Echo Spot review: this smart alarm clock hits a sweet spot

I’ve been looking for a good alarm clock with voice control for years now — and with Amazon’s newest smart speaker, I think I’ve found it. The Nest Hub is too big for my nightstand and the Echo Show 5 is too bright, but the new Echo Spot ($79.99) is just right.

While it’s not perfect, the Spot’s small footprint, minimalist display, impressive sound for its size, built-in voice assistant, and snappy responses fill most of my needs. These features make it a good option if you want the benefits of a smart speaker and some basic visual information in your bedroom without the distractions of a large screen.

As the sequel to the original Echo Spot that was discontinued in 2019, the new Echo Spot ditches the camera, which was our main gripe with the earlier version. It also replaces the full circular screen with a semicircular display that shows the clock. While that display is a bit too small (and slightly cheap-looking), overall, the Spot is a capable smart alarm clock for a good price, especially when it’s on sale.

Small screen, big personality

An Alexa-powered smart speaker, the Spot follows the design cues of the Echo Pop with its flat circular front, but it adds a small 2.83-inch display above the speaker grille. This is a touchscreen display that shows a clock or various animations when playing music, telling the weather, setting timers, and controlling smart home devices. It’s very responsive to touch, although it’s limited in terms of what you can do with it.

The Spot also responds well to Alexa’s voice commands with minimal lag and can trigger Alexa Routines with presence detection using an ultrasound sensor. It’s a Bluetooth speaker (there’s no line-out) and an Alexa Matter controller (over Wi-Fi). But unlike the Echo Dot, there’s no temperature sensor and it doesn’t act as an Eero mesh Wi-Fi extender.