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Amazon revived the Echo Spot on July 8, 2024, bringing back its compact Alexa alarm-clock concept with a new design, a front-firing speaker and no built-in camera. The result is a more privacy-friendly bedside device—but not a miniature Echo Show.
The 2024 Echo Spot is best understood as a camera-free smart alarm clock with a small color display and respectable audio. It can show the time, weather and music information, set alarms and control compatible smart-home devices, but it cannot make video calls, stream conventional video or display security-camera feeds.
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The Echo Spot is back—but it has changed
The original Echo Spot launched in 2017 and was discontinued in 2019. Amazon’s replacement arrived on July 8, 2024. Although it retains the compact, rounded nightstand concept, it is not a simple hardware refresh of the original.
Amazon has repositioned the new model around three things: a glanceable clock, Alexa voice control and small-device audio. The camera has been removed, the display experience is more limited and the original model’s 3.5mm audio output is absent according to independent reviews. Amazon’s launch announcement lists black, glacier white and ocean blue finishes, with a US launch price of $79.99. A temporary Prime Day price was $44.99 from July 8 through July 17, 2024; that is not a current price guarantee. Amazon’s product announcement should be checked for the latest availability and pricing.
#1 Best Overall
- MEET ECHO SPOT - A sleek smart alarm clock with Alexa and big vibrant sound. Ready to help you wake up, wind down, and so much more.
- CUSTOMIZABLE SMART CLOCK - See time, weather, and song titles at a glance, control smart home devices, and more. Personalize your display with your favorite clock face and fun colors.
- BIG VIBRANT SOUND - Enjoy rich sound with clear vocals and deep bass. Just ask Alexa to play music, podcasts, and audiobooks. See song titles and touch to control your music.
- EASE INTO THE DAY - Set up an Alexa routine that gently wakes you with music and gradual light. Glance at the time, check reminders, or ask Alexa for weather updates.
- KEEP YOUR HOME COMFORTABLE - Control compatible smart home devices. Just ask Alexa to turn on lights or touch the screen to dim. Create routines that use motion detection to turn down the thermostat as you head out or open the blinds when you walk into a room.
What the 2024 Echo Spot does
- Shows customizable clock faces, the time, alarm status and selected glanceable information.
- Sets, snoozes and dismisses alarms, including by tapping the device.
- Uses custom alarm sounds and supports timers, reminders, routines and announcements.
- Answers questions and provides weather, music information and Alexa responses.
- Controls compatible smart-home devices.
- Supports Alexa voice calling and voice-only Drop In where available.
- Connects to Bluetooth devices.
- Provides compatible audio alerts, including alerts from supported smart doorbells.
It is primarily voice-controlled. The display adds quick visual confirmation and limited touch interaction rather than turning the Spot into a small tablet.
No camera is a meaningful bedroom advantage
The 2024 Echo Spot has no integrated camera. That means no video calls, video Drop In, camera-based monitoring, video streaming or Echo Show-style live feeds from security cameras and doorbells.
Voice calls and voice-only Drop In remain available. Compatible doorbells may also provide audio notifications, but the Spot cannot show you who is at the door. For that, you need an Echo Show, phone or tablet.
Removing the camera is especially useful for a device designed to sit beside a bed. However, camera-free does not mean microphone-free or completely private. The Spot still contains microphones and uses Amazon’s Alexa service for voice requests. It has a microphone-off button, and Alexa provides controls for deleting voice recordings. Amazon explains the device’s controls in its official Echo Spot overview.
Rank #2
- MEET ECHO SPOT - A sleek smart alarm clock with Alexa and big vibrant sound. Ready to help you wake up, wind down, and so much more.
- CUSTOMIZABLE SMART CLOCK - See time, weather, and song titles at a glance, control smart home devices, and more. Personalize your display with your favorite clock face and fun colors.
- BIG VIBRANT SOUND - Enjoy rich sound with clear vocals and deep bass. Just ask Alexa to play music, podcasts, and audiobooks. See song titles and touch to control your music.
- EASE INTO THE DAY - Set up an Alexa routine that gently wakes you with music and gradual light. Glance at the time, check reminders, or ask Alexa for weather updates.
- KEEP YOUR HOME COMFORTABLE - Control compatible smart home devices. Just ask Alexa to turn on lights or touch the screen to dim. Create routines that use motion detection to turn down the thermostat as you head out or open the blinds when you walk into a room.
How good is the sound?
Amazon says the Echo Spot has improved audio and uses a 1.73-inch front-firing directional speaker designed for clear vocals and bass. Independent reviews broadly support the idea that it sounds capable for its size, especially for speech, podcasts, radio, alarms and casual listening.
