The new Amazon Echo Dot is out. And Alexa’s reviews have been exceedingly positive. From The Verge:
I’m going to cut right to the chase: the new Echo Dot smart speaker is so much better than its predecessor that it would not be totally out of line to replace a whole houseful of old Echo Dots with new ones. The new Echo Dot looks better, works better, and, most importantly, sounds much better than the prior model. And it still costs the same $49.99.
Beyond the 3rd generation Dot’s vastly superior audio (including stereo pairing), Amazon also up the style quotient with a (larger, but) more refined presentation, including Google-esque fabric-covered speakers… that I’m a-OK with.
While I frequently vacillate between Alexa, Google Assistant, and nothing at all (stop listening to us!)… prior gen Dot audio quality is atrocious and, lately, has only been used to entertain my daughter. Fortunately, Amazon is running a nice Echo upgrade program: get some cash by trading in your prior devices plus 25% off any future Echo device purchase – including these low ticket Dots ($50) and even the new Echo Show ($230). Amazon also covers the return shipping, so it’s a pretty pain-free transaction. As such, I pocketed a whopping $10 Amazon credit by offloading two unused 2nd gen Dots and will hang onto my 25% discount until the inevitable Echo device sale.
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Surprisingly - That trade in also includes much older speakers like the Bose and Jawbone, which is much more back in your pocket than the dots!
Good idea saving the credit for the upcoming Black Friday sales. Also, Amazon is doing bundles with Hue bulbs and subwoofers too.
They sound soooo much better, BUT, I find that it doesn’t hear me as well as the Dot it replaced. And it feels slower to respond. I hear the “bloop” from devices in other rooms before the new Dot indicates it’s heard me.
I don't like the cloth and don't use the dots for listening to music. I went the other way and bought an additional prior generation dot at a reduced price after the new ones were announced.