There wasn’t a new Amazon Echo smart speaker on display at the online megaretailer’s yearly hardware and services event this Wednesday, but Amazon did reveal a brand new lineup of smaller-sized Echo Dot speakers, as well as a new Echo Dot with Clock and new Echo Dot Kids speakers, too.
“This is our most powerful lineup yet,” explained Nedim Fresko, Amazon’s VP of Alexa Devices and Developer Technologies. “We’ve redesigned the audio architecture with a full range driver and the highest excursion speaker of any Echo Dot.”
According to Fresko, that high-excursion design means that the new Echo Dot speakers put out up to twice as much bass as previous generations, all from within the same, spherical form factor and a familiar choice of colors (charcoal, glacier white or deep sea blue). Available for preorder starting today and expected to ship out in October, the prices are the same, too — $50 for the new, fifth-gen Echo Dot, or $60 for the new Echo Dot with Clock or the new Echo Dot Kids.
The new Echo Dot speakers feature high-excursion designs, which basically means that the speaker’s cone can move and vibrate more than before to produce up to twice as much bass as previous generations.
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Along with the better sound quality, the new Echo Dot devices include new sensors that enable tap gestures for the top of the device, which might make for a quicker means of shutting off that morning alarm or cooking timer. The new Echo Dot with Clock, available in cloud blue or glacier white, comes with some slight refinements to the clock readout, too — namely, the ability to display upcoming calendar events, artists and song titles during music playback or weather info with icons whenever you ask Alexa for the day’s forecast.
The new Echo Dot Kids speakers come in dragon and owl designs, complete with custom Alexa voices to match.
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Meanwhile, the Echo Dot Kids got a makeover, with new purple dragon and turquoise owl-themed designs. Each device offers parental controls in the Alexa app, a two-year warranty and a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids Plus for kid-friendly content options. Soon, the speakers will also offer Kids Plus subscribers exclusive owl- and dragon-themed custom Alexa voices, too.
“Ambient intelligence has been our North Star since the early days of Echo and Alexa, and a true ambient experience is personalized, proactive and intuitive enough to adapt to you and your environment,” Fresko told CNET. “All of our Echo devices and services are designed to drive this idea forward for our customers whether they are at home or on the go.”
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Watch Every Product Announced at Amazon’s Devices Event
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All three of the new Echo Dot speakers are available for preorder starting today, and expected to ship out in October.
For more, check out everything else Amazon announced, including the Halo Rise, Kindle Scribe and new Ring Spotlight cameras.