It’s been a couple of months since Amazon’s latest event, where the company announced new and exciting products that deserve to be part of our selection of the best Amazon Echo devices in 2023. These new products arrive with some necessary upgrades and cool features that make us love our Echo devices a bit more. The best part is that the company aims to please and provide an excellent experience with each of its devices. There are tons of options to choose from, so getting the best Echo for you might seem like a complicated task if it’s your first time, but once you get a feel for the products and services, you will feel the need to add more devices to your collection to create a better smart home experience. So, which is the best Echo device for you or the best addition to your smart home? Stick around to find out.

Our favorite Amazon Echo devices in 2023

Amazon’s latest iteration of the Echo smart speaker is still our top pick, as Amazon seems to be more than pleased with its performance and what it offers to its customers. It is a relatively large smart speaker, but it will blend perfectly with any kind of decoration you may want to use in your room or living room. Plus, it’s also one of the most reliable options for those interested in picking up a new Echo device. It will deliver great sound by itself but remember that you can take your media experience to new heights when you pair your Echo with a couple of Echo Dots to experience room-filling stereo sound.

There are several things to love here, starting with a spherical design that fits all the necessary components to produce great sound while keeping an affordable price tag. Color options are also great, even though I’m still trying to understand why Amazon included a white power cable with every color variant. Control buttons are also easily accessible, with a physical button that will turn off the mic in case you want added privacy. You also get a 3.5mm line to connect any device and play your favorite tunes even without Wi-Fi connectivity.

However, one of the best features of Echo devices is Alexa, which is one of the best digital assistants. Alexa will let you control your lights, music, and other compatible devices with simple voice commands. The Echo is also easy to control via the Alexa app, where you can pair it with your devices, create routines, groups, and more. But one of the things I love the most about this speaker is that I can pair it with my TV and other Echo speakers to create a practical and effective home theater experience without having to pay extra for a soundbar or other more expensive speakers.

Finally, the Echo comes with a built-in Zigbee smart hub, which doesn't require a data connection to connect with compatible devices like the Philips Hue lights, for instance. Alexa is still great and will work as advertised, but having a built-in Zigbee hub makes it much more versatile.

Amazon's fifth-generation Echo Dot looks very similar to the previous model, but it comes bearing some solid improvements under the hood. It brings all the changes while retaining the same form factor and price that we know and love, so it gets an easy recommendation.

One of the biggest changes it brings is in the audio department. The Echo Dot (5th Gen) has a new speaker with a slightly larger driver — a 1.73-inch front-firing speaker instead of the 1.6-inch driver found inside the previous version. There are also new sensors, including a temperature sensor that allow it to read the temperature of the room, which it can use to automate Alexa Routines. For instance, you can set a Routine to turn on the fan or the air conditioner when the room gets to a certain temperature. Additionally, the new Echo Dot speakers also have an accelerometer to enable tap interactions.

Lastly, it's worth noting that the new Echo Dot speakers can also become a part of Eero networks to extend the coverage of the existing network across your home. This particular feature, however, isn't exclusive to these new Echo Dot speakers. Last-gen models are also said to receive this feature via an update in the future.

If want to buy a smart speaker for your kids, then the Echo Dot Kids Edition (5th Gen) is a good option to consider. It costs $10 more than the regular Echo Dot, but it has the same hardware. You get all the new features and improvements, but with a fun owl or dragon print on the fabric, along with some kid-specific features.

For an additional cost, the Kids Edition comes with an Amazon Parent dashboard with parental controls. You also get a two-year guarantee, just like with Amazon Fire Kids tablets, so you can get a no-questions-asked replacement in case your kids decide to, you know, use the Echo Dot as a ball. Additionally, you also get a year's subscription to Amazon Kids+ with a collection of kid-friendly filtered content.

Amazon says it's working around the clock to make Alexa more kid-friendly. You may hear some custom responses from Alexa, but the overall experience is largely going to be the same. Amazon has made it a point to disable some standard Alexa features on the Kids Edition, though, including voice purchasing to keep your kids from placing random orders of toys and games. Plus, explicit lyrics from Amazon Music, Apple Music, or Spotify are blocked by default.

