The Amazon Echo Dot Gen 4 is a budget-friendly speaker with a similar design to the Amazon Echo Gen 4, though it's a bit smaller in size. It has an outstanding voice assistant performance with Alexa built-in and can easily understand you even if you aren't close by or if you're in a noisy setting. You can even mute the microphone if you want privacy. However, its sound profile is a bit dark and dull, and it also lacks low bass. Fortunately, there are bass and treble adjustments in the Amazon Alexa app.
Our Verdict
The Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen is middling for music. Its balanced mid-range reproduces vocals and lead instruments clearly, but it also sounds a bit dark and veiled. Like many of the small speakers we've tested, it struggles to reproduce low-bass, and it doesn't get very loud. However, the Amazon Alexa app offers bass and treble adjustments to help you customize its sound.
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Bass and treble adjustments.
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Lacks low-bass.
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Doesn't get very loud.
The Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen is disappointing for videos and movies. It can reproduce voices clearly, though they may sound a bit dark or veiled. However, it lacks low bass, so you don't feel the thump and rumble in action-packed scenes. It doesn't get very loud, either. While its latency with Android devices may be too high for watching videos, it performs better with iOS devices. Some apps compensate for latency, so your experience may vary.
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Bass and treble adjustments.
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Lacks low-bass.
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Doesn't get very loud.
The Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen is acceptable for podcasts. It has a neutral mid-range that can reproduce voices clearly, though they may sound a bit dark or dull. However, it doesn't get very loud. You can stream podcasts from your phone or tablet to the speaker wirelessly via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, but you can only pair it to one device at a time, which can be disappointing.
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Bluetooth and Wi-Fi compatible.
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Doesn't get very loud.
The Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen is amazing for voice assistant support. It has built-in Alexa capabilities, and the speaker is voice-activated. It can understand you even if you aren't close to it or if you're in a loud setting. There's also a mic mute feature, which is handy if you don't want the speaker to listen to you. However, it doesn't get very loud.
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Has mic mute button.
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Excellent ambient noise performance.
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Doesn't get very loud.
The Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen isn't suitable for outdoor use due to its wired design.
- 5.8 Music
- 5.2 Videos/Movies
- 6.3 Podcasts
- 8.9 Voice Assistant
- 4.9 Outdoors
- Updated Jan 06, 2022: Updated review for accuracy and clarity.
- Updated Jan 12, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Jan 07, 2021: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 4th Gen variant of the Amazon Echo, which has a smaller spherical design that sets it apart from the previous generations. This speaker is available in several different colors, including 'Glacier White', 'Charcoal', and 'Twilight Blue'. We tested the 'Charcoal' variant, and you can see the label here. We expect the other color variants to perform similarly.
Amazon also offers an Echo Dot variant with a digital clock feature, which is available in 'Glacier White' and 'Twilight Blue'. Unlike the variant we tested, it has an LED clock display to help you keep track of the time. Also, there's a Kids Edition of this speaker, available in 'Panda' or 'Tiger', that comes with additional parental controls.
If you come across another version, let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Speakers
The Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen is a small, budget-friendly speaker with a built-in Alexa voice assistant. It has a similar design to the Amazon Echo Gen 4 that can produce a more extended low-bass, though the Dot is smaller in size. It offers fantastic voice assistant support with Alexa built-in and can easily register your commands if you're far away from the speaker or in a noisy room. However, like most speakers its size, it struggles to reproduce low-bass, and it doesn't get very loud. Also, unlike the Amazon Echo Studio, it doesn't support Dolby Atmos.
Check out our recommendations for the best Alexa speakers, the best smart speakers, and the best home speakers.
The Amazon Echo Gen 4 and the Amazon Echo Dot Gen 4 are both excellent voice assistant speakers; however, the Echo is a better choice for listening to music. The Echo has a better-balanced sound profile out-of-the-box, and it can reproduce a more extended low-bass. Also, it gets louder, though it has some more compression at max volume. It's a bit bigger than the Echo Dot, too.
The Google Nest Mini and the Amazon Echo Dot Gen 4 are similar speakers, so depending on your usage habits, you may prefer one over the other. The Amazon is better for voice assistants since it has a better ambient noise performance, so the voice assistant can understand you better in noisy settings. While the Amazon speaker has built-in Alexa support, the Google speaker has built-in Google Assistant. Unlike the Amazon model, the Google one also supports Chromecast.
The Amazon Echo Dot Gen 4 is a better speaker for voice assistant support than the Apple HomePod mini overall. The Amazon has a better ambient noise performance, so it can understand you better in noisy settings. Also, it has bass and treble adjustments for customizing its sound. However, the Apple is better for music and videos, as it has a more neutral sound profile out of the box and a better soundstage.
