voice quite swiftly, further enhancing the experience.
Moreover, the quality of the device along with its design is much better than Echo Show. This is clearly a nod in the right direction. The fact that it has been successful in improving itself is lauded by many.
The multi-room usability of the product is exceptional. If you have different Echo devices in your room, due to the complex technology, Alexa manages to know which device you are talking to.
The Bad
The video flash briefings are quite limited. Currently, it does not support YouTube or offer many sources for video briefings. Also, the device is too small for video-viewing anyway. Therefore, for us, this feature didn’t really boil down to much.
Moreover, while it displays time, it does not offer a lot of choices regarding clock faces. You only get six analogs and one digital design. This undermines the need for customized devices. Additionally, for all those of you who are budget conscious, you will find this smart speaker to be a little too expensive.
Conclusion
The Echo Spot has both pros and cons. Even though the video flash briefing feature is quite limited right now, the fact that Echo devices can adapt to new technologies and functions means that if Amazon ever decided to add YouTube support into the mix, we might get the benefit in this product as well. When you consider the various number of features offered by the product and that this technology is still relatively new in the market, it is not hard to understand why the smart-speaker has a high price.
It all comes down to how much you prioritize convenience and being ahead in the game. For all those of you who like equipping yourself with cool technology which makes life easier than before, you will be satisfied with Echo Spot. We would advise you to buy it if you have the money. It is better than other ones in the series.
Looking for other cool gadgets to check out? Be sure to read our review for Renpho’s Bluetooth Body Fat Scale while you’re here!