Like the Echo Show, the Echo Spot makes sense if you're planning on taking advantage of those touchscreen-specific uses -- chiefly, making video calls to friends and family, watching news clips in your daily flash briefing or keeping an eye on compatible smart security camera feeds. You also get an added layer of "glanceability" with the clock face and with things like cooking timers, to-do lists and weather reports.

But (again, like with the Show) the Spot's touchscreen doesn't add as much to the Alexa experience as you might think. You'll see album artwork and in some cases lyrics when you play music, and you can stream video from sources such as Prime Video or Twitch -- no YouTube, though. Aside from that, this is still very much a voice-first user interface, which makes the camera and touchscreen more than most people probably need (and if you're like me, more than you actually want). The Spot is a charming and likable gadget, but it isn't a must-buy yet, even for Alexa fans.

Same Alexa, brand-new package

If the Dot is a hockey puck, then the Spot is a softball, albeit one with its front face sliced off. It's a distinct departure from the blocky, angular Echo Show, and it makes for a nice-looking device with a lot of the same visual appeal as the Nest thermostat. I wonder if something wider and a little more oblong would have been a better choice, though -- that 2.5-inch touchscreen feels smaller than it should be, especially when you're watching video on it.

To get started with the Spot, you just plug it in, wait for it to boot up and then enter your Amazon login info on the touchscreen. You'll still want the Alexa app on your phone to fine-tune settings, contacts and groups of devices, but I appreciate that you don't need it during setup. You can also access device settings just by swiping down from the top of the Spot's touchscreen. Like with the Echo Show, it's an approach that makes the device a little less intimidating to folks who don't typically use a lot of apps or smart home gadgets -- exactly the kind of people Amazon wants to reach as Alexa's influence continues to expand.

Like other Alexa gadgets, the Spot wakes up when you say the wake word ("Alexa" is the default, but you can also go with "Amazon," "Echo" or "Computer"). The array of far-field mics feels just as sensitive as on other Echo devices, and, for the most part, it does an impressive job of hearing and understanding commands, even from across the room. You'll still need to shout to be heard over music playback, though. Amazon still hasn't quite figured that issue out.

The Spot is heavier than you might expect, weighing in just shy of a pound at 419 grams. It feels like a premium device, and it sounds like one, too. The audio isn't as rich or full-sounding as what you'll get with an Amazon Echo, but it's closer than you might have guessed -- and it's noticeably more powerful than the Echo Dot. 

Like on the rest of the current-gen Echo lineup, there's also an aux-out jack in the back that'll let you hook it up with external speakers should you choose. Even if you don't, the Echo Spot is more than capable of filling a small to medium-size room with passable sound quality on its own. Audiophiles would obviously be better served with a higher-fidelity smart speaker such as the Sonos One or the Google Home Max, but if you're a casual listener who just wants to play a Pandora station loud enough to hear the lyrics as you cook, the Echo Spot will get the job done.

Enlarge Image

What can it do?

The Spot works just like any of Amazon's other smart speakers, and it can do everything the Echo can do. It can stream music, it can look up facts, it can set alarms and cooking timers, it can tell you the weather and traffic conditions for your morning commute, it can call other Alexa users, it can buy things on Amazon, it can control compatible smart home devices and it can run any of Alexa's skills. It also includes Amazon's ESP feature, which makes it so that only the Echo device closest to you will respond to your command. That's key if you're living with multiple Alexa devices under one roof.

The real question is what can Alexa do now that she's got a touchscreen. The answer: Not as much as you'd probably expect. To start, you can swipe down from the top of the screen to access ample device settings, and you'll also get some extra at-a-glance info with your day-to-day Alexa usage. Ask her for the weather, and she'll show you additional information from the forecast as she speaks. Ask her to add something to your to-do list, and you'll see the list on screen, with the option to mark items off with a swipe. Ask her to play a song from Amazon Music, and she'll show you the lyrics as it plays (provided she knows them). Ask her how old Patrick Stewart is, and the answer will come complete with a picture of the actor pulled from Wikipedia.