Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Generation | Review

Links to purchase the Amazon Echo Dot 3rd generation:

Via Amazon:

Summary:

The third generation of the Amazon Echo Dot smart speaker is better in many aspects from the already brilliant Echo Dot 2nd generation. Only one thing really bothered me about it, which is the built-in microphone, which appears to be inferior to the previous model.

Since I already own the Amazon Echo Dot 2nd generation and the Google Home Mini, these are the comparison benchmarks that I can relate to in my review.

The brand: Amazon
The model: Echo Dot (3rd Generation)

The pros:

Improved audio quality compared to the previous model – The sound that comes out from the Echo Dot 3rd generation is pleasant to the human ears.

It isn’t meant to replace a true speaker if you plan to listen to quality audio, but it is adequate for background music in a small space (such as a room).

As for how it’s like compared to my benchmark smart speakers – The 3rd gen’s sound is better compared to the Amazon Echo 2nd generation, and in certain aspects, it is better than the Google Home Mini.

In my opinion, the Google Home Mini offers a more balanced sound and better “mid” range, while the Echo Dot 3rd generation has better bass and more impactful “surround” sound.

Higher volume level compared to my benchmark devices – The 3rd generation Echo Dot is louder than the 2nd generation and the Google Home Mini.

While testing the Echo Dot 3rd generation, I’ve placed the device in one specific room, and the maximum volume level sounded too much for this space (3×4 meters). So though the audio quality sounds great, and there’s not that much of a distortion, I prefer not to set the device to it’s maximum volume level.

What I did is to set the 3rd gen to volume level 7, and it is about as equal as the Google Home Min at 100% volume level.

Stylish design – If the Echo Dot 2nd generation looks like a hockey puck, then the 3rd generation looks like a stylish & sophisticated donut.

It’s larger & heavier compared to the previous model, but it’s hard to go wrong which one is the newer model.

Price remains attractive – Since the Echo Dot is Amazon’s most affordable smart home speaker, it’s good that Amazon offers it for about the same price.

I purchased it during Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2018 when it was relatively new, for $23 (as part of a deal that included 3 units for $69). It’s not always offered for this price, and Amazon should have interest to keep the price low, but I still appreciate the fact that Amazon didn’t raise the price of the intelligent device compared to the 2nd generation’s price.

Bluetooth connection – For some reason, I never used the Bluetooth capabilities of my 2nd generation Echo Dot and Google Home Mini. In fact, I totally forgot they exist…

That’s why I was glad to “re-discover” this so obvious feature is available on the Echo Dot 3rd generation – And it works really good with my other devices!

The cons:

It is less responsive compared to the 2nd generation of the Amazon Echo Dot – Right from the start, I suspected that the newer model is less responsive. At first, I thought that the increased volume level prevents what I say to be heard.

But I think the main reason why Alexa misses some of the things I’m saying stems from the fact that the 2nd generation Echo Dot had a 7-microphone array, while the newer model has 4 microphones.

The device consumes more energy compared to the 2nd generation – I don’t mind the power adapter takes more space compared to the USB cable that energized the previous model.

But I guess that as a result of the improvements in the audio/volume/size of the newer model, it consumes more power (15W compared to 9W), than the Echo Dot 2nd generation

User manual:

Link to the Amazon Echo Dot 3rd generation user guide.

FAQ :

I will update this section if needed.

If you have additional questions regarding the Amazon Echo Dot 3rd generation – leave a comment and I will do my best to help.