Best Amazon Echo: Which Echo speaker or display is right for you?

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A comparison of all Amazon’s Echo smart speakers and displays

Amazon’s Echo range is extensive and has grown rapidly over the years. The first Echo speaker arrived back in 2014 and was a key device in transforming the way we interact with technology, bringing voice control and smart home integration into our daily lives.

From the compact Echo Pop and the powerful Echo Studio, to the small-screen Echo Show 5 and the massive Echo Show 21, the Echo line offers a device for every need. The problem is that the range is so wide that it’s difficult to determine what you need and which Echo speaker or smart display will work best in your home.

But don’t worry, that’s where we come in. This feature scans all currently available Amazon Echo devices. We’ve delved into its key features, sound quality, smart home compatibility, and unique selling points. So whether you’re a tech enthusiast looking for the best Echo smart speaker or display, or a casual user looking for a simple voice assistant, here’s how Amazon’s Echo speakers and displays compare.

The best Amazon Echo speakers: Echo Pop vs Echo Dot vs Echo vs Echo Studio

We’ll start with Echo speakers because, while it’s possible to use both a speaker and a smart display, they are different devices and are useful for different reasons.

amazon eco pop

(Image credit: The Ambient / Amazon)
  • Dimensions: 99x83x91mm, 196g
  • Smart Home Features: Built-in Eero, Materia
  • Flag: Glacier White, Charcoal, Lavender Blossom, Midnight Teal
  • Released: 2023
  • Price: $39.99 / £44.99

The Amazon Echo Pop is the cheapest and most compact speaker in the Echo line. It offers a 49.5mm front-facing speaker and is designed to be an affordable way to bring Alexa into your home. The sound performance isn’t as good as other Echo speakers, but it’s a great option for small spaces, letting you listen to music, podcasts, and audiobooks easily.

As you’d expect, you can use Echo Pop to control smart home devices, as well as ask Alexa to help you with everyday tasks like setting timers, checking the weather, and making calls. The Echo Pop can also expand the Wi-Fi capabilities in your home if you have an Eero Wi-Fi system and it’s also a Matter controller.

Overall, the Echo Pop is a great option for those looking to add smart home convenience to their lives without breaking the bank, although remember that the Echo Dot is only slightly more expensive and has better audio quality.

Read more about Echo Pop: Amazon Echo Pop Review | Amazon Echo Pop vs Echo Dot | Amazon Echo Spot vs Echo Pop

Amazon Echo Dot

Amazon Echo Spot for the best Echo speaker
(Image credit: The Ambient / Amazon)
  • Dimensions: 113mm x 103mm x 111mm, 405g
  • Smart Home Features: Affair
  • Flag: Black, glacier white, ocean blue
  • Released: 2024
  • Price: $79.99 / £79.99

The Amazon Echo Spot isn’t much different from the Echo Pop in terms of design, but it adds a 2.83-inch touchscreen on the front, resulting in a smart speaker that also has a small visual interface to make it more useful for the functions. such as alarms, display album art, and display weather forecasts.

As with all Echo devices, Alexa is built in so you can control smart home devices, set alarms, check the weather, and access a wide range of information with voice commands. However, the Echo Spot is perfect as a bedside companion. It can gently wake you up with your favorite music, the screen can be customized with various clock face and colors, and it can also be used to make direct calls to other Echo devices if there are other family members who need a pick-me-up in the morning. .

The Echo Spot’s audio capabilities aren’t as powerful as larger Echo devices (although they’re not bad for its size), it’s not the cheapest, and it can’t be used as an Eero Wi-Fi extender. However, if you’re looking for a visually appealing smart speaker with a couple of extra features thanks to the small screen, the Echo Spot is a great option.

Read more about Echo Spot: Amazon Echo Pop Review | Amazon Echo Spot vs Echo Dot

Amazon Echo Dot

Amazon Echo Dot for the best Echo speaker
(Image credit: The Ambient / Amazon)
  • Dimensions: 100 x 100 x 89mm, 340g
  • Smart Home Features: Built-in Eero, works with Fire TV
  • Flag: Deep sea blue, charcoal, glacier white
  • Released: 2022
  • Price: $49.99 / £54.99

The Amazon Echo Dot is one of the champions in the world of smart speakers and in the entire Echo range. It’s an affordable entry point to Alexa with a small, spherical design (think a little larger than a baseball) with a fabric casing that allows it to fit neatly anywhere in your home.

The fifth generation (launched in 2022) keeps the core functionality of the Echo Dot range strong, and while it doesn’t feature many innovative changes from previous generations, the sound quality is still decent. It’s not enough for audiophiles, but the Echo Dot’s 1.73-inch driver delivers clear vocals and good enough sound for casual listening.

