For more than nine years running, I have had Amazon Echo devices on every level of my home. An Amazon Echo lived in the kitchen, the family room, the office, and four bedrooms. All were Generation 1 devices, you know....the tall tower-like devices that if they fell would severely damage your foot!!!😫 Then one day, all of my Generation 1 devices went off-line and ceased to function!!😮 I contacted Amazon for help, and was told the Generation 1 devices were no longer supported by Amazon and could not receive any updates. I can't comprehend how 7 separate devices just stopped working all at the same time. My entire family has come to depend on Alexa to play music, news, weather, podcasts, and many other apps we added to the mix. I ordered a new 5th-generation Echo Dot, and it was delivered overnight. Set-up was easy-peasy using my Alexa app on my phone. It was connected to my internet, and the settings were selected in just a few minutes. The sound from my old Echo was dynamic, but this new Echo Dot produces great-sounding music with the right blend of bass, mid-range tones, and highs brilliantly!!😃 This Echo Dot is small in its dimensions but VERY BIG IN PERFORMANCE!!!😄 The bass is deeper and more pronounced, and the mid-range vocals are more defined and clear!! This new Echo has exceeded my expectations regarding punching out some music!!! This first purchase of the Amazon Echo Dot was my test device, which, if great, would be purchased in greater quantity and set up in each room missing an Echo device.I believe I'll be ordering more of these to satisfy the family!!! The design is very pleasant to look at, and the rounded shape looks more at home than my previous 1st generation units!! I set the Echo so that if I was talking to the unit and stopped, I didn't have to say "Alexa" to wake the device. This unit waits for my next words seamlessly making commands flow much more smoothly!! You can also set whether the Echo, when woken, makes a sound or remains quiet. I like the awake notification especially if I'm not looking directly at the device. This Echo also has a temperature sensor which could make it more repsonsive if it were running a home thermostat!! I like the "+" and "-" bottons on the top of the device to control volume as opposed to turning the top of my old Echos to increase or decrease the volume. You can also, like the older models, use your voice to tell Alexa which level of volume you prefer. Whether you're playing music, listening to news, or getting a weather report, this device can be muted just by touching the top of the Echo!!! NICE FEATURE!!!!😃 It will remain muted until you touch the top again which will pick up where you stopped the unit!!! CONVENIENT!!!!😉 I have also found that this newer generation Echo is much more responsive to voice commands and follows through with exactly you asked for in a flash!!! I discovered that if I didn't know how to install an app or function, or wasn't aware of what's available to run on the unit, Alexa is on the job either describing apps or functions she can perform, or she can tell me how to set up an app or functions in easy to follow clear directions!!!!😉 I haven't in the past set up lights or the house thermostat, but since this Echo seems better suited to the tasks than my previous generation devive, I think I'll venture into the world of Alexa controlled convenience items!!! 🚩I rate this new 5th Generation Echo Dot a super-solid 10 out of 10, because of the units ease of set-up, the quick and crisp responses from Alexa, the improved sound whether playing music or even just news, the addition of volume controls on the topo of this device, and the affordable price of this amazingly handy device!!!! I highly recommend this new 5th Generation Echo Dot to anyone who has gone through the same situation as I with my older devices shutting down, or to new first time buyers that have yet to experience the convenience and helpfulness of owning an Amazon Echo device!!! I can guarantee you that you won't be disappointed in the least with the function and performance of this newest generation Echo device!!!!😊

My previous Echo Dot, purchased back in 2018, was a third-generation. It was a white shuffleboard stone covered in cloth and it is amazing. I'll never say it's not; in fact it's so amazing that I passed it on to my mom and she enjoys it a great deal. So, my main motivation for purchasing this, the fifth generation issued in 2022 – aside from familiarity with the brand – was I needed a Matter hub so my then-incoming Nanoleaf smart lightbulbs could work with my voice. But of course it is so much more. First thing I see is that the Echo Dot is no longer a white shuffleboard stone but is a smaller, navy blue sphere. Aside from being my favorite color, and thus very pleasing to look at, I find it that it is not practical any longer to mount on my wall because of its increased focus on the forward firing speaker; if I had mounted it, it would not be effective in spreading