This is a big season for Star Wars. Not only is the unofficial holiday May the Fourth just around the corner, but we have have a new film in the franchise coming out not far, far away either. The Mandalorian & Grogu comes out May 22nd and you can ride the hype of the new movie with these themed Echo Dots. Amazon has its popular smart speaker on sale and bundled with your choice of a Mandalorian stand, Grogu stand, or two Echo Dots with one of each.
Individually, the Mandalorian version is down to just $80 (down from $100) while the Grogu version is down to $72 (down from $90). You can also pick up the bundle paired together which goes for $150 after the discount, which ends up a couple bucks short of buying them each separately.
At first glance, you wouldn’t be able to even tell these are Alexa devices at all, which is cool if not a bit unnerving. The Mandalorian version is modeled after Din Djarin’s or “Mando’s” signature helmet, worn by (or at least implied to be worn by) Pedro Pascal in the Disney Plus show. This helmet lights up through the eye slit with the light right from the Echo Dot that’s under the hood.
A little less elegantly, the Grogu stand also lights up but through it’s chin like some kind of magic space frog. I guess the light had to come through somewhere and the character who’s come to affectionately be known as Baby Yoda wasn’t blessed with a perfectly horizontal slit through his face like Mando has been.
Alexa-enabled Smart Speaker
Onto the Echo Dot itself, the listing oddly does not confirm which version ships with the Star Wars stand. Throughout the materials, its stated that the Mandalorian and Grogu stands are each compatible with both fourth and fifth generation Echo Dots, yet does not specific which comes with it. In any case, either are solid smart speakers.
The Echo Dot is a small, yet capable speaker effective at producing powerful sound with a deep and rich bass. You can confidently listen to music audiobooks, or podcasts with clear vocals and dialogue, even when you find yourself several rooms over from it.
As a smart speaker, the Echo Dot can act as a central hub for other smart home devices. Use it to dim or adjust the color of your lighting, receive notifications when someone comes to the door, and more. You can set routines that trigger at certain times of the day or just simply ask Alexa to “Set the lights for movie night” and watch them dim and adjust to your preferred level for late nights in front of the TV—maybe watching The Mandolorian to catchup before the film hits theaters next month.