Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) Kids Edition Price, Specs & Review

Amazon launched its new kids design speaker, the Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) Kids Edition with fantastic skills and features that help kids learn and grow every day. It uses Amazon Kids (FreeTime) to automatically filter explicit songs from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, or Pandora, so kids can freely listen to their favorite tunes. Furthermore, it allows children to set an alarm for the morning or for a reminder to take a break.

Amazon gives parents the right to set time limits and review activity on their kid’s speaker. In addition, thanks to the Kids+ subscriptions, your kid can now access more content such as Audible books from the likes of Disney, Nickelodeon, National Geographic, and more, with interactive games, education skills, and Reading Sidekick.

Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) Kids Edition Key Specs

• Size / Dimension:3.9” x 3.9” x 3.5” (100 x 100 x 89 mm)
• Weight: 12 oz (341.3 g)
• Audio: 1.6” speaker. 3.5 mm line out for use with external speakers (audio cable not included).
• Bluetooth connectivity: Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) and Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP)
• WiFi connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi supports 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz) networks. Does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks
• Package contents: Echo Dot (4th Gen) Kids Edition, glacier white power adapter (15W), Quick Start Guide, and Alexa Guide for kids.
• Others: Alexa voice assistant, Alexa app.

Design

The Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) Kids Edition features a similar design as the original Echo Dot (4th Gen) speaker with a round aesthetic made of half plastic and half fabric-cover. However, the kid edition sports super-cute animal designs finishing.

It measures 3.9” x 3.9” x 3.5” dimension and weighs just 341.3 g, hence, it is not too light to roll off the bed side or shelf neither is it too bulky to perfectly blend with the room.

The Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) Kids Edition has four buttons at the top: volume up, volume down, microphone mute, and the Alexa “action” button, which puts the speaker into listening mode without you having to say “Alexa.”

At the back, however, is a power port and the 3.5mm aux jack that can be used as a line out port to send the audio signal to an external speaker.

This 2020 Echo Dot is made for big imaginations. Kids can ask Alexa to play music, read stories and call approved friends and family.

One of the prominent changes in the Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) Kids Edition is the repositioning of the LED ring light which serves as a better and clearer indication to users that the speaker is listening before they give it a command.

It has been moved from the top of the speaker to the base, providing a less direct glow, but, recognizable blue lightening when you speak to Alexa. Although, the ring turns red when the mic is disabled.

Audio Performance

Basically, the speaker is not determined by age usage, both the standard Echo Dot and the kid’s version come with 1.6-inch full-range speakers which are the same size as the third-generation Echo Dot.

This speaker delivers crisp vocals and balanced bass for the full sound you can enjoy anywhere in your home. Above all, it also comes with built-in mics to listen to the room and continuously gauge its size and shape to adjust its audio output accordingly.

Parental Set-Up

The Amazon Kids’ parental controls make it easy to set daily time limits and review activity. Parents can log in to the Dashboard on Alexa app on their smartphones to control the activities of your kid on the smart speaker. You can set daily time limits, language filter, Alexa’s messaging, Drop-In, and Announce features.

In other words, Alexa will only give kid-friendly responses to questions, filter explicit songs, block shopping, and any unauthorized activities.

Kid Features

Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) Kids Edition has access to Amazon’s FreeTime service that offers thousands of Audible books and scores of premium skills tailored for kids, not to mention the run of Amazon Music from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, or Pandora, so kids can freely listen to their favorite tunes and any TV shows across compatible Echo, Fire tablet, Fire TV, Kindle, Android, and iOS devices

This one year Freetime service also gives access to interactive games, and educational skills. However, after 1 year, parent has to make subscription every month starting at just $2.99/month plus applicable tax.

Amazon Alexa

Like the Echo speakers, Amazon is using its new AZ1 Neural Edge processor in the new Echo Dot. This processor is designed to speed up voice recognition. Hence, you can ask Alexa to control smart home gadgets, set timers, give weather reports, set a reminder, and so on.

The Alexa experience offered here is just like it is on any other Echo device, which is to say you can do a lot with it. You can ask about the weather, control music playback, or set up Alexa Guard to keep your home safe while you’re away.

Connectivity

To connect the Echo to an external speaker, Amazon retains the 3.5mm audio jack. For wireless pairing with other devices, Bluetooth is still the medium of connectivity. You can also connect through the dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz) network option

Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) Kids Edition Price and Availability

The new Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) Kids Edition price will start at $59.99 depending on where and when you choose to purchase it.  It is available at retailers like Gearbest, Banggood, AliExpress, and Amazon.