Echo Dot Max review: the best sounding and looking Amazon smart speaker yet

A frequent name that pops up whenever you search for a smart speaker is Amazon Echo. The first ever Amazon Echo came out back in 2014 and since then, they’ve been plenty of new models, including the Echo Dot, Echo Pop and Echo Spot.

Now, there’s a new Echo to add to the growing collection – the Echo Dot Max. Amazon announced the new Echo Dot Max in September 2025 with one key design change – a control panel with buttons at the front of the spherical ‘Dot’ shape. The Echo Dot Max also comes with Alexa+, the new generation of the Alexa voice assistant which is designed to be more capable and conversational.

I’ve tested a fair few Echo devices, including Echo Show smart displays and the Echo Hub, so I was excited to give the Echo Dot Max a try, and I was pleasantly surprised – here’s why.

Echo Dot Max review: price and availability

Launched in 2025, the Echo Dot Max is available to buy for £99.99 / $99.99 at Amazon. It comes in amethyst, graphite and glacier white colourways – I tried the amethyst version.

As of writing, the Black Friday deals are in full swing, and the Echo Dot Max is now 10% off – details below.

Echo Dot Max: was £99.99 now £89.99 at Amazon

Get the Echo Dot Max for just £89.99 in Amazon’s Black Friday Week sale. This deal is available for all colours.

View Deal

Echo Dot Max review: set-up

Having set-up an Echo Show before, I found the Echo Dot Max set-up very easy. The instructions manual that comes with the Echo Dot Max is extremely informative, and to be honest, it’s hard to get it wrong, which I’m sure technophobes will be happy to hear!

To get started with the Echo Dot Max, you have to plug in the speaker before downloading the Alexa app and logging into your Amazon account. From there, the app offers step-by-step instructions on setting up your Echo Dot Max. This includes naming the speaker, deciding which room it’s in and practicing voice controls recognition.

Once this is sorted, you can start using the Echo Dot Max either with its control panel, voice controls or in the Alexa app. The app has great features, including setting reminders, automations and connecting to other smart devices and apps, like Spotify.

Echo Dot Max review: design and features

The Echo Dot Max comes from the Amazon Echo family, but it has a different design compared to other Dot speakers. Where the Echo Dot has an entirely round shape with no controls, the Echo Dot Max keeps that spherical look but puts a round control panel front and centre. The controls include a ‘+’ and ‘-’ buttons to adjust volume and a microphone button so you can enable or disable the microphone.

Powered by the AZ3 chip, the Echo Dot Max is designed to be used as a smart home hub, speaker, voice assistant and more. It comes with Alexa+, the latest version of Alexa which comes with AI technology and is said to offer clearer, conversational and more personalised answers.

It’s worth noting that as of writing, Alexa+ isn’t available in the UK. We’ll update this review with our thoughts on it when it becomes available.

For audio, the Echo Dot Max has powerful sound that adapts to the room it’s in, using Omnisense technology. It has deeper bass and much clearer sounds, and as is the case with Amazon’s Echo Dot speakers, the Echo Dot Max can be connected to music streaming services, like Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.

With a cohesive smart home in mind, the Echo Dot Max is compatible with multiple devices and can be connected via voice controls or in the Alexa app. There are many gadgets that can be connected to the Echo Dot Max – more on this below – and by having them all in one place, you can create routines with multiple devices to make your home more integrated and seamless.

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Echo Dot Max review: performance

I didn’t think that Amazon could improve on its Echo speakers design, but the Echo Dot Max has my favourite look yet. The knit fabric mesh exterior looks and feels good, and the new control panel is handy for quickly adjusting volume and turning off the microphone without you having to go into the Alexa app.

Looping around the control panel of the Echo Dot Max is a slim light that I found to be extremely helpful while testing. As the Echo Dot Max is connected to your Amazon account as well as the Alexa app, the light will flash green if you have any unread notifications. I found this handy for updates on deliveries and liked how the light flashed blue when Alexa was listening to requests and answering questions.

I really liked the audio power of the Echo Dot Max. It was powerful, clear and still sounded good and not robotic or tinny when it was at maximum volume. I found the Echo Dot Max to have better audio quality than the other Dot and Show displays I’ve tried so it gets big points from me for that.

As I test a lot of smart home products, I was excited to see how well the Echo Dot Max did with connecting and controlling them. I was surprised by how big the selection of smart home devices there were in the Alexa app. Brands included Ring, Blink and Philips Hue to name a few, and gadgets that could be integrated ranged from TVs, video doorbells and security cameras to remotes, sensors, thermostats and more.

I found adding my smart home devices with the Alexa app relatively easy. Once they were set up, I enjoyed being able to set up routines although I did find some integrations a little pointless. I have a Ring video doorbell which I access through the Ring app so it seemed a bit silly to be able to do the same in the Alexa app, too but some people may find it useful to cut down switching between apps.

I set up many timers and reminders with the Echo Dot Max and found them to be precise and well-communicated regarding what timer was being set and when I needed to complete certain tasks. The pre-made groups and routines in the Alexa app were actually some of my favourites, including the ‘I’m going for a run’. As I run multiple times a week, having Alexa read out the weather, remind me to stretch and play a ‘get motivated’ song was really fun.

While the Alexa app has many good qualities – and I’m sure my opinion will change once Alexa+ is available in the UK – I thought the app and voice controls could be better. Now, I haven’t had issues with Alexa voice commands before when I’ve tried other Echo Shows and the Hub, but I found Alexa didn’t understand my requests more often than not with the Echo Dot Max.

With the Echo Dot Max, Alexa was a bit slower and misunderstood me a lot more than previous models I’ve tried. I also found the Alexa app to be very slow when setting up devices, and it could freeze easily when trying to make groups and routines.

Echo Dot Max review: verdict

Overall, I really enjoyed using the Echo Dot Max and would recommend it to people looking for a smart speaker or a smart home hub. Its audio is the best I’ve heard from an Echo model, and I loved the new design with the handy control panel and lights.

The set-up and smart devices integration were seamless and kept everything connected and running smoothly around my house. Timers, reminders and pre-set routines were great to use and easy to customise. I found Alexa to be more difficult than I’d experienced before on other models but this could all change when Alexa+ arrives in the UK.

Echo Dot Max review: alternatives to consider

The Echo Dot (5th gen) is the latest generation of the Echo Dot, so I’d have to recommend this as an alternative to the Echo Dot Max. If you like the look of the Dot without the control panel, any Echo Dot including the Echo Dot (4th gen) are great options.

If you want a smart speaker that isn’t from Amazon, the Sonos Era 300 has amazing sound with Dolby Atmos support. Its audio is impressive and it comes with Alexa and Siri voice commands. It’s significantly more expensive than the Echo Dot Max, though.