out to my entire room – the top of the speaker is reserved for the buttons which were present on the third-generation: volume up, volume down, action/wake and mute microphone, which leave no room for a speaker in that area. So it sits pretty on my side table facing the rest of my room, and does fine. First thing I hear is the sound quality is so much better than the third-generation Dot. The third-generation was okay in that regard, but it tended to sound a little overexposed when the volume was up high. Now, I don't find myself connecting via Bluetooth to my sound bar nearly as much because the speaker quality is just that good. The quiet parts of music are quiet and calming the way they should be, but the bass thumps quite effectively, surprisingly for such a small and lightweight speaker. So after I'd established the smart speaker in my room for about a month, I felt the time was right to go ahead and get my Nanoleaf Essentials bulbs, to upgrade the ones that I had no longer been able to use for a year since they had stopped working with any voices assistants, to facilitate compatibility with the then upcoming network standard: Matter. I am very happy to say that Matter compatibility is there and it is wonderful. I can't speak for the internal workings because I'm not an engineer; I will say – though I may be wrong about this – that I believe it would be more rocky if I did not have a Thread Border Router already in the form of my Nanoleaf shapes controller; I have the shapes arrangement atop my desk called Dragon, and it has worked wonderfully for me since around last September, and only – at this point anyway – required regular firmware updates to be compatible with ongoing technology. Now, I'll tell you the procedure for adding the Nanoleaf Essentials bulbs to Alexa via Matter – I would assume by extension any Matter device, providing you have a thread border router like I mentioned before. After adding the bulbs to the iOS Nanoleaf app as normal – also updating the firmware for each bulb via said app! I have a feeling that was very important – add them also to Alexa via the Add Device flow, one at a time. There was a menu item that showed itself at the top telling me that it had detected each new bulb on my network and I only had to select that item to add it, scan the QR code on the sticker that came with the bulbs (I applied the sticker to a sheet of paper and labeled it according to the positions of the bulbs) and wait just a bit for it to be connected and it just works! Another new feature which the third-generation did not have is a temperature sensor! After a short period of calibration after plugging the device in, Alexa will be able to tell you the temperature of the room that it is situated in! I ask her for this often when I'm trying to determine how best to cool my room during these hot summer months. When my door's closed during the day, my room can get up to mid 80s, which is horrible, but with the door open to allow a draft and breeze, the temperature's equalized with the rest of the house and I get mid to upper 70s which is much better. There is an ultrasound presence sensor, which sounds not unlike sonar, which I have not had a use for yet, but I imagine routines can be enabled or suppressed with its use. One borderline negative thing I will say about it which I'm okay with because, again, I have Bluetooth connections – they eliminated the 3.5 mm jack to save internal space inside the device, so you will no longer be able to directly connect external speakers, as I did at one point before I had to change that arrangement. Once again, Amazon comes through with flying colors with their products, helping make our homes smarter and more amazing and just better to live in! Get this speaker if you are looking to build a smart home, and for best results, get more than one so you can use the awesome "drop-in" intercom system, and truly awaken the potential of the smart home!

The newest Echo Dot might be small enough to fit in your hand, but don’t let that fool you—this thing packs a punch. The sound is surprisingly full and vibrant for its size, with deeper bass and clearer vocals than I expected. It fills my room effortlessly, whether I’m playing music, podcasts, or just asking Alexa for the weather. What really sets this model apart is how smart it is. The built-in temperature sensor is a cool upgrade—I’ve actually set routines to turn on my fan when it gets too warm, and it works like magic. The tap controls are also a great touch; I love being able to snooze an alarm or pause music without saying a word. Setup was a breeze, and the compact design blends perfectly into any space. It’s sleek, modern, and doesn’t scream “tech gadget.” Plus, knowing it’s made with recycled materials is a nice bonus—it feels like a thoughtful product in every way. If you’re looking to add a smart speaker to your home (or upgrade an older one), this is the one. It’s reliable, responsive, and honestly just fun to have around.