If you want a cheap gift that feels expensive, the Echo Spot is a great pick. The versatile smart display can handle dozens of everyday tasks, and right now it’s back at its all-time low of $44.99 ($35 off) at Amazon, Target, and Best Buy. That actually beats its Black Friday and Cyber Monday pricing and marks the first time it’s dropped this low since Prime Day.
I’ve always thought of my (ancient) Echo Show 8 and Echo Pop as tiny digital assistants that help me get through the day, which is why Echo devices are some of my favorite gadgets. The latest Spot kind of combines the best of both worlds; it’s small enough that it won’t clutter your nightstand like a smart display, for example. Yet it also offers a customizable 2.83-inch screen, letting you check helpful information like the weather, timers, reminders, and calendar at a glance — which you can’t on a smart speaker like the Echo Pop. And because there’s no camera, you don’t have to worry about covering anything up for the sake of privacy.
At the same time, it delivers everything you’d want from an Alexa-enabled speaker. It can wake you gently with music or alarms, and you can use it to turn on the lights, adjust the thermostat, lock the doors, or control other smart-home devices before you’ve even gotten out of bed. You can even use it to call other Echo devices around your home and ask Alexa questions, and even recipes. And you can, of course, listen to podcasts, get sports scores, and play games, making it a gift that’s both practical and fun.
