It's surprising that it took the $49.99 Echo Dot smart speaker this long to start looking like, well, a dot. The fourth-generation Echo Dot is now a sphere, to mirror the look of the new fourth-gen Echo, albeit in a smaller size for half the price. Not much else has changed here, but the new Echo Dot remains one of the best ways to add Amazon's Alexa voice assistant to every room of your home. That said, we think the LED clock face on the Echo Dot With Clock is worth the extra $10 if you plan on putting the speaker on your desk, nightstand, or anywhere else you use clocks and timers.Mostly a New Design The fourth-gen Echo Dot is a 3.9-inch sphere, half plastic and half fabric covered, coming in blue, dark gray, or white. On the top there are four physical buttons for volume up, volume down, activating Alexa, and turning the mic off. The blue light ring that shows when Alexa is listening has migrated from the top of the speaker to the bottom, making the surface underneath glow soft...

The fourth-generation Echo Dot speaker doesn't offer particularly impressive sound quality, but for $50, it's still the best basic gateway to Amazon's Alexa voice assistant.

Amazing -asking Alexi to set the alarm. I feel I have my own maid onboard.

Works well with the App. Good sound considering the size.

Its very good product. I bought it for my child and he is very much excited to interact with this.

Easy to use. Great communications and exceptional clarity and tone definition. Doesnt stand out in the room.

The Amazon Echo Dot with Clock (2020) has undergone a dramatic design overhaul – but underneath the hood, little has changed over its predecessor. The compact smart speaker/alarm clock-hybrid shares many of the pros and cons of the original Dot with Clock, and unless the new space age-style design...

Great design; Clear timepiece; Easy to set up

Weak bass frequencies; No 360-degree audio; No Zigbee hub

If you're after a smart speaker for a desk or bedside table, the Dot with Clock is a no-brainer – but get the standard Dot if you don't need the clock, of course.

Ideal bedside companion; Alexa a fully-featured assistant

Light ring less obvious than previous version; Display doesn't do much

Effectively an Echo Dot, the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock (4th Generation) adds an LCD display to the front so that you can see the time, view timers and get the current temperature. Is this add-on worth an extra £10?

Handy LCD display; Neat design; Clearer audio than previous model

Audio not great for music lovers

Effectively an Echo Dot, the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock (4th Generation) adds an LCD display to the front so that you can see the time, view timers and get the current temperature. Is this add-on worth an extra £10? Yes, if you could do with a clock in a room and don't want to have to upgrade to one of the smart displays. Otherwise, it's business as normal and you get all of the features of the new Echo Dot. If you've got the old Dot with Clock then this probably isn't worth upgrading to, but for everyone else that wants the display, this is a great smart speaker.

Handy LCD display; Neat design; Clearer audio than previous model;

Audio not great for music lovers;