The Amazon Echo Time could be my new bedside smart clock
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Michael A. Prospero is the U.S. Editor-in-Chief for Tom’s Guide. In his spare time, he also tests out the latest drones, electric scooters, and smart home gadgets, such as video doorbells. Before his tenure at Tom's Guide, he was the Reviews Editor for Laptop Magazine, a reporter at Fast Company, the Times of Trenton, and, many eons back, an intern at George magazine. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College, where he worked on the campus newspaper The Heights, and then attended the Columbia University school of Journalism. When he’s not testing out the latest running watch, electric scooter, or skiing or training for a marathon, he’s probably using the latest sous vide machine, smoker, or pizza oven, to the delight — or chagrin — of his family.
Over the years, Amazon has released several Echo Dot-like smart speakers with miniature displays, which were mostly designed to show you the time and weather. There was the Echo Dot with Clock (a design we loved) as well as the slightly more involved Echo Spot .
With the new Amazon Echo Time, the company is reviving the look of the original Echo Spot , packing a circular touchscreen into an orb-like smart speaker, in the hopes that it can reclaim an *ahem* spot on your nightstand.
The Echo Time goes on sale today (Oct. 28) for $199.99. You can get it in Graphite, Glacier White, and Coral Pink. Amazon also sells matching adjustable stands for $39.
Like other Echo devices, there's a kid's version of the Echo Time that costs $209, and includes a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+. The Amazon Kids Echo Time comes in Galactic Grape and Cosmic Lime.
The standout feature of the Echo Time is the 3.2-inch display; the Time comes with hundreds of clock faces, all of which are customizable. Among the faces are ones for sports teams as well as other licensed properties like Harry Potter and the DC Universe.
The Echo Time's display also changes throughout the day, so as better to incorporate your natural cycles; it slowly brightens in the morning, and at night it dims automatically and reduces is blue light output to help you fall asleep more easily.
Similar to its newer Echo smart speakers, the Echo Time has Amazon's Omnisense sensor array, which can detect things such as presence and temperature, along with an ultrasound sensor to monitor for breathing.
Alexa+ uses these sensors to monitor your sleep, and can then adjust your desired wake-up time from 10 to 60 minutes, tailoring it for what it thinks is the optimal time to get you out of bed.
If you have other smart home devices, you can also add them to your wakeup routine, such as having a bedside light slowly turn on.
At $199, the Echo Time isn't cheap; the current Echo Spot costs half as much , and also serves its function well, and you get all the same Alexa+ functionality — it even acts as an Eero Wi-Fi extender . However, the Echo Time could appeal to those who want something that can better monitor their sleep, and make sure they wake up at the right time.