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Compare Amazon Echo, Echo Plus, Echo Spot, Echo Show and Echo Dot: What Are The Differences?
 (Photo Credits: Amazon)
Amazon's Echo familiy of devices are Alexa enabled "smart speakers", Alexa being the cloud based virtual assistant developed by Amazon that is capable of voice interaction, music playback, making to-do lists, setting alarms, playing audiobooks, providing weather, traffic, sports, and other real-time information, such as news, control smart devices, order food, making calls and more!
The five main members of the Amazon Echo family come in different forms, shapes and sizes. Some are equipped with a screen and a camera, one model even has a built-in smart device hub. In order to allow you to select the right Echo device for your own needs, this article will compare in detail the five Echo models: Echo, Echo Plus, Echo Spot, Echo Show and Echo Dot. This article will compare Amazon Alexa enabled devices: |
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Comparing the Various Amazon Echo Devices
(Echo (2nd Gen.) , Echo Plus (2nd Gen.) , Echo Spot, Echo Show (2nd Gen.) and Echo Dot (2nd Gen.) )
The following pictures show the five Echo devices to be compared below. For price information, please click the images:
(Photo Credits: Amazon)
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(Photo Credits: Amazon)
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(Photo Credits: Amazon)
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(Photo Credits: Amazon)
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(Photo Credits: Amazon)
The following table compares the various features that come with the five Echo devices.
The (N.#) notation used in the table refers to the clarification notes provided following the table. Please read these notes carefully in order to understand better the features that come with each Echo device.
Table Notes 1 to 15 Explaned:
N. 1:
N. 2:
Except for Echo Show, all Echo devices are equipped with an auxiliary 3.5mm port, so that if desired, they can be connected to external speakers (cables are not included).
N. 3:
Echo, Echo Spot and Echo Dot devices feature dual-band Wi-Fi that supports 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 and 5 GHz) networks.
Echo Plus and Echo View devices feature dual-band Wi-Fi that supports 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz) networks.
N. 4:
All five Echo devices are Bluetooth-enabled, so you can stream other popular music services from your mobile device to your particular Echo device or from your Echo device to your Bluetooth speaker.
N. 5:
All five Echo devices connect to Alexa which can execute for you multiple services. When you want to use your particular Echo device, simply say the wake word, “Alexa,” and your device will connect to the cloud where the Alexa Voice Service recognizes and responds instantly to your request.
With Alexa:
N. 6:
Because Echo Spot and Echo Show are equipped with a camera, you can use them to make video calls
Also, you can ask Alexa to show you the front door or monitor the baby's room with compatible cameras from Amazon and others such as Nest or Arlo. The videos can be remotely accessed from your smartphone or tablet, using the Alexa app.
Note that that the videos captured by Echo Show have much higher resolution than those captued by Echo Spot.
N. 7:
Clearly, Echo Show has a much larger screen than Echo Spot and the images displayed have better resolution.
Note that they are both touch screens.
N. 8:
The built-in ZigBee smart home hub of Echo Plus and Echo View supports ZigBee light bulbs, locks, plugs, and in-wall switches.
Note that not all smart devices require a hub to be operated by your particular Echo device. Smart devices that support Wi-Fi, which can attach to your home's WI-Fi signal, do not need a hub. A hub is required when smart devices use other signals besides Wi-Fi, such as ZigBee or ZWave which can't communicate directly over the internet. For example, with a Nest thermostat, which can talk to Echo devices directly over Wi-Fi, there is no need for a hub. However, if you have a smart device that uses ZigBee, ZWave or similar wireless tech, you will need a hub (either the one built into an Echo Plus or Echo View, or a separate one such as the Samsung SmartThings Hub) to bridge between the smart device and your Echo.
Note that the reason other wireless protocols such as ZigBee exist is that they are usually more energy efficient than Wi-Fi and/or can act in a mesh network, so that each device passes on data to the next one, giving them longer range.
N. 9:
N. 10:
With Echo Spot and Echo Show you can watch video flash briefings, Amazon Video content, see music lyrics and weather forecasts, display to-do and shopping lists, browse and listen to Audible audiobooks, and more. All hands-free.
N. 11:
In order to control smart home devices, Alexa can interact with devices from several manufacturers including Nest, Philips Hue, Wink, ecobee, LightwaveRF, Belkin SmartThings, IFTTT and others. Developers from these manufacturers are able to create their own smart home skills using the Alexa Skills Kit. These third-party developed skills, once published, are available across Alexa-enabled devices. Users can enable these skills using the Alexa app.
