The style of this clock is minimalist and contemporary, and it looks nice on the wall. The quality of materials is a bit disappointing; the device feels of mostly plastic. However, people won't be handling the clock except to hang it on the wall and change batteries. Recurrent battery changing will become annoying if needed frequently. Only time will tell, and this will vary based on how often Echo timers/alarms are used.
Aside from keeping time, the clock has essentially three other features:
1. White LED tick marks around the clock face visually display how much time is left on an Echo timer. If you set multiple timers on an Echo device, these will be displayed as well. People who often use Echo timers will appreciate this visual representation.
2. When an Echo alarm goes off, all white LEDs around the clock flash brightly several times and then stop shortly afterward. The LEDs do not display an alarm time or how much time is left until an alarm triggers.
3. If you receive an Echo notification, a small circular LED above the "6" will slowly blink yellow several times and then stop shortly afterward. This feature is honestly quite useless (unless you happen to be looking at the clock shortly after a notification arrives).
Pros:
This clock can blend well with many interiors and operates quietly. The white LEDs are bright and nicely provide timer countdown visualizations. The unit helps ensure notice of a triggering Echo alarm.
Cons:
This product does not have speakers or respond to commands. It's a simple battery-powered clock that connects to one Echo via Bluetooth. The unit doesn't have the capacity to learn skills or evolve much over time, since it is essentially just a Bluetooth-paired device.
Worth The Price?
If you use Echo timers often, then this is probably worth it. If you don't use your Echo for timers very much, then you should pass on this one (unless you are in need of an analog clock that automatically adjusts for daylight savings time).
Design: 4 out of 5
Quality: 3 out of 5
Ease of Setup/Use: 5 out of 5
Ability to Evolve: 2 out of 5
Cool Factor: 4 out of 5
Value for Price: 4 out of 5
My family users the Echo Dot in our kitchen for timers extensively. I've always felt like there was a disconnect when I had to ask Alexa how much time is left on my timers or pull out my phone to try to find it in the app. This wall clock is an excellent solution that makes Alexa timers so much better. The clock looks nice and modern. I would compare its looks/materials to standard wall clocks that you could buy at home goods stores for $10-$15. I definitely believe the timer features and auto time set functionality is worth the extra cost, though.
Pros:
* Visualization of Alexa timers makes them significantly more user friendly
* Modern looking, aesthetically pleasing clock looks great in the kitchen without looking out of place
* Silent operation (no ticking)
* Auto-adjustment for time change (no climbing on my counter top to fall-back/spring-forward)
* For the functionality of this clock, I would have expected the price to be higher
Cons:
* The clock materials could be improved
* In the Alexa app, when looking at this clock paired to my Echo Dot, under Battery it says, "Unavailable". I assume that this should show some kind of battery status. I'm not sure if this is a bug, but it would be nice to have that working.
* Multi-room audio on the paired Echo device causes the clock to temporarily disconnect.
* Edit - 12/21/2018: The batteries completely died after only a few days of operation. Reading other reviews, this seems to be common place. I'm not sure if Amazon is shipping this with old batteries, or if the clock is burning through them quickly. I have new batteries in place now. I'll update this if they get spent fast as well. Amazon support chat was quick to credit me for new batteries.
With this product, I believe that Amazon took something that was common place and mundane, and turned it into something with much more value and usefulness. I'm curious to see how long the batteries will last, but it was very nice that they included a set of batteries and a drywall anchor. From my experience so far, the visualization has updated nearly instantly after I initiated a timer on my Echo Dot. I am very pleased with this product. If you use Alexa for timers, you should get this wall clock.
Edit (02/22/2019): I initially (and reluctantly) returned this clock due to the disconnect issues that I was experiencing. I repurchased this when it went back on sale last week. I'm very happy to report that the connectivity has been solid on this new clock with the updated software on it.
