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Amazon announced six Echo and smart-home updates on Wednesday, spanning speakers, a photo frame, an alarm clock and a planned interactive home map. Prices and availability vary: several devices are available to order now, while the home map and some integrations are due later.
Amazon announced six Echo and smart-home updates on Wednesday, including a redesigned Echo Show 16, an Echo Dot with a built-in smart home hub, and a camera-equipped Echo Studio. Several products are available now or for preorder, while the company says its interactive Alexa Home Map feature will arrive in preview later this year.
The largest screen update is the Echo Show 16, which has a 16-inch display in an anodized aluminum frame that Amazon says is nearly 40 percent thinner than its predecessor. It also adds an optional Nanomatte screen to reduce glare, revised speakers and a 13-megapixel wide-angle camera. Amazon says the camera has the widest field of view yet on an Echo Show. The device is available for preorder at $499.99, or $569.99 with Nanomatte.
Amazon also announced the Alexa Photo Frame, a 10-inch touchscreen that syncs with Amazon Photos. The company says Alexa Plus can select images based on who appears in them, when they were taken and their sentiment. The frame costs $199.99 in black or $229 in birch or walnut. The updated Echo Dot, priced at $99.99, adds a smart home hub, an Eero Wi-Fi extender and Amazon’s AZ3 chip. Amazon says its new full-range driver delivers 50 percent more bass than the previous generation.
The Echo Studio with Home Camera adds a camera for viewing a room remotely and asking Alexa about items in view. Amazon gave examples including asking about a board game’s rules or ordering another cereal flavor after showing the device a box. It costs $249.99, with a separate $39.99 stand. The Echo Time smart alarm clock has a 3.2-inch circular touchscreen and an optional feature that can wake users 10 to 60 minutes before their set alarm time, based on Amazon’s Omnisense sensing technology. It is priced at $199.99; a Kids version starts at $209.99.
More Echo Devices Take on Home Control
The announcements push Echo products beyond voice assistance and audio playback toward home monitoring, automation and device control. The upgraded Dot is positioned as a hub that can operate compatible smart-home devices without a separate hub, while the Show 16 and Echo Time use Omnisense technology to respond to room conditions and presence.
The Alexa Home Map could bring those devices into a single visual interface. Amazon says users will be able to place their smart-home equipment on an interactive 3D map and control it there. That may make a growing collection of connected products easier to manage, though the feature’s reach will depend on supported devices, software availability and how the mapping process works in practice.
The camera-equipped Studio also expands the role of a speaker into remote viewing and visual queries. Those capabilities may be useful for some households, but they raise practical questions about camera use and privacy that the announcement does not answer in detail.
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Six Changes Across Amazon’s Echo Range
The announcement, reported by The Verge, covers six developments: the Echo Show 16 refresh, Alexa Photo Frame, upgraded Echo Dot, Echo Studio with Home Camera, Echo Time and Alexa Home Map. The first five are devices; the map is a software feature intended to connect compatible smart-home products in a spatial view.
Amazon describes Omnisense as a platform used to detect conditions such as temperature and presence. The company says the updated Show 16 can use that information for routines, such as turning up the heat when a room is cold or switching on a light when someone enters. The Echo Time’s optional alarm feature uses the technology to choose a wake-up time within a stated window before the user’s alarm.
Availability is not uniform. Amazon lists the Echo Dot and Echo Time as available today and the Echo Show 16 for preorder. The Alexa Home Map is planned for a preview later this year, initially on iOS through the Alexa Home Map, Alexa and Ring apps, with support also planned for larger Echo Show devices, the Ember Artline Fire TV and new Alexa Tablets.
“The company describes it as offering the “widest field of view” on an Echo Show device so far.”
— Amazon, on the Echo Show 16 camera
Feature Rollout and Privacy Details
Amazon has not provided a firm date for the Alexa Home Map preview beyond saying it will begin later this year. The announcement also does not specify which homes, devices or regions will be supported at launch, or whether the map will require additional hardware or subscriptions.
Further practical details remain unclear for features that rely on sensing or cameras. Amazon has not explained in the source material how the Echo Studio’s camera footage is stored or how long it is retained, nor what safeguards users can apply to visual queries. The company also has not supplied independent testing for claims about thinner construction, computing power, camera field of view or bass performance.
For the Echo Time, Amazon describes waking users during a lighter sleep period using temperature and presence, but does not explain the detection method or provide evidence about how reliably it identifies sleep stages. The feature is optional, and its stated wake window is 10 to 60 minutes before the alarm.
Orders, Preview and Product Details
Customers can buy the Echo Dot and Echo Time at the announced prices, while the Echo Show 16 is open for preorder. Amazon has not provided a delivery date in the source material for the Show 16. The Alexa Photo Frame and camera-equipped Echo Studio have announced prices, but the report does not give specific release timing for either product.
The next software milestone is the Alexa Home Map preview, which Amazon says will roll out later this year. The company says it will be available through iOS apps and is also planned for selected Echo Show, Fire TV and Alexa Tablet devices. Amazon has not announced the preview’s exact start date or a full list of compatible products.
Key Questions
What are the six Echo and smart-home updates?
They are the Echo Show 16, Alexa Photo Frame, upgraded Echo Dot, Echo Studio with Home Camera, Echo Time smart alarm clock and Alexa Home Map feature.
Which new devices are available now?
Amazon says the Echo Dot and Echo Time are available today. The Echo Show 16 is available for preorder. The announcement does not give a specific release date for every other device.
How much do the new products cost?
The Echo Dot costs $99.99; Echo Time is $199.99, with the Kids model starting at $209.99; the Echo Show 16 starts at $499.99; Alexa Photo Frame starts at $199.99; and Echo Studio with Home Camera costs $249.99. Optional accessories and finishes can cost more.
When will Alexa Home Map be available?
Amazon says the feature will begin rolling out in preview later this year. It has not announced an exact date or complete compatibility list.
What does Alexa Home Map do?
Amazon says it creates an interactive 3D map of a home where users can place and control compatible Echo, Ring, Blink, Fire TV and other smart-home devices. The company says users can create the map by entering an address and scanning rooms with a compatible iPhone.
Source: theverge.com
