Lots of homes have a smart speaker of some sort these days. They have been integrated into our daily lives and used for everything from listening to music or the radio, getting the latest news and weather, playing games, alarm clocks and timers, turning on/off lights and other devices and lots more, all just by talking to a voice-controlled speaker that is connected to your wifi. I use Amazon’s Echo Dot and have just changed my original puck-like smart speaker (2nd generation) for the new 5th generation Echo Dot with Clock and it is certainly an improvement.
The Echo Dot with Clock is vastly different from the original little puck-like speaker and looks so much more aesthetically pleasing, fitting the décor of the room much better (especially as it is available in Cloud Blue or Glacier White). It can also be purchased without the clock display on the front.
There was nothing wrong with my original Echo Dot and didn’t need to be replaced, it was and still is functioning perfectly. I have a wireless QI charger on my bedside light so I can easily charge my phone without cables running everywhere and the lamp also features a built-in clock and alarm. Bedside lamp, wireless phone charger and alarm clock all in one unit was great – except that the light on the clock was bright blue and lit up the room at night! The clock light can be turned off but then in the middle of the night you can’t see the time, which I found annoying. I ended up turning off the clock light and if I needed to know the time at night, I would whisper to Alexa to tell me the time (and she would WHISPER back) – not perfect but better than a bright blue light. Then I happened to see the 5th generation of the Echo Dot with a built-in LED clock so that’s why I replaced my old Echo Dot. And I’m glad I did – apart from the clock, which is also a perfect alarm clock, it looks much better and sounds a whole lot better too.
The Echo Dot, probably better known as Alexa, is an AI powered assistant that connects to your home wifi. I loved my original puck-like version, but it wasn’t the best looking of things, but the 5th generation of this popular speaker is excellent – gone is the puck shape and it is now a larger understated dome-shaped speaker. I went for the version with an LED clock built into the front (I don’t think that it would look as good without the clock), which is perfect for any room in the house – and I choose it in Cloud Blue, which is perfect and blends into the room.
This version of the popular smart speaker still does everything that its predecessors do including streaming music and radio, set timers, run Alexa Routines, control smart home devices, play games, telling jokes, and works as a home intercom and telephone. It also has a faster processor, better sound, a temperature sensor, ultrasound motion sensor, device pairing to pair an Echo Dot with other Echo devices, tap functions to play/pause a song or snooze an alarm and an improved LED display that shows you the time, alarms, weather, song titles and more.
In the box:
- Echo Dot (5th generation) with Clock
- Power Adaptor (15 W)
- Quick Start Guide
Overall, I love this generation of the Echo Dot. The sound is much more vibrant than my original Dot and the voice commands are faster and much more responsive. I love the dome-shaped look of the speaker and I absolutely love the LED display that not only shows me the time but tracks that are playing, counting down of timers, temperature display and more.
As I use this Echo Dot in the bedroom, I love that the brightness of the LED display can be adjusted to get it just right for the room (you can also set it to use adaptive brightness so that it automatically adjusts based on ambient light). As well as a smart speaker, it has now become my bedside clock, alarm clock, radio and I can even tell it to turn on the main light (I have a smart bulb that is compatible with Alexa routines) – just a pity it can make me a cup of tea and deliver it to me!
And of course, it still has the same fun features that everybody loves; playing quiz games, asking Alexa to burp and fart, and if you tell Alexa that you love her, she will sing a very cheerful thank you song.
I think that this is a big improvement over the puck-like generations of the Echo Dot. I haven’t tried the 4th Generation that looks similar so can’t comment on that. It is definitely faster, more responsive and with a much better richer sound. And I do love the time display on the LED display (I’m not sure that I would want one without the clock). You do pay about £10 more for the clock version than without it, but I think that it is worth it.
I haven’t used the ultrasound motion sensor, but this allows automation of routines such as turning on the light when it hears someone entering the room (Alexa compatible smart bulb is required).
And for those that don’t like Alexa listening in all the time, you can turn off the microphone with a tap of the button on the top of the speaker – although this does display a bright red light around the base of the device and a small light on top, which doesn’t seem to turn off. But you can set Do Not Disturb modes for Alexa which only allows timers and alarms.
And now for the negatives. Well, I don’t really think that there are any (or at least I haven’t found any yet in the way that I use it), but others might miss the 3.5mm audio jack for connecting external speakers etc. When I have used an external speaker, I have connected via Bluetooth, so the omission of the audio jack hasn’t been an issue for me.
I’m glad that I have upgraded from my original Echo Dot to the fifth generation. It works better and faster and I love that it has not only replaced my old Dot, but has also replaced my bedside alarm clock and the annoying blue light on the clock on my bedside lamp/phone charger. I also like the shape and the calmer colour options that look better in the room.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £64.99 (with clock) / £54.99 (without clock)
For more information or to buy, visit www.amazon.co.uk.
DISCLOSURE: All thoughts and opinions are my own. This review uses an affiliate link which I may receive a small commission from if you purchase through the link.
