This year, Amazon launched the third edition of the little Echo Dot, giving it a fresh new look that is more in line with its fabric-lined brethren and also improved audio quality.
Visually, the new Echo Dot looks like the second generation Echo Plus, just shorter. It still has the same hockey puck like design but now with rounded edges, which makes it look more like a burger patty.
The sides are now covered in fabric, which is non removable. The top has matte plastic with the four buttons for volume, Alexa and mute. The buttons aren't quite as intuitive or satisfying as the volume control ring on the first generation model but get the job done, especially since you'll mostly be controlling using voice.
The Echo Dot has a ring that goes around the top edge. It glows blue when Alexa is listening to you and light green when you adjust volume. It will flash red when there is an issue with the internet connection or stay red when Alexa is muted. Because the ring is on the edge, it can be seen from the top as well as from the side, so you can easily see it if the device is kept at or below eye level in the room.
The bottom of the Echo Dot has a rubber coating that is very grippy but also very hard to clean without a wet cloth.
On the back are two ports, one where you plug in the power adapter and the other an auxiliary out for connecting to powered speakers.
The new Echo Dot is available in three colors, Black, Gray, and White.
The new design does look nice, with a more modern and upmarket feel that you won't be ashamed to have around your house. However, the colors are quite stale and while the ol' black/white/gray combo is fine, Amazon needs to experiment with more color options like Google so the devices stand out a bit more.
The other major difference this time around is the improved audio quality. Improved audio quality in these cases almost always means more bass, and that's exactly what's happening here.
The new Echo Dot still has a single down-firing driver producing all the sound but it can produce much more mid-bass. This gives more body and warmth to the sound over the previous generation, which sounded like a glorified laptop speaker.
Vocals especially sound better, which was noticeable while listening to podcasts, where male voices in particular sounded fuller and more natural. The Echo Dot can even vibrate the surface it's kept on and use the resonance from that to make the bass sound louder.
Unfortunately, the audio quality is still not good, which is to be expected from a device of this size. Apart from the size, the main culprit is the single driver powering all the frequencies. The dynamic range is very narrow and all the frequencies sound muddled together when playing more complex tracks.