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Here’s why the Amazon Echo Dot is the ultimate holiday gift for all ages

By Michael Bizzaco Updated October 14, 2020

The Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) is a heavy hitter for Prime Day this year. On sale for $19, and down from its normal price of $39, this is a shockingly low price for Amazon’s mini smart speaker, and just one of many amazing Prime Amazon Echo deals this year. With the latest (higher-priced) generation of Echo products hitting Amazon and shelves next week, there’s never been a better time to nab the 3rd Gen Echo Dot. If you plan on buying for the holidays, it’s best to grab it now, as availability dates currently range from early November to December.

For less than $20, the Echo Dot 3rd Gen could be one of the best Christmas gifts you give this year. Available in sandstone, charcoal, heather gray, and plum, and powered by Amazon Alexa, the entire family will love Alexa’s amazing skills. Check news and weather; stream music from Spotify, Apple Music, and more; keep tabs on your Amazon notifications; and control all of your smart home gear. Adjust thermostats, set mood lighting, unlock smart locks, and more, all from the convenience of your Alexa app.

If it’s looking like everyone is getting an Echo Dot this year, guess what? You can link them all together for whole-home audio and cool features like Drop In. Time for dinner? Say “Alexa, drop in” to your Dot and tell the whole family to get downstairs for some lasagna. Amazon keeps the kiddos in mind, too. Amazon Kids, when enabled, will curate kid-friendly content for your little ones, so they’ll never have access to explicit content. Parental controls can be further adjusted in the Alexa app. Amazon takes your privacy quite seriously, and the Echo Dot is no exception. A mic off button keeps Alexa from listening to your convos (when you don’t want her to), and heavy encryption means your data is safe as it coasts from your home and into the Alexa cloud.

$19 is the lowest we’ve ever seen the Echo Dot 3rd Gen. If you’re planning on loading the stockings with Echo Dots this year, and don’t want to spend the extra dough for the latest iteration, the time to buy is right now.

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Michael Bizzaco

Michael Bizzaco has been writing about and working with consumer tech for well over a decade, writing about everything from…

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