When Amazon set itself the task of making one of the best smart home devices even better, the answer was simple: make time your friend. Literally, they added an LED clock under the fabric-covered sides of the third-generation Echo Dot, giving birth to the Tom's Guide award-winning Amazon Echo Dot with Clock.

Bringing a smart home device into your home can be intimidating. But there is something welcoming about the soft sand-colored Echo Dot with Clock.

It gives Alexa a familiar face: a rustic nightstand alarm clock. The originality of this device, shaped like a field hockey puck, may make it one of the best smart speakers we've tested this year, or maybe we just like Alexa.

The $60 price is also attractive. While many smart speakers and other smart home devices can be expensive for full features, the Echo Dot with Clock is affordable and allows you to use all the best Alexa skills. Multiple Echo Dots can be grouped together to create an intercom system for your home or to send messages to your Alexa contacts.

Sound quality is almost an afterthought, but the Echo Dot with Clock provides adequate sound quality when a soundtrack is needed, especially for its size. Of course, it's not a loud speaker, but the sound more than fills the bedroom.

Initially, we were a bit skeptical about the $10 premium for the clock. However, after using the Echo Dot with Clock for a few months, we no longer want an Echo without the LED display.

Whether it's to check the time early in the morning or set a timer for cooking, Amazon says it eliminates the need to ask Alexa the time, one of the voice assistant's most frequent inquiries.

If all IoT companies tried to solve the problem with a "with clock" approach, people might be more convinced to raise the IQ of their homes.