Echo Dot 3rd-Gen Drops To 99 Cents, But There's A Catch

If you're looking to dive into the world of smart speakers, Amazon has a fairly attractive deal on offer. It's dropped the price of the 3rd-generation Echo Dot down to 99 cents, and while we're used to seeing the Echo Dot offered on the cheap, Amazon doesn't typically cut the price this low. As with most offers that sound great on the surface, though, there's a catch to go along with this deal.

Unfortunately, you can't simply buy an Echo Dot for 99 cents and call it good. You'll also need to purchase a month of Amazon Music Unlimited, which runs $7.99 per month for Prime subscribers and $9.99 per month for everyone else. That means your total buy-in winds up being $10.98 if you're not subscribed to Prime and $8.98 if you are.

One thing to keep in mind is that when you purchase that one month Amazon Music Unlimited, you'll be signed up for auto-renewal. So, if you're taking advantage of this deal just to get the cheap Echo Dot, you'll definitely want to cancel before your first month is up. Amazon's fine print says nothing about staying subscribed for a certain period of time, so presumably, you can buy this bundle and then cancel Amazon Music Unlimited once your get your Echo Dot if you're not looking to stay subscribed.

It's a little unclear who can and can't participate in this promotion. Since the fine print on the splash page for this deal lists the price for both Prime and non-Prime users, that suggests everyone can take advantage of it; some will just have to pay a higher price. However, on the actual store page where you'll buy the Echo Dot, the fine print says that this is only available to Prime members.

In any case, one final note: this deal only includes 3rd-gen Echo Dots in Heather Gray, Sandstone, Charcoal – the Echo Dot with Clock is not included in this offer. We're not sure how long the deal will be available, so if you're looking to buy an Echo Dot, you might want to do it sooner rather than later.