Pros & Cons
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- Bright, easy-to-read display
- Simple setup
- Displays timers
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- Doesn't display temperature like the Echo Dot With Clock
- Changing time format requires a separate Alexa skill
The Amazon Echo Flex is technically a smart speaker, but its volume is too low to be your primary source for music. Really, it’s just a $25 box you can plug into any power outlet to get Alexa through it. On its own it’s compelling for spreading Alexa throughout your home, but its built-in USB-A accessory port enables expansion with optional accessories. The $14.99 Smart Clock for Echo Flex, a "Made for Amazon" device from Thirdreality, is a plug-in display that functions as a clock, providing the same kind of upgrade to the Echo Flex you get with the Echo Dot with Clock versus the standard Echo Dot. Adding a clock to the Echo Flex simply makes it a much handier device, capable of telling time and showing the status of timers. It doesn’t do much more than that, but it adds enough functionality to be worth its affordable price.
Design
The Smart Clock is a small white box measuring 1.4 by 2.7 by 1.4 inches (HWD), sharing the same plain white plastic case with rounded corners as the Echo Flex itself. A USB-A plug sticks out of the top, with two small plastic pegs sitting near the sides to keep the device stable when plugged into an Echo Flex.
A 1.8-inch-wide alphanumeric LED sits on the front, and a small light sensor can be found on the right side. The display is simple, easy to reach, and gets bright enough for the white numbers to be clearly seen in a well-lit room.
Plug and Play
Setting up the Smart Clock is as easy as plugging it in. If your Echo Flex is already set up, all you need to do is slide the Smart Clock’s plug into its USB port and it will start working. The display will immediately light up, then after a few seconds set the correct time based on the Flex’s network connection. The numbers will even orient automatically based on how the Flex is plugged in, so the time will display correctly regardless of whether you plug it in from the bottom or the top of the Flex (obviously this won’t work if the Flex is facing sideways).
Simple Settings
You can make a few minor adjustments to the Smart Clock. For starters, you can adjust the brightness of the LEDs by telling Alexa to set the device brightness to different levels. However, when Alexa detected the Smart Clock through my Echo Flex, it didn’t name it "Clock" by default, instead opting automatically for “First device.” After manually changing the name to “Flex Clock,” tweaking the brightness was easy.
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It's also possible to switch the clock between 12-hour and 24-hour time formats, but this requires you to install the Thirdreality third-party Alexa skill through the Alexa app. The skill is only used to change the time format on the clock.
Aside from showing the time, the Smart Clock can display timers when you set them through Alexa. The clock can support up to 20 concurrent timers at once, though only one will be displayed at a time.
Unlike on the Echo Dot with Clock, the Smart Clock can’t display other information like the temperature outside when you ask Alexa for the weather. It’s a minor limitation, but a trick the Echo Dot with Clock has in its bag.
A Good Flex
The Smart Clock for Echo Flex works exactly as advertised: You plug it in and it tells the time. If you want a little more functionality, it also shows any timers counting down. For a $15 accessory to a $25 smart speaker, that’s really all it needs to do. It effectively upgrades the Echo Flex with a bright, easy-to-read clock while keeping the price of both devices together a good $20 below the Echo Dot with Clock. It’s a handy little add-on to a useful little smart device.