The brand's best smart speakers get a new look and more power behind the sound and smarts. Updated design with easier buttons and tap controls. Has Alexa+ right away, no waiting list required. Smart-home hub built into both. Buttons can show oil stains from skin contact.

Only one smart speaker out of Amazon's lineup is worth investing in during Prime Day. For any other speaker, it's better to wait. All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. I've tried nearly every single Echo Amazon has made, from the tower-like original Echo that sat in my first postgrad apartment to the swath of Echo Show devices you can find in my home right now while I test Alexa+'s early access .

A smart speaker makes for an easy first step into smart home technology. Before you kit out your house with thousands of dollars of lighting and security upgrades, you can familiarize yourself with voice-assistant technology while enjoying music, podcasts, and news in a hands-free home environment. Here are our top picks in several categories. If you want information about smart speakers in addition to our top recommendations, scroll down the page to read our in-depth buyers' guide. Alexa is the most popular voice assistant, and the 2024 edition of the Echo Pop is the best value in Amazon's smart speaker lineup. While it's not a true smart display, it is equipped with a touchscreen that can display the time, date, weather conditions, and other information. It can also show album art while streaming music (not that we recommend this speaker for that task).

The sale event of the summer is here, and the Amazon Prime Day Kindle deals (and other Amazon device deals!) are ones you can count on being great to shop. As someone who tests Amazon gear for a living--Echo speakers, Kindles, Amazon's smart plugs, you name it--I'm always tracking what in Amazon's lineup is worth buying. I have a ton of favorites, from the best of the best, like the Kindle Paperwhite and Echo Show 8, to the Kindle Scribe and Echo Spot. It's the perfect time to shop all of those and more. Not only is everything in this guide WIRED-tested and WIRED-approved, but it's on sale right now. Try our Absolute Best Amazon Prime Day Deals roundup and Prime Day liveblog.

Prime Day is just days away and we're already reveling in the early deals we're spotting. Here's one such deal: the gorgeous Amazon Echo Spot has been slashed down to just 45. That's 44% off its 80 MSRP and matches the best price it's ever been. The 2024 version of the Echo Spot has a sleek redesign that sets it apart from previous models. Instead of the big speaker we normally associate with the Echo line, this one is more of a proper digital display with the speaker as more of a supplement.

Yes, Black Friday is basically here and, though we're not sure where this year went, all the sales are softening the blow. Amazon, sure to be the home of a lot of shopping this year, has already marked down some of its most wanted products. Included in the sales is our choice for best smart speaker under 50, the fifth generation Amazon Echo Dot. Right now, you can pick up the speaker for just 23 -- an all-time low price. The fifth-gen Amazon Echo Dot came out in 2022 and has great features, including exceptionally loud and clear audio for its sticker price (let alone the discounted one).

October Prime Day deals are proving to be just as good as those we saw in July, at least for some of Amazon's own devices. The recently revamped Echo Spot is back on sale for a record low of 45, a discount that we last saw during the summertime sale event. The original Echo Spot came out in 2017, but it only lasted two years before it was discontinued. Amazon brought back a redesigned version of the Alexa speaker earlier this year. You can also opt for a bundle and get a TP-Link Tapo Smart Color Bulb with it for the same price.

In 2017, Amazon launched the Echo Spot only to discontinue it two years later. This year, Amazon brought it back with new features and a fresh look. The 2024 edition is also 50 cheaper than its predecessor. But that 80 price tag is cut even more in a sale ahead of Prime Day. Right now, you can get the Amazon Echo Spot for just 45 -- a 44 percent discount.

Amazon's latest attempt to usurp the humble bedside alarm clock is the revamped Echo Spot, equipped with a speaker and small display for a customisable Alexa clock. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. It is a full reimagining of the original Echo Spot from 2018, keeping the general half-ball shape but ditching the camera and shrinking the screen. The display is a small square in the top half of the face, immediately above a speaker grille.

The latest incarnation of Amazon's Echo Spot is back on sale. The smart alarm clock has dropped from 80 to 55. The device was available for 45 during an introductory/Prime Day sale in July, but this is the lowest that the Echo Spot has dipped to since then. The new model has a sharper display and better sound compared with the original one, Amazon claims (the company canned the first Echo Spot in 2019, two years after its debut). The front face of the new Echo Spot is split almost in half with a display up top and speaker at the bottom.