Amazon Echo Dot (3rd gen) review: better all round

Amazon's latest low-cost Alexa-powered smart speaker, the third-generation Echo Dot, looks better, sounds better, but still costs the same budget-friendly £50. When the second-generation Echo Dot launched in the UK it had very little in the way of competition. Having everything that was good about Amazon's Alexa voice assistant squeezed into a smaller package half the price of the bigger Echo, it was a no-brainer. But now the Echo Dot has some stiff competition from Google, in the form of the £50 Home Mini and its Assistant, and Amazon's own second-generation Echo, which is now only £90. The Echo Dot is Amazon's small, puck-like smart speaker with the firm's Alexa voice assistant built in. New for the third generation is a softer, more rounded aesthetic with fabric sides.