The newest member of the Echo family is Amazon's best-looking hardware yet.

Cute; sleek looking device; Intuitive controls; User-friendly; Alexa keeps getting smarter

Video camera could be a privacy issue; Wish it had a USB port

The Echo Spot just might be the perfect smart speaker, with a versatility and fashion-sense that give it a sense of purpose and style.

Excellent design that looks great in any room; 2.5-inch circular screen is bright; crisp; and doubles as a clock; Camera can be completely disabled

Hefty cord somewhat limits where it can be placed; Videos are truncated in full-screen mode

Of all Alexa's various enclosures, the Amazon Echo Spot is undoubtedly the cutest. Its body is spherical – larger than a baseball, but much smaller than an Echo Show – and fronted with a 2.5-inch circular touchscreen.

Most attractive Echo device so-far; Alexa is as capable as ever; Speaker is loud and mic-array works well; Cheaper than Echo Show; 3.5mm and Bluetooth audio options

Alexa Skills can look awkward on circular screen; No YouTube support (currently; Price difference with Echo Show is (currently) small; Circular display isn't ideal for video

Credit: Mike Prospero/Tom's Guide

Has an attractive design; Its audio is good for the speaker's size; Built-in camera works well; Fits well on a nightstand

Screen is too small to be very useful; Needs more clockfaces

The Spot fills out Amazon's smart speaker lineup. You now have the Amazon Echo for general-purpose use, the Tap to take out to the patio, the Spot to sit by your bed or kitchen counter, and the Echo Dot to fill in the gaps.

Super cute design; Useful display; Supports all Alexa features; 3.5mm output

Not a powerful speaker; No non-camera option

The Echo Spot brings Alexa in the form of a tiny touchscreen alarm clock. Its display is indeed pretty useful, as its adds additional context and visual information. It's great for video calls, too.

Cute design; Touchscreen enhances the Alexa experience; Great for video calls; Cute design; Touchscreen enhances the Alexa experience; Great for video calls

Expensive for what it is; The tiny screen isn't suitable for longer videos; Mediocre audio quality; Expensive for what it is; The tiny screen isn't suitable for longer videos; Mediocre audio quality

‘Alexa, are you watching me?'

Crisp; clear speaker for Alexa's responses; Bright display with large text that always shows the time; Microphones pick up voice commands well; Does all of the things other Echo devices can do

Do you really want an always-watching camera in your bedroom; Not the best for serious music listening; Expensive relative to audio-only Echo devices; Few third-party apps make use of the display

Despite its weaknesses, then, I rather like the Amazon Echo Spot. It's a rather well made, attractive-looking smart speaker that, like the Echo Show, adds an extra dimension with the addition of the touchscreen and webcam.

Gave as gift to my wife. It is in our bedroom right now. Its paired with our Echo in the kitchen. Took a couple of tries to get the app to see the new Spot. Think because I entered bad email address. Why it did not validate, not sure. Once I got them paired, the Spot picked up all our devices.