Beautiful clock, they definitely went for a minimalist design. At first out of the box it didn't appeal to me, I got used to it within a few minutes and it especially shined once on the wall. Really nice!
Two drawbacks which may let you down:
1. You can currently only interact with the clock from the Echo device it is connected to. So you can't say, "Alexa, set a timer for 4 minutes on the kitchen clock." Instead the clock just pairs with whichever device you set it up on.
2. If you have a timer set for more than an hour away, it lights up at the noon position. I am hoping the next gen has a second light band, so if you set a timer for 5pm it has an indicator at 5pm. This isn't a huge problem for me, but if you are expecting to know you have a timer at 4pm and 6:50pm and 7pm by looking and seeing a little indicator, all you have is the one Noon light that indicates you have timers for more than an hour out. (If this is confusing, just leave a comment and I will clarify.)
Overall - completely worth the price, as long as the batteries last at least a month, and I'll update then if they do not. Rosie, I love this clock!
Short and sweet review - paired with Kitchen echo device and hung in living room so that the timers can be viewed there.
In the kitchen, I can already see the timers on the Echo Show so makes perfect sense to put this in the living room. Love the device. I will be getting another to put in garage so that I can see the kitchen timers there if needed.
Hope this short review helps you somewhat.
Edit: Dropped rating down to 4 stars. After a couple days of working great, it lost connection to the Echo. Came home and the clock was wrong, and the timer did not work. Alexa App said it could not connect to bluetooth device. Pushing the pair button did nothing. It would not pair until I temporarily removed the batteries.
-- original review --
This is a neat clock. Keeps perfect time and lets me watch my Echo timers from a different room. No ticking, it's as quiet as a mouse. Very pleased!
Feature Product
- Echo Wall Clock helps you stay organized and on time.
- Easy-to-read analog clock shows the time of day.
- Digital 60 LED display shows one, or multiple, timers set through a paired Echo device.
- Syncs time to a paired Echo device, including automatic adjustments for daylight saving time.
- Requires a compatible Echo device, including Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo Plus, Echo Spot, or Echo Input.
- Just say, "Alexa, set a 12-minute timer," and see it count down at a glance on Echo Wall Clock.
- Simple to set up and use-just say, "Alexa, set up my Echo Wall Clock."
- Smooth 10" diameter white bezel clock. Includes mounting hardware and 4 AA batteries.
Description
I was excited to get this clock thanks to the timer display function. I can't see my Echo Show where I have it from within my kitchen, so I'm constantly shouting at it to ask how much is on the timer. Now I moved this clock into my field of view and can keep a passive eye on it. The cool factor really adds to it.
So far I'm happy with it, but I'm knocking off a star for a few reasons. The manual states that the timer function won't work if you're playing multi room music. I do both of these things frequently, so that's going to be an annoyance. Additionally it would be nice to display a light for an upcoming alarm as well as timers.
Finally I had some issues pairing it to my First Gen Echo Show, it would not auto pair, and when I tried going into the Alexa app I found that the bluetooth settings were missing for my Echo Show. Really strange. I ended up factory resetting my Echo Show (a bit annoying) and then it paired up right away.
All in all it's a great clock and you can't deny the cool factor.
I have been looking for a wall clock that I did not have to adjust for day light saving time or any other time. Finally here; wish they could make it a little bigger. Easy setup and good price.
I have a timer on my stove and another right next to it on my microwave and yet another of those magnetic digital ones that stick to the fridge. In addition to that I have numerous devices with timer functions built in like my smartphone and my tablet and a lot of my cooking gadgets like hotpot, air fryer, toasters, etc. so why in the world would I want another timer?
Because every one of those timers requires me to do two things - manually set it and to physically look at it to see how much time is left. The process of setting some digital timers can be a multi step thing that is so complicated I need to read the instructions. And to physically check the remaining time requires that I walk over to it from the other side of the room, often numerous times.
