Quick verdict
The Amazon Echo 4th Gen is the default smart speaker for the Alexa ecosystem with a built-in Zigbee hub. Audio quality is solid for its class and Alexa has the broadest smart home compatibility of any voice assistant. The trade-off is full cloud dependency and extensive data collection by Amazon.
Standout: Built-in Zigbee hub with Alexa voice control and surprisingly good audio quality for a smart speaker.
Last checked: 2026-03-25