It can be used as an Eero extender like the Echo Pop, and has a built-in temperature sensor, allowing for more seamless smart home routines, such as adjusting the thermostat based on room temperature. Of course, you can also control music streaming services, receive news updates, or make calls like other Echo speakers, and it can be paired with a Fire TV for an Alexa theater system.

Some may miss the 3.5mm jack that was removed with this generation, but the Echo Dot is a versatile and well-designed Echo speaker, offering a good balance of features and price.

Read more about Echo Dot: Amazon Echo Dot Review | Amazon Echo Dot vs Echo Spot

Amazon Echo Dot Kids

Amazon Echo Kids as the best Echo speaker
(Image credit: The Ambient / Amazon)
  • Dimensions: 100 x 100 x 89mm, 340g
  • Smart Home Features: Works with fire TV
  • Flag: Dragon, Owl
  • Released: 2022
  • Price: $59.99 / £64.99

The Amazon Echo Dot Kids is the Echo Dot but has a cute animal design to make it more attractive to younger users. It’s a fun and safe way to introduce kids to the world of Alexa, not only with a built-in version of Alexa for kids, but also with a variety of features designed for kids, including access to age-appropriate content, educational skills and bedtime stories through Amazon Kids+.

Parents can set time limits and filter content through the Parent Dashboard, ensuring a safe and controlled experience, and Echo Dot Kids can also be used to stream age-appropriate music, audiobooks, and podcasts.

It doesn’t have the same level of audio quality as higher-end Echo devices, but it still offers clear vocals and decent bass for music and audiobooks. It also works as a smart alarm clock, which is one of its best features as it allows kids to set their own alarms with fun sound effects.

If you’re looking for a great smart speaker for kids to pair with other Echo devices you already have, Echo Dot Kids provides a solid introduction to smart technology for kids, offering entertainment, education, and convenience in a kid-friendly format. package.

Read more about Alexa for kids: Amazon Alexa for Kids: Skills, Commands, and Parental Controls Explained

Amazon Echo (4th generation)

Amazon Echo as the best Echo speaker
(Image credit: The Ambient / Amazon)
  • Dimensions: 144x144x133mm, 970g
  • Smart Home Features: Integrated Eero, Matter, Zigbee and Thread
  • Flag: Charcoal, twilight blue
  • Released: 2020
  • Price: $99.99 / £109.99

The fourth-generation Amazon Echo is an excellent smart home speaker that offers decent upgrades over its processor, a modern spherical design, and surprising power for its size.

The key to this Echo speaker lies in Zigbee compatibility, which transforms the Echo into a capable smart home hub, allowing for more seamless integration and control of various compatible smart home devices. Audio quality is also good, with rich, clear sound that fills the room and, while it may not match that of speakers like the Sonos Era 100, it excels at casual listening.

Voice commands reign supreme, allowing you to control music streaming, adjust smart home settings, make calls and access information via Alexa, and there’s a 3.5mm jack that provides an option for wired connections to speakers. external.

Overall, the Amazon Echo offers an impressive value proposition. It’s not the cheapest smart speaker out there, nor the cheapest Echo speaker, but its combination of good sound quality, Zigbee hub capabilities, and easy-to-use design make it a very good smart speaker.

Read more about Amazon Echo: Amazon Echo Review | Amazon Echo vs Echo Dot

Amazon Echo Studio

Amazon Echo Studio as the best Echo speaker
(Image credit: The Ambient / Amazon)
  • Dimensions: 206 x 175mm, 3.5kg
  • Smart Home Features: Zigbee and matter
  • Flag: Coal, Glacier
  • Released: 2022
  • Price: $199.99 / £219.99

Amazon Echo Studio is the largest and most powerful smart speaker in the Echo range and offers spacious sound that is significantly better than other Echo speakers. You won’t be blown away by the bass, but your music will sound great and you’ll even be able to pick up details you haven’t heard before.

One of the standout features of the Echo Studio compared to the rest of the Echo range is spatial audio, which offers a more immersive listening experience when playing compatible tracks. Of course, you also get the rest of the Alexa features that come with other Echo speakers, including the ability to set alarms, get weather information, control smart home devices, and use Alexa Drop In and Alexa Calling.

Amazon Echo Studio also has Zigbee built in and can be paired with a Fire TV for Alexa Home Cinema. Overall, Echo Studio is a good choice for audiophiles looking for a powerful smart speaker with good sound quality. It’s big and expensive, so it may not be the best option for everyone, but it is the best sound quality.

