At an event on Thursday, Amazon unveiled 11 new and updated Alexa-powered gadgets for your home and your car, as well as a bunch of new features for the AI voice assistant. In case you missed the show, here’s a quick rundown of all the new products the company has in store.
You can pre-order all these items today in the US, and they’ll begin shipping next month.
Echo speakers
Amazon has revamped its diminutive Echo Dot with a larger speaker for better and louder audio, as well as a new fabric cover. It retails for at $49.99, the same price as the original.
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It’s also updated the larger Echo Plus with a new speaker, support for Dolby Play 360-degree audio, and a smaller form factor. It also comes with a Zigbee hub to control even more smart devices than you could with Alexa. It’ll set you back by $149.99.
The revamped Echo Show smart display has a 10-inch screen (significantly larger than the original’s 7-incher), dual side-firing speakers, a 5-megapixel front camera, support for Hulu and NBC, and web browsers (which means you can tune into YouTube). It costs $229.99, and you can also order an extra stand to adjust the viewing angle and camera angle for $30.
The puck-shaped Echo Input is basically an Alexa thin client, if you will; it comes with built-in mics and Wi-Fi connectivity, and plugs into your speakers to add support for Amazon’s assistant for $34.99.
High-fidelity audio
Amazon is also looking to up its audio game with three interesting accessories for connoisseurs:
The Echo Sub is a cylindrical cloth-covered subwoofer pairs with your Echo speakers in 1.1 or 2.1 configurations to add bass and to enable stereo sound by having two speakers work in tandem. It also lets you tweak equalizer settings, and costs $129.99.
If you already have a nice setup for listening to music, you’ll want to check out the Echo Link. It’s a stereo amplifier that’s meant to work with other Echo devices to receive voice commands, and also your home stereo system’s amp or receiver for high-quality audio. It goes for $199.99.
There’s also the Echo Link Amp; it’s similar to the Link, but it comes with a powerful 60W, 2-channel built-in amplifier that can drive active or passive speakers. It has a $299.99 price tag, but doesn’t yet have a release date as its certification is pending.
Smart home devices
Amazon wants to get on your kitchen countertop with its new AmazonBasics Microwave. It lets you reheat, defrost, and cook food by issuing voice commands to a connected Echo device; it can also order popcorn when you’re running low, a la Amazon’s Dash buttons. You’ll have to cough up $59.99 for it.
Want to Alexa-fy your existing gadgets? Amazon’s Smart Plug fits into your wall outlet to let you control compatible lights, fans, and appliances with voice commands that you issue to a connected Echo device. It’s available for $24.99.
Perhaps the neatest product of the lot, the Echo Wall Clock looks like a handsome ol’ analog clock, but it can receive instructions for timers and alarms via Alexa, and visually represent them with LEDs around the dial. You can snap one up for $29.99.
In your car
Amazon has also launched the Echo Auto for cars. Place it on your dashboard, connect it to the internet via your phone, and plug it into your ride’s audio system with a 3.5mm cable, and you’re all set to use Alexa with voice commands. It costs $24.99 right now, but you’ll need an invitation to pre-order it. Later on, it’ll go for $50.
That’s the lot. Which new Amazon gadgets are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments.
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