Does the Echo Spot have a camera?
Amazon lists no camera for the Spot. It is a smart alarm clock with a display and a microphone, which is the reason it is the easiest device in its family to justify beside a bed. The privacy controls Amazon names are a mic off button and in-app settings, so the trade you are making is narrower than usual: a microphone in exchange for a clock that answers questions, controls the lights and plays the radio. If privacy is the reason you have avoided one of these until now, this is the model the objection applies to least.
What is the gradual wake routine and is it worth setting up?
Yes. It is an Alexa routine, described by Amazon, that wakes you gently with music and gradually rising light rather than firing an alarm into a dark room. Waking to increasing light and sound rather than a sudden noise is a gentler start for most people. Setting it up takes a few minutes in the Alexa app, and the light part needs compatible smart lights, so it is worth doing on the first night rather than never.
Can I watch video on it?
No, and nobody should buy it for that. Amazon sells it as a smart alarm clock, and the screen is for the time, the weather, reminders and song titles. It does not show a photo slideshow either. If you want to follow a recipe, watch a news clip or view a doorbell camera, you want an Echo with a larger screen, and for video calls you need one with a camera.
Will the eero feature improve my wifi?
Only on an eero network. Amazon says eero Built-in extends your wifi coverage on a compatible eero wifi network, and that condition does all the work. This is not a general-purpose extender: if your router came from your internet provider or any other manufacturer, the feature does nothing for you and should count for nothing when weighing it up. For an eero household it is a genuine bonus, since extra wifi coverage and a bedside clock arrive in one object.
How good is the sound really?
Good for its job, and better than its size suggests. The sound is surprisingly good and surprisingly loud, and Amazon promises clear vocals and deep bass. There are still limits: bass depends on moving air, which needs a large driver or a large cabinet, and a device sized for a nightstand has neither. What it does well is the range where voices and most instruments sit, which is exactly what matters for a radio station, a podcast, an audiobook or a sleep playlist.
It keeps failing to respond. Is the unit faulty?
Often it is the network rather than the hardware. A connected device depends on your wifi, Amazon's services and the unit itself staying healthy, and a failure in any of the three looks the same from the bedroom: Alexa stops answering. Reliability is not its strongest point, and a bedroom at the edge of your coverage will be noticeably less dependable than one with a strong signal, so check that before assuming a fault, and try unplugging it and plugging it back in.
