Amazon on Thursday announced a revamped Echo lineup, including a new Echo Show smart speaker with an Intelligent Motion feature that allows it to follow you around the room.
Echo Show 10
Priced at $249.99, the not-creepy-at-all Echo Show 10 features a 10-inch HD display that can rotate to face you as you move, and won’t make a peep as it shifts thanks to a brushless motor.
Echo Show 10 (Image: Amazon)
It features a 13-megapixel wide-angle camera with digital pan and zoom, so it automatically keeps you centered in the picture during video calls. Those video calls are about to get more crowded: a new Alexa Group Calling feature will let you video chat with up to eight others. The company also says Echo Show devices will support Zoom (as well as its own Chime video conferencing service) before the end of the year.
When you’re not video chatting, you’ll be able to watch Netflix on the Show 10, in addition to Hulu and Prime Video.
The Echo Show 10 can also serve as a home security camera. If you subscribe to Amazon’s $4.99 monthly Alexa Guard service, the rotating smart display will occasionally pan the room and send you an alert if it detects a person in its field of view. You can also use the device to remotely monitor the room at any time via the Alexa app.
The Echo Show 10 will come in charcoal or white, and is slated to launch in time for the holidays.
Amazon Echo (2020)
Alongside the Echo Show 10, Amazon announced a new lineup of spherical Echo devices, including a refreshed flagship Echo smart speaker, Echo Dot, Echo Dot with clock, and Echo Dot Kids Edition.
Amazon Echo (Image: Amazon)
Priced at $99.99, the new orb-like Echo is covered in fabric and features an LED ring on its base. Amazon says it “sounds significantly better thanks to a 3.0-inch woofer, dual-firing tweeters, and Dolby processing that delivers stereo sound with clear highs, dynamic-mids, and deep bass.” It’s powered by Amazon’s AZ1 Neural Edge processor, which it says allows for quicker and more human-like Alexa responses, and features a built-in smart home hub.
Echo Dot and Echo Dot with Clock 4th Gen
Echo Dot with clock (Image: Amazon)
The new $49.99 Echo Dot, and its $59.99 sibling with an LED clock, feature the same spherical look as the new Echo, but are small enough to fit on a bedside table.
Echo Dot Kids Edition 4th Gen
Echo Dot Kids Edition (Image: Amazon)
The new $59.99 Echo Dot Kids Edition boasts the same spherical design, but with cute panda or tiger print design. A new feature will let parents create Alexa voice profiles for their kids, so the virtual assistant can automatically shift to a kid’s profile when she recognizes a youngster’s voice. Alexa will also be able to help teach your child to read: a feature called Reading Sidekick will support them when they’re struggling with a word, and encourage them when they do well.
The new Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Dot with clock, and Echo Dot Kids Edition are available for pre-order today and slated to ship later this year. The Echo and Dot comes in charcoal, white, and blue; the Dot with clock comes in white and blue; and the Echo Dot Kids Edition comes in the aforementioned panda or tiger designs.
