Echo Dot 5th Gen vs 4th Gen: Is the Upgrade Worth It?

★★★★★ Very happy with purchase. Works as it should, couldn’t be happier. We bought this because the small show we had couldn’t hear us very well but this one doesn’t seem to have a problem. It stays connected pretty far from the WiFi (75’) overall good product. It was very easy to set up. Appearance is very sleek really don’t notice it setting on the dresser.

★★★★★ Alexa Outshines Google Smart Speaker in Every Way. I recently switched from a Google smart speaker to the Amazon Alexa, and the difference is night and day. Here's why Alexa is the clear winner:**1. Superior Voice Recognition:** Alexa seems to understand me better, even in noisy environments. Whether I'm speaking softly or there's background noise, Alexa almost always gets it right on the first try. With the Google speaker, I often had to repeat myself or speak more clearly to get it to understand me.**2. Seamless Smart Home Integration:** My smart home setup includes various devices from different brands, and Alexa connects with all of them effortlessly. It’s almost like Alexa was made to be the ultimate smart home hub. With Google, I had to deal with occasional compatibility issues and workarounds.**3. Better Skills and Routines:** The Alexa Skills are incredibly diverse and useful. Whether I want to play a game, get a recipe, or even find my phone, Alexa has a skill for it. The routine setup is intuitive and allows me to automate my home exactly the way I want. Google’s routines are decent but not as flexible or easy to customize.**4. Wider Range of Compatible Devices:** There are so many Alexa-compatible devices out there, from thermostats to lights to door locks. The variety and availability make expanding my smart home ecosystem much easier. Google's compatibility is growing, but it still feels limited in comparison.**5. Better Sound Quality:** Alexa’s sound quality is richer and fuller, especially in the newer models. Whether I'm listening to music, podcasts, or audiobooks, the audio experience is noticeably better. Google’s sound quality isn’t bad, but Alexa’s audio capabilities definitely stand out.**6. Regular Updates and Improvements:** Amazon seems to be constantly updating Alexa with new features and improvements. It’s like the device just keeps getting better over time. With my Google speaker, updates were less frequent, and when they did come, the changes were often minor.In summary, if you're looking for a smart speaker that truly understands you, integrates seamlessly with your smart home, and offers a more diverse range of skills and better sound, Alexa is the way to go. It’s simply a smarter choice!

★★★★★ Practical technology in a compact design. Its size is compact, but the sound is clear and loud enough for any room. It's very easy to set up and responds quickly to voice commands.

★★★★★ That it works like the echo just not as strong sounding. Works like the big boys, just need to hook it up to speakers for a really big sound but otherwise it does all that the echo does with the sound exception, good for price.

★★★★☆ Good. Had some connectivity issues setting it up. Took about 10 minutes to get it going. But everything is good now. I replaced a very old echo studio with this. and the speaker honestly is better. But it doesn't have spacial audio. So I'll be getting another one. Not sure if it will connect to my echo subwoofer I'll try it out at a later time.

★★★★★ Great item. This item is great. I hooked up lamps and lights. Its very helpful in many ways. Works perfect and very user friendly.

★★★★★ Does The Job, Alexa Can Be Glitchy. These work well but Alexa can be a little glitchy and doesn't do everything Google does and Google can't do some of the things that Alexa does.Alexa does hane some problems understanding some similar sounding words like pole, hole and whole."Turn off the pole lamp" turned into "turn off the whole lamp" and Alexa shut off every lamp as an example.Alexa has issues with custom light colors.Alexa has issues with thermometers If you have a greenhouse or need to track humidity for health reasons. Google will tell you the humidity of a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth smart thermometer, Alexa says she can't do that yet.Alexa also cannot tell you the heat index or wind chill factor.I use Google on my phone to perform some tasks that Alexa cannot perform or gets buggy with.Here's why I went with Amazon speakers.Where I live, we have brownouts in the summer, it rains all the time and we have the occasional blackout.EVEN THOUGH my Google speakers were on surge suppressors, 3 speakers were damaged!Google suggests that you put their speakers on a surge suppressing UPS (a surge suppressor with battery backup) for EACH GOOGLE DEVICE!Google said the sudden loss of power is like yanking the battery out of a phone and can damage the firmware of the speaker and brick it, meaning the speaker can still be damaged even if it's on a surge suppressor.These seem to have a better build quality but I still put each speaker on a smart plug to be safe so I can remotely kill the power if needed.Update: internet went out today, the speakers when they reacquired the network we're very sluggish, used the smart plugs to reboot all the speakers instead of unplugging them and plugging them back in one by one.

★★★★★ back up calling system. this is my 3rd echo dot. That being said, you can tell I like them. Husband was in bed sick and had alexia call me using the echo dot. Will be handy if he needs to call 911 when I'm out of town.The sound quality for music is good too.