ADVANTAGES
What I like most about this Echo Wall Clock is exactly that, it is a large easy to read familiar looking wall clock that I can see from anywhere in the room. But what I love about is it is 100% hands free, all I have to do is tell my Echo Dot to set a timer for what's cooking on the stove and the clock shows me a visual countdown by way of a bright LED light right on the clock face. But wait, as if that's not already a great improvement, I can also tell Alexa to set another timer for what's cooking in the oven, and another to remind me I have something in the hotpot and another to remind me to feed the pets. Multiple timers can all be running at the same time. When one is getting close to being ready the face of the clock counts down the seconds and then my Dot announces that the time is up for that timer while all of the lights around the perimeter of the clock flash bright white. And remember, that's all without me touching one single button.
HOW IS THAT BETTER
Yes it's true that my Dot can do most of that already but it can't show me visually how much time is left. I installed my Echo Wall Clock in the kitchen in a location where I can see it in the living room while watching TV. All I have to do is glance up and I can see the countdown status off all of my active timers.
WHAT DOESN'T IT DO
This clock is almost perfect as it is. It is modern looking, easy to see and easy to use. Setup is nothing more than telling Alexa to set it up for you. It runs on four AA batteries which they thoughtfully include and that many batteries should last a long time. The 10" diameter is neither too small nor too large. I can’t think of any way I would have made it differently.
OTHER THINGS
Be aware that this clock does not have a glass or plastic faceplate, the hands and dial are fully exposed. Resist the urge to move the hands manually, the clock sets itself automatically, which is fun to watch. Having an open face means being extra careful when dusting – I use a low power air squeeze bottle to gently blow the dust away from time to time.
Here's something important that you need to know - you must have patience when letting the clock set itself up. It seems some users assumed theirs was broken because the clock hands moved to the 12 noon position and froze there. No, that's normal. As the clock syncs over the Bluetooth connection with your Alexa device the hands will make a full sweep around the dial to seek the noon position where they will align with each other to assure accuracy. Then after reporting back to your device that they know where noon is located your device will tell the hands to move again, this time to the correct time position. This process can take a very long time and it doesn't tell you what its doing, and by this time some users probably have their clock back in the box for return, thinking that it's broken.
YES OR NO
If you already have any Alexa compatible device this clock is a must have. It is very budget friendly and more useful than you can imagine.
The Echo Wall Clock is very easy to set up. After you put in the four AA batteries you press the small button on the back to put it in pairing mode. The front led above the 6 turns yellow. Then you just say " Alexa setup my Echo Wall Clock". It connects in about a second and the front led blinks blue while it sets the time to your time zone. In my case the clock was 11 hours off when I got it and it took almost four minutes for it to set the time, but it was dead on accurate when it finished. The clock is completely silent and ticks forward every 10 seconds.
The clock comes with four Amazon Basic AA batteries and a screw with drywall anchor for easy mounting.
To test it I set a 20 minute rice timer and an hour and 30 minute laundry timer. The last longer one was shown on the clock by a bright led bar at 12. Once it dropped below 60 minutes, the display changed to a 59 minute countdown with slightly dimmer leds. At the one minute mark, the clock counts down the seconds until the timer goes off. It then blinks all of the leds to alert you.
UPDATE: after a very rocky start I’m happy to report that the clock’s connectivity issues, as reported below, appear to have been solved and we’ve been enjoying this Alexa add-on quite a bit. It gets heavy usage in our home and we’re happy to see the launch kinks have been worked out.
The premise is fantastic, but until they can ensure that the clock doesn’t disconnect itself from your main devices every day or so, it’s more headache and work than it’s worth. Ours simply disconnects every other day and the only way to repair it is to take the clock down and remove the batteries for about a minute, at which point it will auto reconnect and reset itself. Attempts to re-pair it prior to battery removal fail as the unit is invisible to all base stations as well as the app. Hopefully a software update will fix this issue soon.
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