The Amazon Echo Dot Clock is no more. As reported by The Verge, “once inventory of this generation Echo Dot with Clock is sold through it will not be restocked.”
I can say with certainty that the primary reason my family has not yet abandoned Alexa, amidst ongoing privacy concerns and features moving behind paywalls, is the simple, converged elegance of Echo Dot Clock. Of which we own multiple generations, positioned in multiple locations around the home. Fortunately, these will continue to function uninterrupted — vs being forced onto the cheapie-looking Echo Spot. But others will surely miss out.
As to the why, the vast majority of corporate decisions are obviously driven by revenue considerations. And Alexa is billions in the hole. A higher priced offering on a newer platform, with more subscription services on the way, is presumably part of the plan to right this ship. So I will pour one out for the Echo Dot Clock, which joins the highly practical Echo Flex and before-its-time Echo Tap in the Amazon deadpool.
Wrong picture, but I agree with your analysis. I wish I’d bought fewer Echo Dots without the clock feature.
They also no longer have the Echo Wall Clock, which was a cheap (and somewhat cheap looking) wall clock that not only showed the time, but also the minutes left on a timer for the connected Echo device. That is even more useful in the kitchen, since it shows both time and time remaining simultaneously. Very useful when cooking.
It was the correct picture for me, as the pinacle of Echo Dot Clock design, which rides my wife’s nightstand. Granted, the 5th gen in my office has better audio and mics, but 3rd gen still my fav.
We had an Echo Wall Clock for my daughter to use at her desk, but it ate batteries and wasn’t available when (rarely) needed.
(I’ve also had multiple generations of Insignia and Lenovo Google clocks. The Lenovo Essential is so close to good… but it doesn’t sufficiently dim for bedroom usage. I currently have one, with disabled mic, sitting under our den television.)
I’m not seeing my comment regarding wrong picture having posted, but to your (Dave Katz) response, that model was already discontinued. I too though prefer that form factor.
Your picture was the version of the Echo Dot I liked. The clock made it useful, while I didn’t want a full display.
I moved to a new location last year and got rid of my entire Alexa ecosystem (echo-system?) and am quite happy with a single voice assistant on my phone.
I have a Lenovo Google clock that a new Echo Spot replaced. The reason for this was that while it DOES dim at night, a good number of the LED bars disappear when dimmed — making it impossible to tell for example if it was a 7 or a 1, an 6 or 8, etc.