A tiny smart screen best suited as an alarm clock radio, the 2024 Amazon Echo Spot lets Alexa both show and tell.
The original Amazon Echo Spot kicked off the smart screen revolution back in early 2018, looking like a cross between an alarm clock and a magic 8-ball. Six years later, the OG smart screen is finally getting a makeover.
Of course, now there’s plenty of smart screen competition from Amazon and its rivals. It’s important to decide where your priorities lie when choosing the perfect bedside companion.
Amazon Echo Spot (2024) review
Amazon Echo Spot (2024) first impressions
While there are plenty of smart screens to choose from, of them all the 2024 Amazon Echo Spot looks most at home on the bedside table. It’s a little taller and wider than the original Echo Spot, but has retained its distinctive curved shape.
The new Echo Spot’s footprint is only slightly larger, as it’s about 2 cm wider and 2 cm taller, meaning it should still sit nicely on a bedside table or perhaps a bathroom basin. It’s a similar size to the screen-less Amazon Echo Pop, but doesn’t come in as many funky colours.
The redesign actually leaves you with a bit less screen real estate than the original. While the 1st Gen had a round display, the 2nd Gen features a rectangular display which is cut off at the bottom by a large speaker grill.
The biggest change is that the new Echo Spot ditches the built-in camera. This means you lose video calling features, but can still make audio calls. Losing the camera will help reassure those concerned about privacy in the bedroom.
Across the top of the Spot, you’ve still got the three standard Echo buttons: volume up, volume down, and microphone mute. At the rear, you lose the 3.5 mm jack for connecting headphones or external speakers, although you can still connect to an external speaker via Bluetooth.
At first glance, the new Echo Spot isn’t as bright as its predecessor, but that seems to be because Amazon has improved its ambient light sensor to better adjust the brightness to match the lighting conditions in the room. You can also set night mode to dim it further after dark, only displaying the time in subtle red so as not to disturb your sleep.
Amazon Echo Spot (2024) specifications
| Display size | 2.83 inches |
| Display resolution | 320 x 240 resolution |
| Speakers | 1 x 1.73 inch |
| Microphone | Far-field |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz) |
| Bluetooth | A2DP |
| Dimensions | 103mm W x 113mm D x 111mm H |
| Weight | 405 gm |
| Colours | Black Glacier White Ocean Blue |
| Price | $149 RRP |
| Warranty | 1 year |
| Official website | Amazon Australia |
Features
At first glance, the lack of video calling seems the only change, but Amazon has also stripped many screen-centric features from the latest Amazon Echo Spot.
By default, the screen displays a customisable clock face, reinforcing the idea that the Spot is best put to use as a smart bedside alarm clock. There’s a choice of analogue and digital readouts in a range of colours, plus it can display additional information like the weather forecast and upcoming alarms.
You can ask Alexa to set one-off or recurring alarms. When they go off, you can use voice commands, the touchscreen or simply a belt on the top to cancel or snooze the alarm in the morning. Realistically, the onscreen snooze button should be much larger, so it’s easy to find when you’re half awake.
Surprisingly, the Spot support doesn’t offer a sunrise alarm clock option that gradually brightens the whole screen, as found on the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen) – which is only a little larger and slightly more expensive.
Aside from a choice of alarm sounds, the Spot can wake you with music or internet radio. It’s easily set with voice commands like: “Alexa, set an alarm for 7 AM on weekdays and wake me with the Foo Fighters”.
Unfortunately, the Spot’s alarm can’t be programmed via the touchscreen when you’re trying to slip into bed without waking your partner, but thankfully you can set the Spot’s alarm using your smartphone.
Likewise, it’s a shame you can’t use the Spot’s screen to silently control smart home gear, rather than using voice commands. You’ve also got support for Alexa Routines, such as turning on the lights in the morning and firing up your smart coffee pot.
When it comes to audio, you can also ask Alexa to play content from Amazon Music, Audible, Apple Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio and RadioApp.
Keep in mind, the screen isn’t useful for much else than displaying the time, showing album artwork or showing the details of basic requests like weather forecasts. It’s actually a lot less functional than the original Spot.
For example, if you ask the 2024 Echo Spot for a recipe, Alexa will only talk you through the steps, not display them like other Amazon smart screens. Even the 1st Gen Spot would also show you, even though the small screen didn’t offer a great viewing experience.
Likewise, the new Echo Spot doesn’t show the view from your Ring doorbell or even double as a digital photo frame, limitations which might frustrate some people. The lack of a camera also means you miss out on the potential for advanced sleep tracking, such as that on the Google Home Hub (2nd Gen), although you get basic ultrasound motion detection for triggering events.
Speaker quality
The new speaker design delivers the 2024 Amazon Echo Spot a noticeable step up in sound quality.
When listening to Alexa or spoken word content, voices are louder and clearer. The situation is helped by the fact the sound is now coming from the front of the unit instead of the bottom.
Music playback is also improved, the sound is richer and deeper but still a little muffed. You can adjust it using a three-band graphic equaliser in the Alexa app, but it’s certainly not going to rock a room.
Who is the Amazon Echo Spot (2024) for?
The 2024 Amazon Echo Spot is a great bedside companion and a flexible alarm clock, although you’re sacrificing a lot of functionality in return for the cute, compact design.
With the removal of the camera and most of the screen-related features, you can’t really call this iteration of the Amazon Echo Spot a smart display, it’s just a smart speaker with a screen. That probably won’t bother you if you’re primarily looking for a smart alarm clock, but it’s something to keep in mind.
The Echo Spot certainly looks the part but, if you want your bedside companion to be a little smarter, you might consider spending a little more on the slightly larger Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen), although its screen isn’t as night-friendly.
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