N. 12:
With all five Echo devices considered here, you can call or send a message to anyone who has an Echo device or the Alexa app.
You can also connect quickly to all other Echo devices at home with simple voice control.
Note that with Echo Spot and Echo Show that are equipped with a camera and a screen, you can also make video calls.
N. 13:
Want to play music on an Echo device that is in another room? Now, with the multi-room music feature, you can tell Alexa to play across your compatible Echo devices. For instance, you can tell Alexa to play jazz in the kitchen, pop in the family room, or play the same song throughout your whole home.
N. 14:
With the multiple microphones that Echo devices are equipped with, together with beamforming technology and noise cancellation, Echo devices can hear you from any direction, even while music is playing. When you want to use your Echo device, simply say the wake word, “Alexa,” and the Echo device lights up and connects to the cloud, where the Alexa Voice Service recognizes and responds to your request instantly.
N. 15:
The prices shown in the above table were current at the time this article was written and may have changed. For exact prices, please refer to the Amazon Products scetion below.
N. 1:
- Echo and Echo Plus are equipped with both a woofer and a tweeter powered by Dolby to deliver crisp vocals and dynamic bass throughout the room. They can fill the room with 360° omnidirectional audio.
- Echo Spot and Echo Dot are equipped with a single speaker, but their sound can be amplified by connecting them directly to external speakers using a 3.5 mm stereo cable or Bluetooth.
- Echo Show is equipped with dual powerful, room-filling speakers with Dolby processing for crisp vocals and extended bass response.
N. 2:
Except for Echo Show, all Echo devices are equipped with an auxiliary 3.5mm port, so that if desired, they can be connected to external speakers (cables are not included).
N. 3:
Echo, Echo Spot and Echo Dot devices feature dual-band Wi-Fi that supports 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 and 5 GHz) networks.
Echo Plus and Echo View devices feature dual-band Wi-Fi that supports 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz) networks.
N. 4:
All five Echo devices are Bluetooth-enabled, so you can stream other popular music services from your mobile device to your particular Echo device or from your Echo device to your Bluetooth speaker.
N. 5:
All five Echo devices connect to Alexa which can execute for you multiple services. When you want to use your particular Echo device, simply say the wake word, “Alexa,” and your device will connect to the cloud where the Alexa Voice Service recognizes and responds instantly to your request.
With Alexa:
- You can play music, set music alarms and timers, ask questions, play Audible audiobooks, radio stations, news briefs, and more.
Just ask for a song, artist, or genre from Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, and more. - You can call or message almost anyone hands-free.
- You can check your calendar, weather, traffic, and sports scores.
- You can manage to-do lists as well as shopping lists.
- You can control your compatible smart home devices such as lights, thermostats, garage doors, sprinklers, and more.
- You can watch video flash briefings, Amazon Video content, see music lyrics and weather forecasts, display to-do and shopping lists, browse and listen to Audible audiobooks, and more. All hands-free.
N. 6:
Because Echo Spot and Echo Show are equipped with a camera, you can use them to make video calls
Also, you can ask Alexa to show you the front door or monitor the baby's room with compatible cameras from Amazon and others such as Nest or Arlo. The videos can be remotely accessed from your smartphone or tablet, using the Alexa app.
Note that that the videos captured by Echo Show have much higher resolution than those captued by Echo Spot.
N. 7:
Clearly, Echo Show has a much larger screen than Echo Spot and the images displayed have better resolution.
Note that they are both touch screens.
N. 8:
The built-in ZigBee smart home hub of Echo Plus and Echo View supports ZigBee light bulbs, locks, plugs, and in-wall switches.
Note that not all smart devices require a hub to be operated by your particular Echo device. Smart devices that support Wi-Fi, which can attach to your home's WI-Fi signal, do not need a hub. A hub is required when smart devices use other signals besides Wi-Fi, such as ZigBee or ZWave which can't communicate directly over the internet. For example, with a Nest thermostat, which can talk to Echo devices directly over Wi-Fi, there is no need for a hub. However, if you have a smart device that uses ZigBee, ZWave or similar wireless tech, you will need a hub (either the one built into an Echo Plus or Echo View, or a separate one such as the Samsung SmartThings Hub) to bridge between the smart device and your Echo.
Note that the reason other wireless protocols such as ZigBee exist is that they are usually more energy efficient than Wi-Fi and/or can act in a mesh network, so that each device passes on data to the next one, giving them longer range.
