Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen vs Echo Dot 3rd Gen

(Pocket-lint) – Amazon’s line of Echo Dot speakers was one of the more settled and consistent in tech over the last few years – its puck-shaped design was clearly doing something right as the Alexa speaker sold in its multitudes. However, few things in tech last forever and Amazon switched to an entirely new look for the Echo Dot in 2020, very much a shrunken-down version of the 4-gen mainline Echo. It’s a radical departure, and with the 3-gen Echo Dot still on sale, you might be wondering which of the two you should pick up.

We’ve compared them in detail across a few categories, to help you decide. With the Prime Early Access Sale approaching, there’s likely to be some great deals on the Echo Dot models.

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Design

  • 4th gen: 100 x 100 x 89mm
  • 3rd gen: 43 x 99 x 99mm

There’s no getting around it – Amazon changed the Echo Dot’s design pretty radically, going from that distinctive puck shape to a globe of a smart speaker in the 2020 version. That has also had an inescapable impact on the Dot’s size – it’s got a lot taller, effectively.

The actual footprint of the speaker is very similar to the previous version, but with a lot more height.  While that’s given Amazon a bunch of space to fit in more tech, as we’ll show later, it does mean that the newer Echo Dot won’t necessarily fit in as many nooks and crannies as its predecessor. The new version is also a little heavier, too, as a result of its increased size but also because of the aluminium used in its construction, compared to the more plastic feel of the older speaker. 

Otherwise, both speakers share the Alexa light-strip to let you know when the voice assistant is listening, or turned off, as well as four buttons on the top to let you adjust the volume, mute the speaker or confirm a range actions.  You can get both generations in black, grey and light blue colours, but a pink option is reserved for the older speaker at present. Both generations are also available with an embedded clock display for at-a-glance timing information, for a small bump in the price. 

Finally, the newer Echo Dot also has two variant designs aimed at children, which are perfect if you’re looking for a smart speaker to put in a little one’s bedroom or playroom. 

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Sound quality

  • Both generations: 1.6-inch speaker

Interestingly, Amazon didn’t reinvent the sound design behind the fabric shroud of the newer Echo Dot – it’s still got that 1.6-inch speaker to provide the volume. Now that’s no issue – for a small speaker, the Dot line has been producing really impressive sound quality for some time, so no change isn’t bad news. That said, the increased size of the newer Dot does give you some improvement in the sound quality.

There’s less vibration through the body of the speaker and that means it performs better at higher volumes, better placed to fill the room with sound. It’s not hugely different, but it is better. On both models, there is also a 3.5mm port in case you want to pipe audio out via cable. 

Alexa and smart home connectivity

When it comes to Alexa, you’ll get pretty similar experiences on both generations of Echo Dot speakers – as a lot of the assistant’s processing is done in the cloud regardless.

However, the AZ1 Neural Edge chip that’s in the newer Echo Dot does mean that Alexa is slightly faster and more responsive on the newer speaker, as you might expect. The smart home integration potential, meanwhile, is identical – anything you can do on an older Echo Dot will still work on the newer spherical model, and the reverse is true too. 

Conclusions

As Amazon often does with its product refreshes, the new Echo Dot debuted at the same price as the old one, so there’s no change there. But since we’ve seen the launch of a newer 5-gen Echo Dot both these older speakers are generally much cheaper.

However, the differences aren’t very big – and we think it’s really the design that should sway most people.  If you’re a fan of the new spherical look, then the newer speaker is going to be right up your street, but if you look at it and can’t get on board, the older Echo Dot might be more palatable. Ultimately, as with so many things, it comes down to taste!

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Writing by Max Freeman-Mills.

Editing by Chris Hall.

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