Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Were you one of the lucky few who snagged a free Amazon Echo Dot yesterday?

Amazon has now canceled orders of the free Echo Dot

Sometimes, it pays to practically live on Amazon, constantly scouring the sites for pop-up deals. After all, folks who were meandering their way around the online retail giant on Friday, August 18 received a delightful little surprise – a “free” Amazon Echo Dot. Alas, my friends, the deal for this $50 smart speaker has since expired (and really, it doesn’t look like it was ever a real deal anyway — just a fluke). But the next time someone tells you to stop wasting time shopping online, simply point to this and say, “It might result in free stuff.”

Apparently, customers who bought an Echo Dot yesterday on Amazon found that they could input an “Audible” discount for a 100-percent coupon code. The discount worked for both black and white models. Sadly, once the alleged deal became slightly more widely publicized, Amazon wised up to the likely mistake, and when additional customers attempted to enter the same discount code, they were met with a message notifying them that the Dot was no longer in stock.

Recommended Videos

Even more sadly still, it would now appear that Amazon has canceled the orders for the Dot, which seems to fly in the face of the notion, “The customer is always right.” Come on, Amazon — could you really not afford to give away a few Dots? Regardless, the company said that a “technical error” was to blame for the Audible 100 percent discount. But to slightly lessen the blow, Amazon is offering would-be new owners of the smart speaker a $5 promotional credit, which means you can get the Echo Dot for $45 instead of $50. Really, that doesn’t seem to be adequate recompense.

The

Amazon Echo Dot

, is the smaller version of Amazon’s full-sized Echo speaker. The entire lineup now also includes the Amazon Echo Show, the touchscreen version of the smart speaker, and all three products utilized Amazon’s perennially popular Alexa smart assistant. All these speakers are capable of helping users with a range of tasks, from informing them of the weather and traffic to helping them control aspects of their smart homes.

Indeed, Alexa has been growing in popularity as of late, as a recent survey revealed that an increasing number of Americans are turning to Amazon’s artificially intelligent assistant, even as fewer make use of Apple’s Siri. So even if you can’t score an Amazon Echo Dot for free, it may be worth checking one out for the full $50 price (or just wait for one of Amazon’s many sales).

Update: Amazon has canceled the “free” orders of the Amazon Dot. 

Lulu Chang
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
The 6 best Echo Hub tips and tricks
The Echo Hub on a stand.

Amazon's first smart control panel, the Echo Hub, is officially here. It's not without a few quirks, but it offers a great way to access all your smart home gadgets in one unified location. Thousands of products can be connected to the panel, and with full Matter support, it's a relatively future-proofed device. If you're looking to get the most out of your new control panel, here's a look at the six best Echo Hub tips and tricks to optimize its performance.
Customize your Echo Hub home screen before you do anything else

There are tons of ways to modify your Echo Hub home screen. After syncing all your smart home devices, you can create a variety of tiles for the home screen that give you quick access to all your features. Take some time to create widgets, shortcuts, and other tiles for your most-used devices and actions, as it'll streamline your smart home and save you the hassle of digging through menus.
Check out all the privacy settings
Like all things Alexa, there are plenty of privacy settings for you to tinker with on the Echo Hub. While the control panel benefits from a microphone button and the option to delete voice recordings, you can also dig into other Alexa settings to ensure your privacy is respected.
Launch Routines directly from the Echo Hub

Read more
What is the Amazon Echo Hub?
A person using the Amazon Echo Hub.

Amazon already has a robust lineup of smart displays, but the new Echo Hub is something entirely different. While it looks a bit like an Echo Show, the Echo Hub isn't a smart display -- it's a smart home hub designed to be mounted directly on your wall.

Unlike the Echo and Echo Show products, the Echo Hub isn’t a tabletop device. In fact, you'll need to pay extra for an optional stand just so you can place it on your table or countertop. That's because the Echo Hub is a smart control panel, not a smart speaker or smart display. Amazon bills the Echo Hub as "an Alexa-enabled control panel for your smart home devices." After getting it mounted to your wall, it'll sync up with the rest of your smart home and make it easy to control your various gadgets via its touchscreen.

Read more
Echo Show 8 vs. Nest Hub: Does Amazon or Google offer the best smart display?
Google Nest Hub 2nd Gen on table.

Anyone in the market for a reasonably priced smart display has probably stumbled across the Echo Show 8 and Nest Hub. Both clock in at under $150 (often less when on sale) yet provide homes with many of the same features found on premium alternatives like the Nest Hub Max and Echo Show 10.

But is the Echo Show 8 better than the Nest Hub? And what exactly is the difference between these two smart displays? Here's a comprehensive look at both to help you decide which one to bring into your smart home.
Pricing and design

Read more