The Echo Pop and Echo Dot are Amazon’s entry-level good audio system, and each are at present on sale forward of Amazon’s October Prime Day (aka Prime Huge Deal Days), which formally kicks off on October seventh. Each audio system are at present discounted to their lowest costs because the center of June, which suggests they’re beating their summer time Prime Day costs. Each audio system are screen-free, and can help you use Amazon Alexa to regulate appropriate good house gadgets, set timers, and ask for details about the information, climate, and different goings-on. We’ve discovered the identical reductions at Greatest Purchase and Goal, in case you’d choose to buy there.
The Echo Pop is Amazon’s least expensive Echo speaker, however it may possibly do many of the duties because the dearer mannequin — a minimum of these with no display — and you’ll decide one up on sale for $24.99 ($15 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. The Pop is Amazon’s least costly speaker, and whereas it gained’t win any awards for audiophile-level sound high quality, it’s completely serviceable for clearly asserting the solutions to your questions or sounding an alarm on the finish of your timer.
You should use the Echo Pop to regulate good house equipment, together with plugs, mild bulbs, thermostats, and even a microwave, together with your voice. Most Echo audio system additionally can help you set off Alexa by pushing a devoted button, however the Pop doesn’t have one. It’s additionally appropriate with Alexa Plus — Amazon’s up to date, generative AI-powered voice assistant — which is at present in early entry and was hit and miss in our tests.
The speaker can be utilized to increase the attain of an Eero Wi-Fi system by as much as 1,000 sq. ft, at speeds as much as 100Mbps, which makes it a stable community vary extender when you’re trying to eradicate web useless zones. In order for you a wise speaker for turning off the good lights in your bed room utilizing your voice, or asking for particulars in regards to the climate when you resolve what to put on for the day, it’s a stable selection.
The fifth-generation Echo Dot is a better-sounding speaker and extra succesful good house hub than the Pop, and it’s on sale for $34.99 ($15 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. The most recent Echo Dot has built-in movement and temperature sensors, which might activate appropriate good house equipment when tripped — Amazon offers the instance of turning on a fan when the room will get too sizzling. You’ll want extra {hardware} to benefit from the sensors, however it’s good to have a wise house speaker that’s able to work with as many equipment as potential.
These sensors are additionally discovered within the Echo Spot, however that good house speaker is dearer and has a display. As with the Pop, the fifth-generation Echo Dot is appropriate with Alexa Plus, and may lengthen the attain of an Eero Wi-Fi community by as much as 1,000 sq. ft at speeds as much as 100Mbps. We put the Echo Pop and Echo Dot towards each other side-by-side in our review of the Pop, and located the Dot’s smaller-sized speaker had higher sound (particularly bass).
Neither will blow your socks off, however the Echo Dot continues to be the higher decide for informal music listening. The fifth-generation Echo Dot is an efficient good house speaker for its value, and probably the greatest early October Prime Day offers we’ve seen.