Read more about Amazon Echo Studio: Amazon Echo Studio Review

Best Amazon Echo smart display: Echo Show 5 vs Show 8 vs Show 10 vs Show 15 vs Show 21 vs Echo Hub

If you’re looking for a smart speaker that offers additional features by also having a screen, the Echo Show range is where you should look. We compare all the Echo Shows below and also highlight the Echo Hub, which is the device you’ll want if you’re looking for smart home control.

Amazon Echo Show 5

Amazon Echo Show 5 as the best Echo speaker
(Image credit: The Ambient / Amazon)
  • Dimensions: 147x82x91mm, 456g
  • Smart Home Features: N/A
  • Flag: Charcoal, Cloud Blue, White
  • Released: 2023
  • Price: $89.99 / £89.99

The Amazon Echo Show 5 is an excellent small-screen smart display that offers a lot despite its compact size. Like the Echo Pop and Echo Spot, it’s ideal for nightstands, kitchens, or anywhere you need a little visual Alexa companion.

The 5.5-inch screen is good for video calls, viewing recipes or checking the weather, while built-in Alexa makes it easy to control music, smart home devices or access information. Elsewhere, the Echo Show 5, like other Echo Show models, also doubles as a digital photo frame, will display a live feed from any compatible camera you have, and works brilliantly as an alarm clock with a built-in to touch to snooze.

The sound quality is good enough for casual listening or news updates, with crisp, clear audio for its size, and the Echo Show 5 is affordable, making it a great first smart display.

Read more about the Echo Show 5: Amazon Echo Show 5 Review | Amazon Echo Show 5 vs Echo Show 8

Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids

Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids as the best Echo speaker
(Image credit: The Ambient / Amazon)
  • Dimensions: 147x82x91mm, 456g
  • Smart Home Features: N/A
  • Flag: Charcoal, Cloud Blue, White
  • Released: 2023
  • Price: $99.99 / £99.99

The Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids is an Echo Show 5 but has been designed with kids in mind, like the Echo Dot Kids, and offers a compact smart display in a variety of colorful designs. It has a 5.5-inch screen for watching videos, playing games and making video calls to parent-approved contacts, while the crisp, clear sound makes it good for kids to listen to music, audiobooks and podcasts, all of which also They are appropriate for their age. depending on how you have configured it.

Parental controls mean parents can manage screen time, set bedtime routines, and filter content to ensure a safe, age-appropriate experience. Meanwhile, built-in Alexa is kid-friendly and lets them ask questions, listen to stories, play games, and learn new things.

The Echo Dot Kids may be enough if you just want your kids to be able to play music or ask Alexa for help with homework, but if you want them to also have a visual interface, the Echo Show 5 Kids will entertain and educate in no time. secure digital world.

Amazon Echo Show 8

Amazon Echo Show 8 as the best Echo speaker
(Image credit: The Ambient / Amazon)
  • Dimensions: 200 x 139 x 106mm, 1.34kg
  • Smart Home Features: Zigbee, Matter and Thread
  • Flag: Charcoal, Glacier White
  • Released: 2023
  • Price: $149.99 / £149.99

The Amazon Echo Show 8 is a great option for anyone looking for a mid-sized smart speaker with a display. It’s an 8-inch device that strikes a good balance between the compact Echo Show 5 and the larger Echo Show models below, making it ideal for kitchens, living rooms, or home offices.

There are two 2-inch speakers and a passive bass radiator, offering rich sound for music, movies or video calls, while the 13-megapixel camera offers good details for video conferencing. As you’d expect, Alexa is at the heart of the Echo Show 8, enabling voice control for music playback, smart home device management, and information search, and the Echo Show 8 supports Zigbee, Matter and Thread for easy connection with various devices.

The screen resolution could be sharper and the user interface would benefit from a smart home control mode like the Echo Hub, but overall the Echo Show 8 is excellent as a central hub for entertainment, communication and home control intelligent.

Read more about Amazon Echo Show 8: Amazon Echo Show 8 Review

Amazon Echo Show 10

Amazon Echo Show 10 as the best Echo speaker
(Image credit: The Ambient / Amazon)
  • Dimensions: 251 x 230 x 172mm, 2.56kg
  • Smart Home Features: Zigbee, Matter
  • Flag: Charcoal, Glacier White
  • Released: 2021
  • Price: $249.99 / £259.99

The Amazon Echo Show 10 is starting to appear among the largest smart displays Amazon offers, but this one also offers a unique touch by having a rotating screen (no pun intended). It has a 10.1-inch screen that automatically pans and tilts to keep you in frame during video calls, ensuring you’re always center stage, while the 13-megapixel wide-angle sensor delivers good quality video calls.