The small enclosure can produce surprisingly substantial bass, and the front-firing design is sensible on a bedside table because sound is directed toward the listener. But “better sound” should not be read as “the best Echo speaker for music.” Reviews report harshness or distortion at higher volumes, and a larger Echo or dedicated Bluetooth speaker remains better for room-filling or demanding music playback. SoundGuys’ review and WIRED’s review both provide useful context.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteIf you do not care about the display, an Echo Dot may offer better audio value depending on its current price. With the Spot, you are paying for the combination of a visible clock, limited color interface and camera-free bedside design.
What the small display can—and cannot—do
Review coverage identifies the display as approximately 2.83 inches. It is useful when the device is close enough to read from bed or a desk.
Rank #3
- MEET ECHO SPOT - A sleek smart alarm clock with Alexa and big vibrant sound. Ready to help you wake up, wind down, and so much more.
- CUSTOMIZABLE SMART CLOCK - See time, weather, and song titles at a glance, control smart home devices, and more. Personalize your display with your favorite clock face and fun colors.
- BIG VIBRANT SOUND - Enjoy rich sound with clear vocals and deep bass. Just ask Alexa to play music, podcasts, and audiobooks. See song titles and touch to control your music.
- EASE INTO THE DAY - Set up an Alexa routine that gently wakes you with music and gradual light. Glance at the time, check reminders, or ask Alexa for weather updates.
- KEEP YOUR HOME COMFORTABLE - Control compatible smart home devices. Just ask Alexa to turn on lights or touch the screen to dim. Create routines that use motion detection to turn down the thermostat as you head out or open the blinds when you walk into a room.
The screen can show:
- The time and customizable clock faces.
- Alarm information.
- Weather and basic Alexa responses.
- Song titles and playback information.
- Simple animations and limited controls.
It cannot provide the full Echo Show experience. There is no conventional video streaming, recipe-style interface, photo slideshow or live security-camera display. The small screen also makes touch controls less convenient than voice commands for many tasks. TechRadar’s review and PCWorld’s review describe those limitations in more detail.
Echo Spot compared with the alternatives
| Device | Best for | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Echo Spot | A compact, camera-free Alexa alarm clock | Small screen, no video and only modest music performance |
| Echo Pop | Low-cost Alexa audio | No screen or visible clock |
| Echo Dot or Dot with Clock | Audio value or a simpler clock-speaker format | Less of the Spot’s visual interface and design |
| Echo Show 5 | Video calls, camera feeds and a fuller smart-display interface | Includes a camera and remains limited compared with larger displays |
| Larger Echo speaker | Better music playback and room-filling sound | Less specialized as a bedside alarm clock |
| Conventional or non-Alexa smart alarm | Fewer cloud-connected voice features and potentially greater privacy | No Alexa routines or broad Alexa smart-home integration |
Amazon’s Echo buying guide provides the company’s positioning for the Pop, Dot and Show ranges.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchSmart-home support: Matter is not every smart-home radio
The Echo Spot supports Alexa routines and compatible smart-home control. Amazon also lists it as a Matter-compatible Echo device, so it can connect to and control supported Matter products.
That does not make it a universal smart-home hub. Amazon’s current official documentation does not list the Echo Spot as a Thread border router or Zigbee hub. Buyers seeking those specific capabilities should check Amazon’s current Matter, Thread and Zigbee documentation before buying.
Rank #4
- Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
- Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors.
- Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
Alexa features generally depend on an internet connection and Amazon’s cloud services. Matter support can assist local smart-home control in supported situations, but it does not turn the Spot into an offline Alexa device.
Who should buy the Echo Spot?
Buy it if:
- You want a compact Alexa alarm clock.
- You want to see the time, weather or music information without asking.
- You prefer a camera-free device for a bedroom or nightstand.
- You mainly listen to speech, podcasts, radio, alarms and casual music.
- You already use Alexa routines and compatible smart-home products.
- You find it at a compelling price rather than assuming the 2024 launch MSRP is today’s price.
Skip it if:
- You want video calls, streaming video, recipes, photo slideshows or camera feeds.
- You want the strongest music performance for the money.
- You do not need a display; an Echo Dot or Echo Pop may be better value.
- You need a built-in Zigbee hub or Thread border router.
- You want a larger, easier-to-read screen.
- You do not want microphones in the bedroom.
- You need a wired 3.5mm audio output.
Bottom line
The Echo Spot succeeds by being deliberately limited. It is a camera-free, glanceable Alexa alarm clock with better-than-expected small-speaker performance—not a full smart display and not a definitive music speaker.
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For a nightstand, its combination of visible time, Alexa alarms, routines and the absence of a camera is distinctive. For video, serious music listening, a large screen or broad smart-home radio support, another Echo—or a conventional alarm clock—will be a better fit.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
