You can make Alexa announce that ‘Dinner’s ready’ to every speaker in your home thanks to its intercom feature, or send music to a particular room as a not-so-subtle message –Bruno Mars’ Lazy Songto a room containing a housemate who’s yet to emerge, perhaps.They're fun features – but also very useful. It might have been superseded a newer model, but the Echo Dot (4th Gen) is still a top performer for the money. It has the same 1.6-in driver as the third-gen model (albeit now forward-firing), and has the same 70 per cent increase in maximum volume. The LED speech light is now at the base of the sphere, creating quite a futuristic vibe.

Ask for the weather and you’ll see the current temperature on the screen but nothing else. Adjust volume and you can see the level on the screen, as well as referring to the light ring (it gets more complete the higher the volume). Echo Dot speakers can also control timers and alarms by only using your voice. You can even add items to your calendar without lifting your finger. There are certainly many things that you can do and achieve with this state-of-the-art device. OUR BEST-SOUNDING ECHO DOT YET - Enjoy an improved audio experience compared to any previous Echo Dot with Alexa for clearer vocals, deeper bass and vibrant sound in any room.

Price comparison

So, how does it perform? Well, the bizarre thing is that despite having the same internal speaker specs as the third-generation Echo Dot, the 2020 version somehow manages to sound markedly better.

The display shows time in 12 or 24-hour format, and will also display the current outside temperature among other things on command. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian If you need Alexa, there aren't too many rivals with these specifications, it must be said. However, if you're an iPhone user, the original HomePod now supports Apple's Lossless audio quality and spatial audio. The HomePod Mini also supports Lossless but not spatial audio – yet. If Alexa is the one for you, there's a compelling case for it. If, however, you prefer the Google Assistant and like the idea of using your smart speaker as a sleep guru, the Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) might be one to look into. This feature can be toggled on and off in the Alexa app, under the Motion Sensing option in your individual device's settings menu.

Why is Amazon Echo (4th Gen) better than Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen)?

It's a bit pricier than the other Echo devices – inevitable, given that it has a tablet-sized screen – but while some smart devices can become little more than ornaments in your lounge or kitchen over time, we found the Show 10 a lot more useful than we thought we would, thanks to the extra features afforded by a decent-sized screen. The smallest and most affordable Echo speaker is now in its fifth generation. It might look the same as the previous model, but the Echo Dot (5th Gen) brings a serious sound upgrade. Premium sound—Echo delivers clear highs, dynamic mids and deep bass for rich, detailed sound that automatically adapts to any room. They are functionally identical apart from the display, which shows the time, the outside temperature when asked, timers, the volume when adjusting it and the time of the alarm when setting it. A little white dot next to the time shows when an alarm has been set or a timer is active. Echo delivers clear highs, dynamic mids and deep bass for rich, detailed sound that automatically adapts to any room.

EERO Built-in – Turn your Echo device into a Wi-Fi extender in minutes with compatible Echo and eero devices. If you don't care for a screen but do want that Zigbee smart hub (to enable your lights, cameras and thermostat to work together for a truly smart automated home) plus a wider soundfield, all powered by Alexa, it's a great shout. Just want to dip your toes into the smart speaker, er, sphere? You may be fine with the Echo Dot. The Echo Dot has natural lifelike voices that were made possible because of the latest speech-unit technology. It also has high-speed accuracy which can process your commands instantly. These devices also have algorithms that are built into its text-to-speech engine. But with what looks like a superficial update, there's more that you need to know about, so we're running a full comparison so you can see exactly what the differences are and help you decide whether to grab that Echo Dot 4th Gen, or gun for the 5th Gen Echo Dot instead.

The 2021 2nd-generation Echo Show 8 is smaller and slightly less well specced than the 10-in models, but its 8-in screen has the same 1280 x 800 resolution – the same number of pixels crammed into a smaller panel will actually make images look sharper than its larger siblings. If you want a screen with your Echo, the Echo Show 10 could be for you. The 10in screen turns to follow you around the room, so it's ideal if you like to pace up and down while you chat (or want to show off your room when on a video call). Its motor is almost completely silent too, so it shouldn't detract from your words of wisdom.

KEEP YOUR HOME COMFORTABLE - Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically start a smart fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone. Fill your home with sound—with multi-room music, playing synchronised music across Echo devices in different rooms. You can also pair your Echo with Fire TV to feel scenes come to life with home cinema audio. Every Echo speaker (including the Echo Sub) supports the multi-room feature, as well as third-party speakers from the likes of Sonos. The speaker projects sound forward through the mesh, rather than 360-degrees like its predecessor, while a silicone rubber foot keeps the ball from vibrating or rolling around. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian Another feature that's just arrived on the 4th gen Echo is motion sensing. This works similar to motion sensing on the Echo Show, but while those devices rely on a camera, the Echo uses "inaudible ultrasound" to sense when there's someone nearby.Alexa is an effective voice assistant, with more third-party skills than the competition, but its syntax can be a little stiff. You might find yourself needing to use very specific language to get Alexa to do what you want, as opposed to Google Assistant (on the Nest Mini and Nest Audio speakers), which is a little more conversational. Audio Performance It's also one of the few devices capable of using the Echo's new 'motion sensing' feature. That works similarly to motion sensing on the Echo Show, but utilizes ultrasound instead of a camera lens. The Echo Show 10's dual, front-firing tweeters and woofer cannot move along with the screen (the screen is on an arm at the top of the speaker), but the barrel-shaped design still offers a decent shot at omnidirectional sound. Said screen can also rotate while you're watching the news, flash briefings, or TV shows from Hulu + Live TV and Prime Video. So just because you're cooking, you won't miss a second of your favourite show. The Dot is larger and produces slightly fuller and wider audio because of it, despite having the same sized speaker as the third-generation model.