Amazon’s Echo Spot is back in a fresh face, minus the creepy eye

Summary

• Amazon revives the Echo Spot as a revamped smart alarm clock with a customizable display.
• The Echo Spot offers enhanced privacy with no camera and prioritizes voice control via Alexa.
• It includes a hardware button to mute the microphone, physical volume controls, and options to manage voice recordings.

Seven years ago, Amazon nailed the concept of a smart alarm clock with the Echo Spot, a fantastic bedside buddy for anyone into Alexa. Sure, it was a bit pricey at $130, but it outshone the Echo Dot and old-school alarm clocks with extra perks like doubling as a kitchen clock or a smart home monitor. We were pretty pumped about it back then, even though it never got a follow-up and eventually got shelved as Amazon shifted focus to other smart displays. But now, the company announced the return of the Echo Spot, revamped and ready to reclaim its spot on your bedside table.

Amazon’s revamped Echo Spot transforms the bedside experience by combining a customizable Alexa speaker with an alarm clock. At its heart is a dynamic display that mainly serves as a clock. Users can choose from a variety of clock faces and engaging animations.

The redesigned Echo Spot lights up your nightstand with a vibrant display, turning it into a hub for essential info like time, weather updates, and song titles. Available in Black, Glacier White, and Ocean Blue, the 2024 version of this Alexa-enabled smart alarm clock is priced at $80, but Prime members can grab it for just $45 at the moment. You can also customize the display with six color options: orange, violet, magenta, lime, teal, and blue.

The latest Echo Spot revamps both looks and sound. Amazon has given it a sleek, two-part circular design that’s visually appealing. The top half features a customizable display with a vibrant color palette, perfect for personalized clock faces and serving as a hub for setting alarms or checking the weather. The bottom half houses a 1.73-inch speaker.

Echoing the capabilities of its bigger Echo Show smart display siblings, the Echo Spot uses its display to provide additional visual aids for Alexa requests. For example, when you ask Alexa to play music, you’ll see on-screen track controls.

All Alexa, no creep

Voice control via Alexa remains central to the Echo Spot’s functionality, but it prioritizes privacy by ditching the camera found in the Echo Show line. This thoughtful design choice ensures a sense of security, especially for bedroom use. The original Echo Spot had a camera, but not everyone liked the idea of having one by their bedside.

That said, it still supports voice calls. It includes a hardware button to mute the microphone, physical volume control buttons, and options to view and delete your voice recordings. All in all, the Echo Spot is a well-rounded device designed to excel as a smart alarm clock rather than trying to do it all.