inch front-firing speaker (versus a woofer and tweeters), and "Eero mesh network support so the Echo Dot can serve as a node for your Eero network if you use one," according to our sister site, PCMag. The Mini sounded the weediest of the three, and I wouldn't recommend listening to music on it, though many people insist on doing it anyway.

Be sure to reference the "more" tab on the Alexa app to browse through all of the Echo Dot's offerings. she can trigger the living room smart lights to flash on and off, serving as a visual reminder to shut off the faucet," as reported in USA Today. On the top are the familiar four buttons: two for adjusting volume, one for cutting off the microphone and another to make Alexa listen if it can’t hear you shouting the wake word. It has all the other features of the new Echo Dot, too, including the temperature sensors and the ability to act as a Wi-Fi extender for Eero networks, plus a Zigbee radio. Task help: There are times we wish that we had a personal assistant for little things, including making lists and scheduling calendars.

Monitor your smart home environment: The Echo Dot also offers the option to monitor smart devices at home.

The old, third-generation Echo Dot had a shorter and flat form factor, making it more discreet and easier to mount on a wall, so some people might not like the design change here. If you have two Echo devices in one room, you can actually tell one of them to "play music everywhere," which will amplify sound to even higher levels and make for an actual at-home clubbing experience. The fourth-gen and third-gen Dots have the audio jack, so you’re not out of luck if you want this feature. In addition to its usual Echo capabilities, the latest Dot comes with a handful of new features that make it even more useful, as you might hope. If you appreciate good sound and want your music to sound as crisp and sublime as possible, the Studio has you covered, with support for Dolby Atmos.

A small change, but possibly a handy one if you keep one by the bedside or like to play music at aggressively high volumes. The company claims it has completely redesigned the audio architecture to deliver two times the bass of the prior model. For most things Alexa and Assistant are on a level playing field, particularly if you’re not entirely integrated into Google’s ecosystem already.

Certain products that use the Alexa voice assistant, such as the Ring video doorbell, have a separate monthly fee. You can turn this off, by the way, and tell it to only track you around the house when you want it to. Whispering to Alexa while music is playing is a great party trick, and that worked flawlessly on this Dot.When you press the button or say “Alexa”, a light appears at the base of the device, casting a soft ring of blue light across whatever surface it’s placed on. Enjoy an improved audio experience compared to any previous Echo Dot with Alexa for clearer vocals, deeper bass and vibrant sound in any room. The opening acoustic guitar plucks in Yes’ “Roundabout” sound full and get plenty of low-mid resonance combined with a bit of high-mid clarity to bring out some string texture even if it isn’t very crisp. If I could choose which devices connected to the Dot — and, say, just put my smart lights on it — this would be more helpful to me. Previously, you could attach your phone to play a podcast through the Dot, or attach your Dot to a better sound system to give it Alexa’s skills.