-
Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen)
Editor's Choice$23 $50 Save $27The sound quality is better than it ever has been, with the same capabilities as its bigger, more expensive siblings. It's the one to choose.
Pros- Improved sound
- Temperature sensor
- All the fun of Alexa
Cons- No 3.5mm connection
-
Amazon Echo Dot (4th gen)
A cheaper alternativeThe older speaker offers much the same experience and Alexa is just as capable - but there are fewer features and it doesn't sound as good.
Pros- All the skills of Alexa
- 3.5mm connection
- Might have more discounts
Cons- Less widely available
The Echo Dot is one of Amazon's most popular devices and it's easy to see why. The cute little speaker gives you all the skills of Alexa, while being compact enough and affordable enough to place in just about any room of the house.
Launched originally in 2020, the spherical Echo Dot was updated in 2022, taking it from 4th to 5th generation. Interestingly, the Echo Dot is now a generation ahead of the larger Echo, which suggests to us that there's greater demand for the smaller speaker.
But with what looks like a superficial update, there's more that you need to know about, so we're running a full comparison so you can see exactly what the differences are and help you decide whether to grab that Echo Dot 4th Gen, or gun for the 5th Gen Echo Dot instead.
Price and specs
The Echo Dot (4th Gen) launched in 2020 at a price of $50, before being updated by the Echo Dot (5th Gen) at same price of $50. Amazon devices fluctuate in price a lot, however, through various sales like Prime Day and Black Friday, so it's often available for cheaper. It's also one of Amazon's most popular devices. It's widely available through retailers, but you might find that the Echo Dot 4th Gen is now harder to find, because it's older. Currently, both devices are reduced for Black Friday.
Next you'll find the specs, so you can quickly glance and see what the differences are.
Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) Amazon Echo Dot (4th gen) Dimensions 100 x 100 x 89mm, 340g 100 x 100 x 89mm, 328g Woofer Size 1.73in 1.6in Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Matter Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3.5mm, Matter Others Temperature sensor, Accelerometer None
Design and build
The design of these speakers is pretty much the same, with identical dimensions, but you'll notice that the Echo Dot 5th Gen is heavier, no doubt because it's got more tech inside. That weight doesn't make a difference, as it will just be sitting on a shelf in your home.
While both are fabric-covered spheres with the Alexa light ring around the base of the device and four buttons for control on the top, there's actually a difference around the back of the device. Yes, there is a back and front to these speakers, with the plastic of the base raising up the back half. Here you'll find that the new model only has a power connection, while the 4th Gen has a 3.5mm audio output as well.
Otherwise, both speakers are available in Charcoal and Glacier White colours, but the Echo Dot 5th Gen adds a new Deep Sea Blue option. Both are also available as the Echo Dot with Clock too, with the newer device offering a more detailed display. So visually, there's not a lot of difference.
Sound quality
The big change is in the audio quality that it will produce. The speaker inside is actually different, with the 5th Gen Echo Dot having a slightly larger driver. This is a single-speaker system and it has always sounded good with that 1.6-inch driver, but now you'll get better audio performance from it.
There's now a 1.73-inch driver and as we found in our review of the latest Echo Dot, the new speaker results in richer audio, for a better experience overall.
Features and hardware
Both of these devices are hooked into Alexa, Amazon's smart assistant. That service is universal, so you'll be able to access the same services and information, or get it to interact with your smart home in the same ways. In both cases, this is controlled by the Alexa app on your phone.
But the 5th Gen Echo Dot has additional sensors. This includes a temperature sensor, which will be able to give you the temperature for the room the Echo Dot is in - mirroring the feature on some of the larger Echo devices. That temperature sensor can also be hooked up to Alexa Routines, so it can act autonomously, for example turning on the fan if the room gets to a certain temperature, or turning off the heating, for example.
The other addition is the accelerometer. This allows tap interactions beyond the buttons on the top of the device. You'll be able to tap to snooze an alarm or tap to pause music for example. The Echo Dot 4-gen lacks these additional sensors, so lacks those functions. Both can be stereo paired, added to groups and offer all the other features of Alexa, such as Alexa Calling.
Both of these devices can become part of an Eero network (if you have one in your home) extending that network for better connectivity, while both are also Matter compatible too.
Conclusions
The differences between these two speakers is minor - but the 5th Gen Echo Dot opens up a range of possibilities through those new sensors that the 4-gen Echo Dot doesn't offer. Those things are nice to have, but most people buy the Echo Dot to use as a smart speaker - and aside from a slight lift in sound, the experience here is going to be very similar.
Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen)
The sound quality is better than it ever has been, with the same capabilities as its bigger, more expensive siblings.
It's hard to recommend the older speaker. The newer Echo Dot sounds better and has that useful temperature sensor, so is able to do more. You might find that the older Echo Dot is no longer available too, so it's an easy recommendation for the Echo Dot 5th Gen.