N. 9:
- Each of the five Echo device considered here allows streaming music from Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn, giving you voice control for all of your music. In addition, with each Echo device, being Bluetooth-enabled, you can also stream other popular music services like Apple Music from your phone or tablet.
- With Echo Spot and Echo Show, because they have a screen, with the streamed music, you get live show of song lyrics and album art with Amazon Music. Just ask to play a song, artist, or genre, and see lyrics with Amazon Music.
- You can also listen to audiobooks from Audible, podcasts, radio stations, news briefs, and more.
N. 10:
With Echo Spot and Echo Show you can watch video flash briefings, Amazon Video content, see music lyrics and weather forecasts, display to-do and shopping lists, browse and listen to Audible audiobooks, and more. All hands-free.
N. 11:
In order to control smart home devices, Alexa can interact with devices from several manufacturers including Nest, Philips Hue, Wink, ecobee, LightwaveRF, Belkin SmartThings, IFTTT and others. Developers from these manufacturers are able to create their own smart home skills using the Alexa Skills Kit. These third-party developed skills, once published, are available across Alexa-enabled devices. Users can enable these skills using the Alexa app.
N. 12:
With all five Echo devices considered here, you can call or send a message to anyone who has an Echo device or the Alexa app.
You can also connect quickly to all other Echo devices at home with simple voice control.
Note that with Echo Spot and Echo Show that are equipped with a camera and a screen, you can also make video calls.
N. 13:
Want to play music on an Echo device that is in another room? Now, with the multi-room music feature, you can tell Alexa to play across your compatible Echo devices. For instance, you can tell Alexa to play jazz in the kitchen, pop in the family room, or play the same song throughout your whole home.
N. 14:
With the multiple microphones that Echo devices are equipped with, together with beamforming technology and noise cancellation, Echo devices can hear you from any direction, even while music is playing. When you want to use your Echo device, simply say the wake word, “Alexa,” and the Echo device lights up and connects to the cloud, where the Alexa Voice Service recognizes and responds to your request instantly.
N. 15:
The prices shown in the above table were current at the time this article was written and may have changed. For exact prices, please refer to the Amazon Products scetion below.
So which Echo is best for your needs?
At the time of this writing, all five Amazon Echo devices compared above had received an average rating of 4.5 dtars (out of 5 stars) from Amazon customers, and mostly excellent reviews. Therefore, one can safely assume that these are high quality products that deliver quite well what is expected from them. However, the 5 Echos devices present some important differences that you should keep in mind before deciding which to get:
- If you are looking for a device that produces a great room-filling sound with Dolby processing with crisp vocals and extended bass response, then you should consider either Echo, Eco Plus or Echo Show.
However, note that even though Echo Sport and Echo Dot have small speakers and can not produce the same kind of room-filling sound, they can be connected either with cable or via Bluetooth to your own speakers for a better and larger sound. - If you are looking for not just sound, but also images and video play on your Echo, then you should consider either Echo Spot or Echo Show which are equipped with a screen and a camera. Just keep in mind that Echo Show has a much larger screen than Echo Spot.
- If your home has smart devcies that use other signals besides Wi-Fi, such as ZigBee, then you might want to consider the Echo Plus or Echo View which have a built-in ZigBee hub.
- Finally, if you want to connect your Echo to your own speakers with cables, you should not be getting the Echo Show, which is the only one of the five Echo devices that does not have an auxiliary port for connecting to external speakers. But it does support Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Compared Echo Devices on Amazon
Please click below the Amazon image link for the Echo device of your choice for exact price information or to purcahse:
Echo (2nd Gen.) |
Echo Plus (2nd Gen.) |
Echo (3rd Gen.) |
Echo Spot |
Echo Show (2nd Gen.) |
Echo Dot (2nd Gen.) |
Echo Dot (3rd Gen.)Differences between 2nd and 3rd gen. Echo Dot: Aside from the physical design, a larger (1.6" vs. 0.6") speaker and more power (a 15 watt 12V AC adapter vs. the 9 watt USB adapter on the 2nd gen model). |
APPENDIX: Graphic Description of the Five Echo Devices
You will find below pictorial description of the 5 Echo devices compared above:
(Photo Credits: Amazon)
(Photo Credits: Amazon)
(Photo Credits: Amazon)
(Photo Credits: Amazon)
(Photo Credits: Amazon)
Have you not found yet what you were looking for?
Global Amazon Search
If you have not found what you are looking for among the above offerings, you can still search for it or for ANY OTHER PRODUCT you may need by clicking below and searching for what you need on Amazon.com:
