At Wednesday’s Amazon Devices & Services event, the company announced a brand-new lineup of Echo Dot devices. These include a new Echo Dot, Echo Dot with Clock, Echo Dot Kids, and a new Echo Auto device. The Echo Studio also received a couple of more color options, as well as a software upgrade.
All of these devices feature updated technology and several new features that make them well worth the upgrade, and pre-orders start today. If you want to snag one of these new Echo products for yourself, you can expect to receive it sometime next month.
Echo Dot
The new Echo Dot retains the spherical design of its predecessor, but with new technology on the inside that gives it a lot more power. It features a custom full-range driver and the most powerful excursion speaker of any Echo Dot, which allows it to produce double the bass of the previous generation.
This new model also comes with a built-in accelerometer, which opens up new tap gesture controls. Tap the top of the Echo Dot to pause or play music, quiet timers, or end a call.
The most outstanding feature is the inclusion of the Eero router technology. This allows the Echo Dot to serve as a mesh Wi-Fi extender, adding an extra 1,000 square feet of coverage to your existing network, as well as a lot of value to something you already own.
In addition, the Echo Dot is also now available in Deep-Sea Blue.
Echo Dot With Clock
The Echo Dot with Clock uses the same specs as the Echo Dot, but it includes “high-density dot technology.” This means a clearer picture at a glance, whether you’re checking the time, the temperature, or just trying to figure out the name of the song you’re listening to.
The Echo Dot with Clock can display much more information than before. Just ask Alexa, and you’ll receive not only a vocal response, but one that displays on the device.
Echo Dot Kids
The Echo Dot Kids model features the same upgrades, as well, but its changes are more focused on the designs. The Owl and Dragon designs are new, and soon the Echo Dot Kids will have specific voices for both designs to help bring them to life for younger users.
Built-in parental controls make it easy to limit the kind of content a child can access through Alexa, and each purchase comes with a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+, a service that comes with thousands of ad-free, kid-friendly books, games, songs, and more.
Echo Auto
The Echo Auto now comes in a slimmer design with an adhesive mount for easier placement anywhere in the car. Five microphones allow it to hear requests over music and road noise. Echo Auto can be used not only to ask the usual questions of Alexa, but also to call for roadside assistance if you get a flat tire or run out of gas in the middle of nowhere.
Echo Studio
The Echo Studio doesn’t get a brand-new model, but it gets a new color — and a software update that allows it to produce better, more room-filling sound.
Where can you buy these?
All products are available for pre-order starting today, with shipping estimated to begin next month. Prices are below:
- Echo Dot: $50
- Echo Dot with Clock: $60
- Echo Dot Kids: $60
- Echo Auto: $55
- Echo Studio: $200
In addition to new product announcements, Alexa is receiving some serious AI upgrades that allow her to respond more naturally and intuitively to questions.
For more information on all the new products and announcements, check here!
