Amazon confirms that the smart alarm clock is no more
Pour one out for the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock (5th-gen, if you’re keeping count) as the smart speaker / bedside alarm clock is going to the great big landfill in the sky.
The Verge got confirmation from Amazon that “once inventory of this generation Echo Dot with Clock is sold through it will not be restocked.”
It’s not really surprising given that it’s almost 3 years old now, which is around 96 in tech years, and Amazon took the covers off of a much flasher bedside Alexa companion earlier this month by way of the 2nd-gen Echo Spot.
It’s still a shame though as the Echo Dot with Clock was (is) a great device that kept things simple on the Alexa front but adds in stuff like timers, weather conditions and song titles.
Showdown: Amazon Echo Spot vs Echo Dot with Clock
It’s also a shame because, despite the new Spot having a super-dim night time option for its 2.8-inch display, it’s not the same as a basic LED resembling an alarm clock from the 90s. I could probably get used to having the Spot in my bedroom over night, but I’d rather not.
That’s not to say Amazon will be bricking the device. It will continue to work as is and, if my 2016 Echo Dot (still going strong in my shed) is anything to go by, support won’t end anytime soon.
Instead I think/hope that this is a sign that Amazon is going to shake things up at this year’s Hardware and Services event, which normally takes place in September so is potentially only a few weeks away.
The Echo Dot range was last refreshed in 2022 and the current standard Echo was launched way back in 2020.
So we’re well overdue a big overhaul across the board. Maybe one to coincide with a much smarter (but costlier) Alexa?
Something has to be done to plug that $25 billion black hole, eh?
