Amazon Unveils Five New Alexa Smart Home Devices
Amazon has launched five new Alexa-powered smart home devices, including a large Echo Show 16 display, an Echo Studio speaker with a camera, an upgraded Echo Dot, a smart alarm clock called Echo Time, and a digital Alexa Photo Frame. The new products aim to enhance smart home integration and user interaction, with features like on-device AI, advanced sensors, and improved displays. Pricing ranges from $99.99 for the Echo Dot to $569.99 for a premium Echo Show 16. Availability in Israel has not been announced.
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- Amazon launched five new Alexa smart home devices, including a large Echo Show 16 display.
- The Echo Show 16 features a larger screen, thinner profile, Fire TV integration, and a camera.
- New devices include an Echo Studio with a camera, an upgraded Echo Dot with a smart home hub, and an Echo Time alarm clock.
- The Alexa Photo Frame can intelligently select and display photos from Amazon's photo service.
- Pricing for the new devices ranges from $99.99 to $569.99, with pre-orders now open.
- Amazon reported over 25% annual growth for its Echo Show line and hundreds of millions of Alexa users.
Amazon announced five new smart home devices on Tuesday, all powered by the latest version of its Alexa voice assistant. The new lineup includes a large smart display, a speaker with a camera, a bedside alarm clock, a digital photo frame, and a new generation of the Echo Dot speaker. This launch comes two weeks after Apple revealed its first smart home display, intensifying competition in the smart home market.
The flagship product is the Echo Show 16, an upgrade to the Echo Show 15. It features a screen that is 10% larger and a device profile nearly 40% thinner than its predecessor. The Echo Show 16 can be placed on a stand or mounted on a wall, and a premium version offers a matte finish to reduce glare by over 90%. The display functions as a family hub with calendars and to-do lists, a photo frame, or a smart home control panel. It also integrates Amazon's Fire TV for content viewing and includes a camera with night vision for the first time in the Echo Show series. The Echo Show 16 is priced at $499.99, with the matte finish version costing $569.99. Pre-orders are open, with shipments expected by year-end.
Amazon also introduced a version of the Echo Studio speaker with an integrated camera. This speaker adapts its sound to the room's acoustics, while the camera allows Alexa to understand its surroundings, such as identifying board game rules or recognizing cereal boxes for reordering. It can also be used for remote room monitoring via the app. The camera-equipped Echo Studio costs $249.99, while the standard version remains $219.99.
The Echo Dot has also been significantly upgraded, now featuring a built-in smart home hub that connects directly to lights, locks, and climate control systems, while also extending Wi-Fi range by approximately 90 square meters. A new chip enables on-device AI processing for improved voice recognition and background noise filtering. This enhanced Echo Dot is priced at $99.99.
Additionally, Amazon launched the Echo Time, a smart alarm clock without a camera. It uses a special sensor to detect light sleep phases and wakes the user within a 10 to 60-minute window before the set alarm time. The device simulates a sunrise with gradually brightening light and slowly increasing sound. It costs $199.99.
The fifth new device is the Alexa Photo Frame, a 10-inch digital photo frame with a touchscreen. It syncs with Amazon's photo service, displays newly taken photos, and intelligently selects the best shots while skipping screenshots. Users can also ask Alexa to display specific photos, such as those of a person, pet, or vacation. It is available for $199.99 in a black frame and $229 in a wood frame. Amazon stated that the Echo Show line is growing by over 25% annually, with hundreds of millions of customers already using Alexa. The release date for these devices in Israel has not yet been announced.