Amazon has cornered the market on cheap and easy-to-use good residence gadgets with its Echo lineup. Two of its tiniest (but nonetheless feature-packed) choices are the Echo Dot, now on its fifth technology, and the Echo Pop, which debuted in 2023. Each Alexa good audio system value beneath $50 and frequently go on sale throughout Prime Day occasions.
And whereas the 2 gadgets are remarkably related, there are some key variations it is best to know earlier than you decide one. Right here’s how the Echo Dot (fifth gen) and the Echo Pop evaluate, based mostly on my first-hand insights utilizing them each.
Echo Dot vs. Echo Pop: Specs
Credit score: Chart: SaVanna Shoemaker / Mashable
Design: We like coloration choices
The Echo Dot and the Echo Pop are practically the identical dimension, however whereas the Echo Dot is spherical, the Echo Pop has a flat face. It mainly seems like a cross-section of the Dot.
The Echo Dot (left) and Echo Pop (proper) — as you may see, the Dot has been graced by toddler spaghetti fingers.
Credit score: SaVanna Shoemaker / Mashable
The Echo Dot additionally is available in three pretty muted colours (grey, white, and blue), however the Echo Pop is on the market in some, effectively, poppier colours (lavender and teal along with grey and white).
General, I like the looks of the Echo Pop a bit of higher. The brighter colours add a cute splash of coloration to a nook shelf. The Pop can function a extra discreet Alexa assistant than the Echo Dot (which is pretty universally acknowledged as a sensible residence gadget).
Each have a contemporary, glossy look that may simply complement or mix into your property decor.
Winner: Echo Pop
Setup and ease of use
Amazon has made establishing these gadgets extraordinarily simple. You’ll want the Alexa app in your cellphone, and it walks you thru setup step-by-step. The app can be the place you’ll join different apps like Spotify or Audible to stream them in your Echo gadgets utilizing Alexa voice instructions.
The gadgets themselves are additionally very simple. The bodily buttons on them let you mute and unmute the microphone and modify the quantity. All the pieces else is finished by way of voice instructions or by way of the Alexa app. I had no issues establishing both machine and each had been extremely aware of my “Hey, Alexa’s.”
Winner: Tie
Sound high quality is sort of similar
Amazon describes the Echo Pop’s sound as a “full sound” that’s a superb match for bedrooms and small areas and the Echo Dot’s sound as a “greater vibrant sound” for any room.
In my side-by-side comparisons of the Echo Dot and the Echo Pop, I couldn’t detect a distinction in sound high quality between the 2 gadgets. Each gadgets had been wonderful for enjoying background music in my workplace or listening to podcasts whereas doing house responsibilities, offering fuller, clearer sound and elevated quantity in comparison with my smartphone.
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The Echo Pop does have an ever-so-slightly bigger speaker. Nonetheless, the Dot’s spherical form will help it to fill an area with sound irrespective of the place it’s positioned.
Winner: Echo Dot
Alexa integration and good residence connectivity
Each the Echo Dot and the Echo Pop combine with Alexa by way of the Amazon Alexa app. You should use Alexa to ask questions, verify the climate, set timers and alarms, and open related apps (like music or streaming apps together with Spotify, Pandora, Audible, and Amazon Music).
Personally, I’ve all the time discovered Alexa gadgets most helpful within the workplace and within the kitchen. They supply a hands-free, screen-free method to set timers (for productiveness or pizza) or to stream audio. A centrally-located Echo machine can be a good way to unlock area in your mind. I’ve used Alexa to remind me to water my vegetation, put birthday playing cards within the mail, and verify the water stage within the pool at common intervals when filling it up for the season.
Nonetheless, the Echo Dot edges out the Echo Pop right here in two key methods: temperature sensing and movement detection. So your Echo Dot can execute Alexa Routines that contain temperature or movement, whereas the Echo Pop can’t. Some examples:
Winner: Echo Dot
Contemplating extra options
The Echo Dot and the Echo Pop can each function WiFi extenders if in case you have an present Amazon Eero community, including as much as 1,000 sq. ft of extra WiFi protection.
Nonetheless, as soon as once more the Echo Dot edges out the Echo Pop by way of additional options. As talked about above, the Dot comes geared up with movement and temperature detection capabilities.
Winner: Echo Dot