Overall, the Echo Dot Kids Edition (5th Gen) is a great smart speaker for kids. Whether you want your younglings to have a smart speaker in their room is entirely up to you.

Amazon's current Echo speakers all sound good, but if you truly want to enjoy listening to music, then you should consider buying the Echo Studio. Yes, it's due for an update to compete against other premium speakers, but it still packs enough punch to pump out the best audio in the Echo lineup, including the Echo Sub.

The Echo Studio stands roughly 8 inches tall and about 7 inches wide. It's also a fabric-covered cylinder, just like the Echo Sub that came out a year before. The Studio, however, packs better five audio drivers, including a 5.25-inch downward-firing woofer, a one-inch forward-facing tweeter, and three two-inch midrange speakers firing audio on the left, right, and top. All these drivers are powered by a 330W amp with a 24-bit DAC.

One of the best things about the Echo Studio is that it's a standalone speaker that works independently without relying on other Echo speakers, unlike the Echo Sub. It comes with full support for Alexa, meaning you can control your smart home devices or play music and get other information with just your voice. The Echo Studio even has the Zigbee hub built in that lets you directly connect smart home devices.

The Echo Show 8 is one of my favorite Echo products, and it was one of the ones that received a very important upgrade, as this new smart display now includes excellent features that set it apart from other smart displays on the market. The third-generation Echo Show 8 now arrives with improved audio performance thanks to spatial audio, room acoustic sensing, and noise reduction technology that will make it sound better than ever before.

The Echo Show 8 also comes with an 8-inch HD touchscreen and a 13MP camera that will make your video calls more enjoyable. Also, you get a built-in smart home hub for seamless connectivity with Alexa-compatible devices and products, meaning that you can easily connect and control your lights, alarms, cameras, smart TVs, and more. It also features an improved processor with faster responses and an updated design with edge-to-edge glass and a centered camera. It also comes with a new $150 price tag, but it’s worth every penny.

Remember that the Echo Show 8 will also connect directly to other Echo devices to deliver a better media experience, with room-filling sound and two different color options to choose from. And it comes with multiple layers of privacy controls, including a mic/camera off button and a built-in camera shutter for ease of mind.

The Echo Show 5 is another device that received a facelift and some other improvements. This third-generation smart display is perfect for your nightstand. It comes with a more budget-friendly price tag, and a smaller 5.5-inch display that will let you check your notifications, and any other info that’s relevant for you. And don’t be fooled by its size, as it is a small but mighty smart display that will let you do everything you can do with its larger variant thanks to Alexa.

Amazon’s new Echo Show 5 comes in three different color variations, and you can even get yours with an adjustable stand if you’re willing to pay a bit more. This smart display comes with improved audio and better voice clarity, deeper bass, additional microphone for improved Alexa responsiveness, a new and faster processor with the company’s Az22 Neural Edge, an improved screen for a better viewing experience at night. And you can also pick up the kids variant that comes with extra security features to keep your kids safe and under control.

The Echo Auto may not seem like the best option for those with newer cars since these vehicles usually arrive with tech like Android Auto and CarPlay that give you access to voice commands and touch-sensitive screens to interact with apps. However, there are plenty of vehicles that don’t include any of those features and might not even have Bluetooth support, which is exactly why Amazon Echo Auto is a great option. It immediately makes your car smarter by adding Alexa support and some convenient voice commands to your ride.

The new Echo Auto is not a smart speaker; it just comes with a microphone that connects to your car. Still, it will make your ride smarter. You can tell Alexa to play your favorite music, keep you updated with the latest news and sports scores, and even control your devices at home, meaning you can easily turn on or off your lights while on the road. It's quite convenient if you’re used to using Alexa as your main digital assistant.

You can easily set it up via Bluetooth connection or with the auxiliary cable that comes with your purchase. This will also allow you to connect Alexa with Android Auto or Apple’s CarPlay. Then it will ask you to configure different functions like calls, texts, directions, and media, which is great if you’re subscribed to Amazon’s Prime services, Spotify, and more.

