Echo Dot Goes for Peanuts, Amazon Sells Alexa Speakers Cheap Enough for Every Home to Own One

Amazon keeps its prices low on Alexa-enabled speakers all year long and the Echo Dot is a great choice because it is in the middle of the lineup between basic and premium options. This model is the best-selling one in the Echo family right now, and it’s only $31 instead of the usual $49 for early December. The small speaker has surprisingly rich sound that fills bedrooms, offices, or dining rooms without taking up too much counter space or needing a lot of setup.

See at Amazon

Why This Echo Dot Sounds Better Than You Thought

The speaker design is all about making the sound fuller and giving it more bass than previous Echo Dot models could do with their small enclosures. Amazon changed the way the internal drivers are set up so that they can comfortably fill small to medium-sized rooms with sound while playing music, listening to podcasts, or reading audiobooks. The sound quality isn’t good enough to replace dedicated speakers for critical listening, but it does a good job with background music, news briefings, and alarm sounds, making the Echo Dot useful for more than just voice commands.

Alexa integration lets you control thousands of smart home devices, streaming services, and information queries with your voice, so you don’t have to keep taking out your phone: You can change smart lights, thermostats, and plugs by speaking commands naturally. You can also check the weather, set multiple timers while you cook, or ask for unit conversions while you prepare a recipe. The microphone array uses far-field voice recognition technology to filter out background noise and make your voice clear even when music is playing at a moderate volume.

The small size is about the size of a tennis ball, so it doesn’t take up much space on nightstands or desk corners where bigger Echo devices would take up too much space. This size is perfect for bedrooms because it wakes you up with music, news, or soft sounds instead of loud beeps. While you’re getting ready, you can ask Alexa for the time, the weather, or your calendar appointments without touching any devices. The top surface has physical buttons for turning up the volume, muting the microphone, and turning on Alexa.

Smart home routines let you set up morning routines that gradually brighten the lights, start your coffee maker, and read your calendar. You can do all of these things with just one command or a scheduled trigger. Evening routines can lock smart locks, change the temperature, turn off all the lights in the house, and play relaxing sounds to help you sleep. You set up these automation sequences in the Alexa app, and they work every time after that.

A physical microphone mute button is part of the privacy controls: When the button is pressed, the microphones are electronically disconnected. A red light ring shows when the device isn’t listening. The speaker also has options to limit how long data is kept or stop people from listening to recordings

This $18 off makes full Alexa functionality and better sound quality affordable enough to buy Echo Dots for more than one room. If you want to start building a smart home or just need hands-free voice control in important areas, this is a great deal because you get Amazon’s smart assistant platform with room-filling sound for less than the cost of basic Bluetooth speakers.

See at Amazon