The best Alexa devices of 2023: Echo, Ring, and more

Amazon Echo features: Smart speaker | Voice control | Smart home hub | Privacy controls

The Amazon Echo is the best Alexa device overall, offering convenience with over 100,000 skills and efficiency in a compact package. 

As a built-in smart hub, this model is one of the best in the Echo line, allowing users to check the time, set alarms, turn on the lights, and control locks via sensors from Zigbee, Matter, or certain Ring smart lighting devices. 

“I can't believe how smart the Echo is,” says developer Alex Contes, who uses the Echo in his home. “And I love how it incorporates subtle touches like asking me questions or making observations in response to my voice requests.” 

These “nice touches,” however, actually come hands-free, allowing for voice and even motion control. 

And if you like music, the fourth-gen Amazon Echo is a fantastic speaker equipped with dual tweeters and an upward-firing woofer. Additionally, it provides lossless HD audio and easily syncs to other Echo devices for a multi-room experience. Streaming is also easy as the Echo gives you options to stream music from Amazon, Spotify, Apple Music, and SiriusXM. Initiate a dance party from wherever your Echo is. stationed all by saying that famous catchphrase, “Hey Alexa.”