I use mine to ask Alexa to play my favorite tunes, read my notifications, and add stuff to my shopping list. Still, there are many other ways to take advantage of Alexa in your car, as it continues to be one of the best and most efficient digital assistants you can use. Just don’t get too upset if your device loses connectivity while hitting the road, as data will be affected according to your company’s coverage.

Amazon’s most affordable smart speaker comes with a highly compact design that makes it perfect for any tight spot. It comes in four different color variants, and its $40 price tag makes it also the company’s most affordable option for those interested in having a first experience with Alexa’s ecosystem. You will also receive excellent audio that will be great for bedrooms and small spaces, and Alexa support will also let you control your favorite tunes from your preferred music streaming services. You can also connect to this speaker via Bluetooth in case you want to stream directly to your speaker.

Amazon Echo Pop will also let you control your smart home devices, so you can ask Alexa to clean your room if you have an Alexa-compatible robot vacuum or tell her to turn off the lights before you go to bed. And since we’re talking about lights, you will also be pleased to know that this smart speaker will only allow Alexa to listen to your queries and commands until it hears you say “Alexa” and the light turns blue. You can also turn off the mic on your smart speaker with a physical off button for added privacy.

There are tons of amazing wireless earbuds on the market, but Amazon has a great pair as well, as the company’s Echo Buds with active noise canceling will deliver excellent audio quality without breaking the bank. These wireless earbuds were launched back in 2021, which also means that they’ve become more affordable with time, making them more compelling for those interested in picking up a pair of noise-canceling earbuds with Alexa support.

The Echo Buds with Active Noise Cancellation launched with a $120 price tag, but you can now easily pick up a pair for less than $70 with Amazon’s constant offers. Either way, you would be taking an excellent product with premium speakers to deliver crisp, balanced sound, and you can also personalize your audio for a unique hearing experience. They’re also quite compact and easy to wear, so you won’t have issues using them for extended periods of time, which will be limited to five hours of continuous music playback. You can also quickly charge them to get up to two hours of playback after a short 15-minute charge.

The best part about these wireless earbuds is that they are compatible with iOS and Android devices. You will only need to have a device with Android 8 or iOS 14 or later and activate them in the Alexa app, where you will also be able to mute the mics to keep your earbuds from listening to anything you have to say.

The Echo Glow is another excellent product from Amazon, but it’s one of the few devices that needs another Echo device to work as intended. The Echo Glow is a multicolor bright lamp that requires a compatible Alexa device to operate. It is compatible with basically everything that came after the third-generation Echo Dot smart speaker. You will use your smart speaker to turn the Echo Glow on or off, control the color and brightness of your lamp with voice commands, and make it the perfect companion for your kids.

You can also create helpful routines reminding you to go to bed, take your pills, or start cooking when colors change. Setting a rainbow timer is also a nice option to give your kids time to get ready for school or to get them to do anything else. It comes with a compact footprint that will make it easier for you to set it up anywhere you want, and it also features an action button on the back that will let you interact with this fun little night light. I would only recommend you wait for Black Friday savings or Prime Day deals to pick one up, as paying $30 for a night light might not be for everyone.

Best Amazon Echo devices in 2023: Final thoughts

Amazon, as we mentioned earlier, has a lot of Echo devices in its lineup, but we've managed to highlight the best ones you can consider right now. Out of all the options mentioned in this collection, we'd say the Amazon Echo (4th Gen) is the best for most users. It's a great-sounding speaker that can fill your room with good music, and it also supports Alexa to control your smart home devices. Amazon has yet to release an updated fifth-generation model of the regular Echo speaker, so this one remains our best pick for now.

Those who are relatively new to the world of Amazon's Echo speakers should consider buying the Echo Dot (5th Gen). It's a solid speaker to kick things off, and it's particularly good when you pair it with a couple of smart home products like smart bulbs and start playing with the idea of controlling your devices with an Echo before upgrading to a bigger, more expensive speaker.