Amazon Echo Dot (3rd gen. 2018)

LED clock is useful and versatile ; Physical buttons are easy to use ; Tons of Alexa Skills to add ; Diverse compatibility with smart homes

Distortion at higher volumes ; Can't cast from apps directly

“If you're planning to build up your smart home, the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock is a smart choice that’ll get you up to speed.”

Impressive full sound quality ; Inexpensive introduction to smart home control ; Alexa smarter than ever ; Improved aesthetic befitting modern home design ; Better microphone sensitivity

With this much sound, the new Echo Dot is more like an exclamation point

Surprisingly strong audio quality ; Clock is handy if a bit superfluous ; 3.5mm audio output jack ; Alexa is a mature and powerful voice assistant ; Hardware buttons make it easy to use

Alexa app is still kind of confusing

Adds significant bass to an existing Echo speaker setup ; Pairing with other speakers is straightforward

Expensive

But I don't imagine many people specifically buying pairs of the Echo Dot or Plus specifically for stereo music. Anyone thinking about that is likely considering better speakers than Amazon sells. This all makes the existence of the Echo Sub even more...

Same performance and features as the Echo Dot. Bright, clear LED clock face.

Slightly weak high-frequency response. Alexa can be a little stilted compared with Google Assistant.

Bottom Line: The Amazon Echo Dot with Clock is simply an Echo Dot smart speaker with an LED clock on the front—and it's terrific.

A very inexpensive voice-powered smart home controller ; Best sounding audio in its class ; Pretty industrial design

It’s still not a speaker I’d recommend for critical music listening ; $10 more expensive than the 2nd-gen model if you don’t care about its musicality ; Google Home Mini offers tighter integration with Android smartphones

If you’re buying your first smart speaker and you’re mostly interested in controlling your smart home devices and retrieving news, weather forecasts, and other information from the internet, save yourself 10 bucks and buy the second-generation Echo Dot...

Easy to set up ; Robust parental controls ; Massive library of books, games, and skills

Explicit language filter let a bad word through (once) ; Misheard voice commands occasionally led to frustration

My daughter declared the Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition a keeper, and I’m inclined to agree. Entertaining without becoming disruptive, educational without veering into boring territory, the Echo Dot Kids Edition managed to keep my easily distracted...

You’ll never need to say, “Alexa, what time is it?” ; Display is easy to see, even in direct sunlight ; Pretty industrial design

The Nest Mini is the better small smart speaker for music ; Costs $10 more than the Echo Dot without a display ; Can’t display indoor temperature

If you already have a clock in the room where you intend to deploy an Echo smart speaker, there’s no significant advantage to be gained by spending an extra $10 to buy the Echo Dot with Clock—unless you find the temperature, timer countdown, and volume...