The Echo Show 10 also boasts strong audio credentials, with a 2.1 speaker setup with tweeters and a woofer that delivers surround sound. It means this smart display is actually a very good option for watching movies and videos while cooking or listening to music, while the built-in Zigbee hub and Matter compatibility make smart home control simple.

It’s not small and this smart display is quite thick compared to the wall-mounted Echo Show 15, meaning it demands a lot of space and therefore won’t be for everyone or every home. The screen resolution is also not very sharp compared to some competitors. That said, the Echo Show 10 is an attractive option for those looking for a feature-rich smart display with superior audio and a unique video calling experience.

Read more about Amazon Echo Show 10: Amazon Echo Show 10 Review | Amazon Echo Show 8 vs Echo Show 10

Amazon Echo Show 15

Amazon Echo Show 15 for the best Echo speaker
(Image credit: The Ambient / Amazon)
  • Dimensions: 410 x 260 x 40mm, 2.2kg
  • Smart Home Features: Zigbee, Matter and Thread, Fire TV integrated
  • Flag: Charcoal, Glacier White
  • Released: 2024
  • Price: $299.99 / £299.99

Amazon Echo Show 15 is a large, versatile smart display designed to be the centerpiece of your home. Its 15.6-inch Full HD screen is perfect for watching videos, following recipes or controlling your smart home and can be mounted on the wall, which is ideal, or used with a stand sold separately. It also has Fire TV built in and comes with an Alexa remote in the box, so it’s perfect for watching content.

With built-in Alexa voice control like other Echo devices, you can easily control your music, make video calls, check the news, or set reminders. The Echo Show 15 can also be used as a digital photo frame, displaying your favorite photos, and you can use it to view compatible smart home cameras, as well as your Ring Video Doorbell.

The Echo Show 15 can automatically switch between different views, such as a calendar, to-do list, or weather forecast, based on your activity, and you can also customize the home screen to display your favorite apps and information. The large size means it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but for a wall-mounted smart display with some great features, the Echo Show 15 is a solid option to consider.

Read more about Amazon Echo Show 15: Amazon Echo Show 15 vs Echo Show 10

Amazon Echo Show 21

Amazon Echo Show 21 for the best Echo speaker
(Image credit: The Ambient / Amazon)
  • Dimensions: 540 x 340 x 38mm, 4.9kg
  • Smart Home Features: Zigbee, Matter and Thread, Fire TV integrated
  • Flag: Charcoal, Glacier White
  • Released: 2024
  • Price: $399.99 / £399.99

Amazon Echo Show 21 is the largest Echo device available with a massive 21-inch screen that provides a large canvas for video calls, watching movies, or browsing recipes. It offers better sound quality with richer audio and deeper bass compared to the old Echo Show 15, although the sound can distort a bit at higher volumes and it’s not the best-sounding Echo speaker despite being the most expensive.

Like the Echo Show 15, the Echo Show 21 can be mounted on the wall (as designed) or on a table with a separate stand, and features Fire TV built in, making it easy to view all your streaming platforms favorites.

There’s an automatic panoramic camera, which keeps you in frame during video calls even if you move, and the Echo Show 21 also excels as a smart home hub, integrating seamlessly with various smart devices and offering Matter, Thread and Zigbee compatibility for enhanced connectivity .

The screen resolution could be sharper, although it’s still sharp, and the user interface can seem a little cluttered at times. Otherwise, though, this is an impressive package and an attractive option for those looking for a large, versatile smart display that can serve as a central hub for entertainment, communication, and smart home control.

Read more about Amazon Echo Show 21: Amazon Echo Show 21 Review | Amazon Echo Show 21 vs Echo Show 15

Amazon Echo Center

Amazon Echo Hub for the best Echo speaker
(Image credit: The Ambient / Amazon)
  • Dimensions: 202x137x15mm, 365g
  • Smart Home Features: Zigbee, Matter and Thread
  • Flag: White
  • Released: 2023
  • Price: $179.99 / £169.99

Amazon Echo Hub is a dedicated smart home control panel designed to simplify management of your connected devices. It features an 8-inch touchscreen that displays a customizable dashboard, allowing you to easily view and control various smart devices such as cameras, lights, locks, thermostats, and more.

It supports Zigbee, Thread and Matter protocols to ensure seamless integration with your existing smart home setup and you can view live camera feeds, set up routines and control your home with voice commands through Alexa.

The Echo Hub isn’t as versatile as a full smart display or other Echo Show devices, but it’s great as a dedicated smart home control center, providing a convenient and visually appealing way to manage your connected devices.

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