The newest generation of the Echo Dot from Amazon has twice the bass, includes a temperature sensor, and doubles as a Eero mesh Wi-Fi extender.
by JP Corcoran
What’s that you say? Amazon has added yet another Echo Dot to its ever expanding collection of smart speakers? Whether you’re in the market for a new Alexa device or thinking about dipping your toes into the world of smart home technology for the first time, the Echo Dot 5th Generation is one option to keep in mind.
The Rise of the Echo Dot
Since the release of the Echo Dot 1st Generation in Spring of 2016, this line of smart speakers continues to be some of Amazon’s most popular devices and it’s not difficult to see why. The stylish and versatile Echo Dot gives you access to all the voice commands and skills that come with Alexa, while being compact and affordable enough to place in just about any room of the house.
Not one new Echo Dot but three
Let’s start by pointing out that it isn’t just one Echo Dot that has been released by Amazon this month but three. The new line of Echo Dot speakers are the Echo Dot (5th Gen), Echo Dot (5th Gen) with Clock, and Echo Dot (5th Gen) Kids. Each of these devices were released on October 20th on www.amazon.co.uk.
The Echo Dot and Echo Dot with Clock come in three colours which are charcoal, deep blue sea, and glacier white. Besides the new deep blue sea colour option, visually there is no difference between the Echo Dot 5th Generation and its predecessors.
So what exactly is it that sets the latest version apart?
1) Sound quality
The big change is in the audio quality that it will produce. Amazon has dubbed its new Echo Dot 5th Generation “our best-sounding Echo Dot yet”. For the audiophiles out there the company claim that you will “enjoy an improved audio experience compared to any previous Echo Dot with Alexa for clearer vocals, deeper bass and vibrant sound in any room”. It’s claimed that the new, larger, driver in the Echo will deliver double the bass, producing a more robust sound, but there’s also a big reduction in distortion which can happen at higher volumes.
2) Temperature Sensor
Another big addition worth noting is the new in-built motion and temperature sensors, which allow you to create more intuitive routines based on your home’s indoor temperature or whether someone is home. For example, you can program Alexa to turn on a smart bulb when you enter a room or switch on a fan if the temperature goes above a certain level.
3) Tap the top
The new Echo Dots have a touch-sensitive point added to the top, so you can do things like snooze an alarm or pause music by just tapping it.
4) Wi-Fi extender
Amazon’s new Alexa-powered Echo smart speakers will help to boost your home’s Wi-Fi signal strength. A lot of people would like to do more with their smart devices but struggle to connect their homes with patchy Wi-Fi and dead spots. The best Wi-Fi extenders can help here, and the new Echo Dot helpfully comes with built-in eero. This means that provided you have a compatible eero router, you can get up to 1,000 sqft of extra coverage and speeds up to 100Mbps. This feature is only available in the US and Canada right now but we hope it will be available in Ireland in the near future.
Conclusions
There you have it – the much-awaited Amazon Echo Dot 5th generation is finally here and has a good number of tricks under its sleeve. It is smarter, bassier, and brings us some cool new features. While the differences between the 4th and 5th generation Echo devices aren’t enormous, if you are in the market for a new Echo Dot and audio quality is your thing then it’s certainly worth giving this smart speaker some thought.