Amazon has recently unveiled its new Echo Dot (6th Gen), which promises to be more capable than ever – but how does it compare to last year’s Echo Dot Max?
Considering the Echo Dot Max achieved a 4.5-star rating and a spot in our best Amazon Echo device guide, the new Echo Dot (6th Gen) has a lot of living up to do.
We’ve compared the specs of the Echo Dot (6th Gen) to the Echo Dot Max to help you decide which smart speaker will likely suit your household best.
For more on Amazon’s latest Echo series launch, visit our Echo Dot vs Echo Studio with Home Camera and Echo Time vs Echo Spot comparisons too.
Price and Availability
At £94.99/$99.99, the Echo Dot (6th Gen) is available to buy now and comes in a choice between four colours: Graphite, Agave Green, Coral Pink and Glacier White. There’s also a version just for kids, which is slightly more expensive at £104.99/$109.99 and comes in either a Penguin or Octopus design.
Last year’s Echo Dot Max has a slightly higher RRP of £119.99/$119.99. However, we’ve seen the price drop down to as low as £59.99 during sales events. With this in mind, it could be worth holding out for Black Friday, which is only a few weeks away.
Both are powered by Amazon’s AZ3 chip
Both the Echo Dot (6th Gen) and Echo Dot Max run on Amazon’s custom-designed AZ3 processor, but what does this really mean? Essentially, AZ3 promises to handle on-device processing for faster and more natural conversations with Alexa – and Alexa+, though more on that later.
Though we’re yet to review the Echo Dot, we have reviewed the Dot Max and found it was able to pick up voice requests easier, even when speaking quietly or mumbling.
Echo Dot Max is designed to deliver “room-filling” sound
Perhaps the reason to choose the Echo Dot Max over the Echo Dot is with its sound quality. Although Amazon does promise that the new Echo Dot will see 50% more bass than the previous generation, the Echo Dot Max promises up to 3x more.
The Echo Dot Max’s acoustic architecture is made up of a 0.8-inch tweeter and a 2.5-inch woofer and results in an all-round solid sound quality. Though it did struggle with store separation, we found bass-heavy tracks and vocals were both handled brilliantly. You can also choose to pair the device with up to five other Dot Max speakers, or combine with Echo Studio models, to enable Alexa Home Theatre too on compatible Fire TVs.
In comparison, the Echo Dot’s full-range driver promises to deliver sound “you don’t expect from a speaker this small”. Despite its promise of 50% more bass, we should note that we were seriously impressed by its predecessor, the Echo Dot (5th Gen) and found the smart speaker delivers “surprisingly good audio”.
Having said that, we did find it struggled on bass-heavy tracks, which means Amazon’s promise that the 6th Gen will see an improvement is much appreciated.
Both have access to Alexa, though the Echo Dot is built for Alexa+
Naturally as Amazon Echo devices, both the Echo Dot (6th Gen) and Echo Dot Max are smart speakers and have access to Amazon’s voice assistant, Alexa. That means you can speak to Alexa, ask it questions, control paired smart home products, set timers, read the headlines and much more, all with just your voice.
The Echo Dot (6th Gen) is also “purpose built” for Alexa+, which is the newer and more advanced iteration of the voice assistant that offers more natural, free-flowing conversations. Even so, you can still access Alexa+ on the older Echo Dot Max.
Just keep in mind that Alexa+ is either included with the price of a Prime membership, or it’ll set you back £19.99/$19.99 a month.
Both have built-in smart home hubs
Following on from the above, not only do both Echo devices support Alexa but they also have built-in smart home hubs too – a first for the Echo Dot. This means you can connect and control plenty of smart home devices without needing any additional equipment like a bridge or a hub.
In addition, both the Echo Dot and Echo Dot Max have Eero built-in which allows you to extend your Wi-Fi network – a godsend for deadzones.
Echo Dot has a kids-own iteration
Like the recently launched Kids Echo Time, the Echo Dot (6th Gen) also comes as either a child-friendly version and runs on Amazon Kids+. Free for the first year Kids+ includes age-appropriate features such as Stories with Alexa and Sleep Studio for content to help children wind down, while still allowing children to use the Echo Dot as usual.
Each Kids+ device can be controlled by parents and guardians via Amazon’s Parent Dashboard smartphone app. Here, you can set usage limits, your child’s age range and oversee their activity too.
Early Verdict
We think that choosing between the Amazon Echo Dot (6th Gen) and Echo Dot Max will come down to a couple factors: sound quality and price. Though the Echo Dot (6th Gen) promises to see improvements over the already-brilliant Echo Dot (5th Gen), the Echo Dot Max is a seriously brilliant sounding smart speaker. And, though its official RRP is higher than the Echo Dot’s own, we’ve seen the Echo Dot Max drop to seriously low prices.
With Black Friday just around the corner, we’d recommend waiting to see if the Echo Dot Max sees another price drop before making the purchase. Though it has just launched, it could also be worth waiting to see if the Echo Dot is reduced for the sales event too – but this may be less likely.
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