Best Amazon Alexa Devices of 2023 – CNET

David Priest Former editor

David Priest is an award-winning writer and editor who formerly covered home security for CNET.

Amazon’s third-gen Echo Dot with Clock was our previous favorite Alexa speaker, but with the 2020 product line, the flagship fourth-generation Echo speaker gets the nod. 

At $100, the spheroidal speaker is more expensive than the $50 fourth-generation Amazon Echo Dot, though the improvements in sound quality and some intriguing smart home features justify the additional cost. 

This smart device’s shape sets Amazon’s newer Echo speaker apart. Where the third-gen Echo offered a barely noticeable sound quality improvement over its predecessor, the ball-shaped fourth-gen version has noticeably better audio output, including respectable bass for a speaker in its price range. 

On the smart home front, the fourth-gen Echo also gets a built-in Zigbee receiver, carrying over a feature from the now-defunct Amazon Echo Plus. 

The Zigbee receiver lets the new Echo function as a smart home connectivity point for compatible smart lights, plugs, and other Zigbee-based accessories. 

That means you can use the Echo itself as a hub to play music among other things, without the need for an additional piece of hardware to get those devices online. 

Read our Wyze Cam (2020) review

The Amazon Echo Show 8 is Amazon’s latest smart display. You get an 8-inch screen with the best resolution of any Echo Show yet, a camera shutter and all the smarts of previous Amazon smart displays. 

The Echo Show 8 has a built-in Alexa speaker. That means you can use this smart display to ask your Alexa digital assistant to do your bidding, whether that be asking it to play music, relay the weather or just tell you a joke. 

And, since it’s a smart display, it also offers advanced compatibility with Alexa-enabled security cameras.

Ask Alexa to “answer the front door” when someone rings your Ring Peephole Cam and you can see the live feed on your Show 8 — and actually talk to the person, straight from the smart display.

August’s Wi-Fi Smart Lock is a great smart lock. It retrofits to most standard deadbolts, so you don’t have to deal with a complicated installation. 

The built-in Wi-Fi makes it possible to access and control your smart lock remotely via the Android or iOS app without needing an August Connect module. 

And, as its spot on this list might indicate, it’s an Alexa-compatible device, too — that means you can lock and unlock your door from an Alexa-enabled smart speaker using your voice.

The lock also comes with an open/close sensor — called DoorSense — that attaches to the door in question. 

That way, the app can not only tell you whether the door is locked or unlocked, but also if the door is open or closed. 

That’s a nice touch of functionality from such a simple-to-use smart lock.

Amazon’s $80 Smart Thermostat is hard to beat in terms of value, and that’s at full price. 

For starters, the thermostat works as well with Alexa as you’d expect given that it’s an Amazon product, so if you have an Echo speaker or Echo Show display, you should be in good shape to get the best value out of the device. 

Even for those who don’t, the thermostat offers a simple, straightforward design that looks great on a wall and feels great to use, and it could even save you as much as $50 per year with its energy saving settings.

Wyze is well known for its super-cheap prices, and its Wi-Fi-connected smart lightbulb is no different. If you’re looking for a smart light that works with voice commands, this is the best Alexa-enabled one out there.

A two-pack of standard, white-light bulbs can be had for just $23, but the fully color-changing versions only cost a few bucks more at $27 for a two-pack, which is worth it even if you’ll only break those colors out on rare holiday occasions. 

Either way, you’re getting a 2-pack of Alexa-compatible bulbs that connect directly to your home internet network via Wi-Fi. Screw them in, connect via the Wyze app and you’re ready to go.

Colors aside, the Wyze bulbs have a great range of white light, from candlelight-like to daylight-white. 

Plus, despite the low price, they produce better brightness than many bulbs that sell for more.

While other DIY home security systems work well with Alexa, the Ring Alarm Pro offers excellent performance with unique built-in Alexa integrations. In fact, with the higher-end Ring Protect Plus subscription, you even get Alexa’s security feature — Guard Plus — packaged in for free. 

That means Alexa will listen for glass breaking or footsteps while you’re away, and will alert you if it hears anything fishy.

Beyond its Alexa integrations, the Ring Alarm Plus offers fantastic features, like a built-in Wi-Fi 6 gateway, backup internet, local processing and storage (a first for Ring), cellular backup, professional monitoring and more. 

An eight-piece system costs $300, and subscriptions range from $3 per month to $20 per month — the most expensive of which still undercuts some of the best competition. 

In short, this system is a fantastic value.

The TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Mini is a big name for a tiny smart plug that costs about $30. 

A smart plug like this one connects via your Wi-Fi connection directly to a wall outlet and converts your non-smart lamps, fans and other gadgets into smart devices.

Use the TP-Link app to connect and control devices — or enlist Amazon Alexa and use voice control. 

Say, “Alexa, turn on the reading lamp” to get the Plug Mini smart plug to control the devices connected to it with ease.