Amazon’s Echo Spot for $80 is a great partial smart display. While the music quality isn’t the same depth that you’ll get on the Echo Dot, you’ll instead get a fun little half-screen with the second-gen Echo Spot that shows you the time, the weather, your calendar, and the name of the song playing. It’s a fun little set of features that make it a great speaker for the bedroom, especially since there’s no camera.
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen) for $150 is the best Alexa smart display for the money. While it’s the older model, the sound is better than the newer Echo Show 8, and it still can use Alexa+ and has a built-in smart home hub.
Amazon’s Echo Show 11 for $220 is the best new Alexa smart display. If you’re looking to upgrade to one of Amazon’s newer Echo Show devices, the Show 11 has better sound and a good-sized screen. I liked it a lot better than the newest Echo Show 8, which has weaker sound than the older Echo Show 8 and the Show 11. The screen didn’t feel that big, either, and is my new favorite size for things like recipes and streaming.
The Amazon Echo Studio (2nd Gen) for $220 is the best-sounding Alexa speaker. We already loved the first model, so it’s not a huge surprise we love the second-gen version, too. It’s got fantastic sound quality and power, and has a built-in smart home hub and spatial audio capabilities. While it’s smaller than the Apple HomePod, it easily filled my entire second-floor great room with music.
Apple’s HomePod Mini for $99 is the best for Apple enthusiasts. The HomePod Mini has the same issues as the larger HomePod speaker, including a higher price than much of the competition and a muddy midrange. It doesn’t have anywhere near the level of third-party smart home support you’ll find with Amazon or Google. You can get a full-size Nest or Echo speaker for the same money, and you should. But if you’re truly, immovably set on using Siri as your smart home’s voice assistant, the Mini is a better price for the same experience.
The Google Nest Hub for $100 is a great bedside speaker for Google Assistant users. The 7-inch screen feels like a smartphone propped up on its side rather than a massive smart display, and it has sleep tracking technology built into it to track your sleep without needing any accessories on your body. Handy! Plus, no camera.
What About Alexa+?
Amazon has started rolling out the new and improved Alexa, named Alexa+, after announcing it in February, though it’s still not yet available to all users. This second generation of the Alexa voice assistant is more conversational, similar to an experience with AI assistants like ChatGPT, which isn’t a surprise since Alexa+ was built on generative AI. It does a better job answering a variety of different questions and responds quickly to all kinds of requests. Check out more in my hands-on with Alexa+.
It’s free in early access right now on many devices, including the Echo Show. Once it officially rolls out, Alexa+ will be available for $20 a month, or free if you have an Amazon Prime membership. While you likely have a membership if you added an Alexa device to your home, it’s a big jump from the previously free assistant (and both versions will have less privacy).
