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Today — 27 June 2026TechRadar - All the latest technology news

Prime Day is about to end, and I've decided to drop my mid-range Echo Pop for one of Amazon's best smart speakers — here's why

✇TechRadar - All the latest technology news
By: rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies)
26 June 2026 at 14:12

You can find all manner of deals during Amazon Prime Day, but you can always count on the eponymous retail giant to knock a decent amount off its own range of smart home devices — its Echo Dot speakers being one of them.

My humble little Echo Pop is still working and for the most part, its performance and features are satisfactory, but I feel a change is coming, and that change might just be the Echo Dot 5th Gen — one of the best smart speakers you can get.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

Some Prime Day discounts can be restricted to the US and UK respectively, but that's not the case for the Echo Dot. Amazon US has knocked $20 off taking the smart speaker to a reasonable $29.99 (was $49.99), and Amazon UK has a similar offer, with the speaker going for £28.49 (was £54.99).

Today's best Echo Dot (5th Gen) deals

The Amazon Echo Dot is down to less than $30 for Prime Day. Amazon's best-selling smart speaker offers improved audio, a new temperature sensor, and all the handy Alexa features just a voice command away, such as playing music, answering questions, and checking the weather. A steal at this price.View Deal

Amazon's best-selling Echo Dot is down to under £30 for Prime Day – a good offer, but it did reach a previous record-low of £22.99. Nevertheless, the Echo Dot offers an improved audio experience, plus a new temperature sensor and all the handy features from Alexa, like playing music, answering questions, and checking the weather completely hands-free. As far as a cheap and cheerful smart speaker goes, it's one of the better options out there.View Deal

The bog-standard Echo Pop has been my loyal smart home companion for a few years and while it's done me good, I fear that it's served its time. If you're in the same boat as me, the Echo Dot 5th Gen could be the answer.

The main upgrades with this Echo Dot is the room temperature sensor, which is a great for customizing your Alexa routines — you can get the smart speaker to run certain functions when your room reaches a particular temperature. For example, if it gets too hot and you need some shield from the sun, you could set it to control your smart blinds to correspond with the heat changes.

Although it's a significant upgrade from other basic smart speakers, the Echo Dot is still a simple and easy-to-use model which is perfect if you don't enjoy spending loads of time getting used to a new piece of tech in your home.

On the sound-front, it packs a bass that's boosted compared to its predecessor, but we did mention in our review that it's a smart speaker first, and audio system second. That said, this shouldn't be much of an issue if you're using it to fill the silence in a small space where you won't have the volume as loud as a standard Bluetooth speaker.

All-in-all, the Echo Dot 5th Gen is a solid upgrade if you've been using any of Amazon's older models until now. It also a great smart hub for connecting other devices in your smart home ecosystem, and now that the new Alexa+ voice assistant is in early access, it means you don't have to upgrade to Amazon's latest Echo Dot Max or Echo Studio to make the most of its smarts.

More Prime Day deals in the US

More Prime Day deals in the UK

I love the Amazon Echo Dot Max so much, I just bought it twice — here's why that's the smartest purchase I made this week

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By: josephine.watson@futurenet.com (Josephine Watson)
26 June 2026 at 13:14

Panic purchasing isn't something I'd often recommend, but all too many Prime Day sales have gone by where I haven't made up my mind before the clock struck midnight. Not this year; now, I'm making big girl decisions... after texting my partner for a sanity check, that is.

When I reviewed the Echo Dot Max, I wasn't 100% sold on the speaker at its list price. At $99 / £99, it's not quite good enough in the audio department, and while benefits like Alexa+ compatibility (as well as Early Access) and a fresh design language are nice, they're still not selling points for most customers.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

Two features that do make all the difference, however, require you to have more than one speaker. Right now, that's a lot cheaper, as the Echo Dot Max is $64.99 (was $99.99) at Amazon US and £59.99 (was £99.99) in the UK.

The first such feature is my main motivation: setting up a stereo pair, which drastically improves the audio quality and really shows the speaker's abilities. I heard two Echo Dot Max speakers in this setup for the first time a few weeks after writing my review, and for me, it's the de facto way to enjoy Amazon's latest Echo Dot.

The second is Amazon Home Theatre, which allows you to connect up to five Echo Dot Max or Echo Studio speakers plus an optional Echo subwoofer to Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd-gen), Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd-gen), or Fire TV Cube (3rd-gen). This isn't a key driver for me; I do have a compatible Fire TV Stick, but I also have pretty nifty speakers already.

Amazon Prime Day Echo Dot Max deals

Whether you want more advanced features like Lossless High Definition audio and Automatic Room Adaptation, or just love the idea of a more premium-looking speaker with faster Alexa responses, the Echo Dot Max is a great choice. This deal for Prime Day is a new record-low price.

Also check out these coupons:
🎟️ Amazon: Claim 30% off Haul orders with this discount code
🎟️ Amazon sale: Claim up to 40% savings on toys
🎟️ Enjoy free delivery by signing up to Amazon PrimeView Deal

Whether you want more advanced features like Lossless High Definition audio and Automatic Room Adaptation, or just love the idea of a more premium-looking speaker with faster Alexa responses, the Echo Dot Max is a great choice. This deal for Prime Day is a new record-low price.

Also check out these coupons:
🎟️ Amazon: Claim 30% off Haul orders with this discount code
🎟️ Amazon sale: Claim up to 40% savings on toys
🎟️ Enjoy free delivery by signing up to Amazon PrimeView Deal

I'm really, really pleased with myself for this decision; and to top it off, my new speaker is in Glacier White rather than the slightly garish Amethyst (read: bright purple) colorway I got before. I'm hoping when in the same room they'll yin and yang eachother a little bit, but if not... I guess I'm getting a third one come Black Friday!

Also consider...

Still not 100% sold? That's fair; even at its record-low sale price, it's not as cheap as the alternatives from Amazon, and you might want more from your smart assistant like a screen or even fuller audio.

Whatever the case, I've made up a quiz below that will pair you with your perfect Amazon Echo speaker, so make sure to use that as your guideline. Just act fast before the sales end!

More Prime Day deals in the UK

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