Skip to main content

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

Amazon’s $50 Echo Dot promises same functionality at a fraction of the size

amazon echo dot  white lifestyle
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Alexa is infiltrating your house — one room at a time. Now that Amazon has released its latest version of the Echo Dot, you can bring the online retailer’s AI assistant into any room in your house — all for $50. Who needs the full-size Echo when you can get all the same functionality at a fraction of the size, and more importantly, of the cost?

The brand new Echo Dot promises hands-free voice control of just about everything in your smart home. You can play music, turn on the lights, keep up to date on the latest news, set alarms, and more. Because the Echo Dot is powered by Alexa, you will have a robotic friend to talk to in every room. And of course, you will also have access to more than 3,000 of Alexa’s skills.

Recommended Videos

“With the same high-quality array of seven microphones found in Echo, the all-new Echo Dot can hear you from across the room, even when it’s noisy or music is playing,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, in a statement. “And, at under $50, it is easier than ever to add Echo and Alexa to any or every room in your home.”

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The new design of the Echo Dot is meant to integrate the smart hub seamlessly into any part of your home, “designed to disappear into any room in a house.” Available in either black or white, the Dot has boundless options when it comes to functionality. In your bedroom, you can use it as a smart alarm clock capable of turning on or off your lights. Use it in your kitchen to set timers, ask for recipes or shop for ingredients using nothing more than your voice.

While it is smaller than the Echo, the Dot features the same array of seven microphones found in its larger counterpart and boasts “a more powerful speech processor, which delivers improved far-field speech recognition accuracy.” The more your make use of your new Dot, the smarter it — and Alexa —  becomes.

Available in the U.S., U.K., and Germany, a single Echo Dot will set you back $50, or you can buy five and get one free. Alternatively, if you buy 10, you will receive an extra two Dots at no additional cost, so your mansion is covered.

“Millions of customers love Alexa, and we’re thrilled to introduce her to the U.K. and Germany,” Senior Vice President Amazon Devices and Services Dave Limp said. “We’re also excited to expand the Alexa Skills Kit and the Alexa Voice Service, so developers and hardware makers around the world can create Alexa experiences for U.K. and German customers.”

Pre-order on Amazon

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
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
The best Alexa skills to use on your Amazon Echo in 2023
Amazon Echo Show 15 Smart Display on a wall.

Alexa-enabled devices give you an easy way to interact with the rest of your smart home. Security cameras, smart locks, video doorbells, and other gadgets can all be controlled using voice commands given through Alexa -- but your device can be further augmented using skills.

Alexa skills are apps that can be downloaded to your device to give it additional functionality. Most of these are free, though a few do require payment. Alexa skills can do everything from giving you movie recommendations to launching an interactive gaming adventure, making them a powerful way to improve your smart speaker or smart display.

Read more