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 smartphone made the standalone alarm clock worthless. Sure you probably know some alarm clock holdouts (a parent or grandmother perhaps), but you probably just use your phon e , which is already resting on the nightstand and has a decent enough alarm.

It's loud enough to wake me up in the morning

Creepy nightmares about Jeff Bezos watching me sleep

A tiny Echo with a screen.

It's loud enough to wake me up in the morning

Creepy nightmares about Jeff Bezos watching me sleep

Gaze into the abyss, and the abyss gazes back. That's what's running through my head on my first night testing the Amazon Echo Spot. I'm lying in bed struggling to fall asleep as I sometimes do, and it's sitting there displaying the time on my nightstand with its camera aimed straight at my face.

The Echo Spot is a well-made device with a good-looking design, and it's handy for quick, voice-activated video calls; Sound quality was better than we expected, and noticeably better than the Echo Dot's

The Echo Spot doesn't currently support YouTube, nor does it offer many video sources for your flash briefings; The touchscreen adds less than it should to the Alexa experience, and it's too small to be helpful unless you're within a few feet of the device

Mashable Choice highlights the best of everything we cover, have experienced first-hand and would recommend to others. Amazon's not declaring it a redo, but the Echo Spot , the company's latest Alexa-powered smart speaker â€" smart alarm clock is probably more accurate â€" might as well be one.

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

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

‘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