The Google Nest Audio and the Amazon Echo Dot Gen 4 are similar speakers, so depending on your usage habits, you may prefer one over the other. The Amazon is better for voice assistant support, as it has better ambient noise performance. However, the Google speaker is better for music and videos. It has a more balanced sound profile out of the box, and it gets louder. It also supports Chromecast, unlike the Amazon speaker.
The Apple HomePod is a better choice for music, videos, and podcasts than the Amazon Echo Dot Gen 4. The Apple speaker has a more balanced sound profile out-of-the-box and a better soundstage. It can get louder, and it supports Apple AirPlay. That said, it's been discontinued and may be harder to find in new condition. The Amazon speaker, on the other hand, supports Bluetooth, and it has bass and treble adjustments, unlike the Apple.
The Sonos Move is a more versatile speaker than the Amazon Echo Dot Gen 4. The Sonos can be battery-operated, so it's portable enough to use outside. It has an IP56 rating for dust and water resistance, so you don't need to worry about it getting a bit dirty or wet when taking it outdoors with you. It also has a better-balanced sound profile out-of-the-box, and it can get louder. However, the Amazon is a bit better for voice assistants thanks to its ambient noise performance, which helps the voice assistant understand your commands more clearly in noisy environments.
Test Results
The Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen is a small speaker with a similar spherical design to the Amazon Echo Gen 4, though it's a bit smaller. It sits on a flat base that's surrounded by a ring of light. The light activates when you make voice commands, adjust the speaker's volume, and enable and disable the microphone. That said, it doesn't change color and doesn't remain on when listening to music. The speaker comes in white, black, and blue.
The Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen isn't very portable. While it's small and lightweight, it isn't battery-powered since it's designed for home use and needs to remain wired to a power source for it to work.
The Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen has a passable build quality. The speaker itself feels solid, and the fabric surrounding the speaker is tight and doesn't seem like it could rip easily. However, it isn't rated for dust, water, or impact resistance like some of the other speakers we've tested, like the Sony SRS-XB23.
It has a simple selection of controls. The four physical buttons let you adjust the volume, mute/unmute the microphone, or activate Alexa without using the wake word, "Alexa". You can also hold down the Action button for 25 seconds to reset the speaker or tap it to silence an alarm. Also, tapping the front of the speaker snoozes your alarm. That said, you can't use its physical controls to skip tracks and have to use your phone or your voice to do so.
The Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen has middling frequency response accuracy. It struggles to reproduce low-bass, so you don't feel the deep thump and rumble in bass-heavy music like EDM. Its balanced mid-range can reproduce vocals and lead instruments clearly, but it lacks detail in the treble range, so your audio can sound dark or dull. However, you can use the bass and treble adjustments in the companion app to adjust the speaker's sound.
It has an okay soundstage overall. Thanks to its spherical design, it has amazing directivity, meaning you can hear your audio clearly from most angles. However, it needs to be paired to another compatible speaker to play stereo content and downmixes stereo audio to mono when using it on its own, which isn't as immersive.
The Amazon Echo Dot's dynamics are disappointing. It doesn't get very loud, and there are some compression artifacts present at max volume that affect the clarity of your audio when the speaker is pushed to its louder volume levels.
It isn't battery-powered and needs to remain wired to a power outlet for it to work. According to the manufacturer, it enters 'Low Power Mode' when it's idle to help reduce its energy consumption.
The Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen offers outstanding voice assistant support. It comes with Alexa built-in, which you can activate with your voice. It has no trouble understanding your commands when you're far from the speaker or in noisier settings. There's even a mute mic button you can press when you no longer want it to listen to you.
The Amazon Alexa app is incredible. It offers bass and treble adjustments, so you have some control over the speaker's sound profile. You can pair two Echo Dot speakers together to create a stereo pair, which helps create a wider soundstage. Also, you can connect multiple speakers to play music across a large area or through multiple rooms in your house, thanks to the Party Mode and Multi-Room features.
The Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen comes with a 3.5mm AUX port, so you can wire your devices like your smartphone to the speaker to play audio.
This speaker is Bluetooth-compatible. Thanks to its superb range, it stays connected even if your device isn't very close to the speaker. While its latency with Android devices may be too high for watching videos, it performs better with iOS devices. However, some apps compensate for latency, so your real-world experience can vary.
The Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen has fair Wi-Fi connectivity. While it's Wi-Fi compatible, it doesn't support Apple AirPlay or Google Chromecast connections.
