Giant e-commerce company Amazon revealed six new devices in their Alexa and smart device family: The new Echo, Echo Plus, Echo Spot, new Fire TV, Echo Connect, and Echo Buttons. I’m breaking all these smart home devices down so you can see if any of them are right for you.
Echo
Many people recognize the Echo, and this new version is the second generation of the device. From Mr. Robot to South Park, the Echo and “Hey, Alexa” have started to become a part of pop culture as well as a part of people’s homes. The second generation Echo has improved sound with Dolby speakers and a smaller design, and it comes in six colors: charcoal fabric, heater gray fabric, oak finish, sandstone fabric, silver finish, and walnut finish—with oak, silver, and walnut costing $20 more.
The new Echo starts at $99.99 and will be released on October 31.
Echo Plus
The Echo Plus is just as it sounds—a bigger, souped-up version of the normal Echo, like how Samsung’s Galaxy S and Apple’s iPhone have a “Plus” version of their phones. The built-in smart home hub that allows “simple setup of compatible smart home devices” is the biggest perk of the Echo Plus. It only costs $50 more than the normal Echo, which isn’t too bad, but people will have to decide whether they think it’s worth it. It probably is for those with a bunch of smart home devices. The Echo Plus comes in black, silver, and white.
The Echo Plus is $149.99 and will be released on October 31.
Echo Spot
The Echo Spot is basically an Echo with a screen. You can watch video, set it up as a clock, take a look at the weather, and use it as a camera. The downside to the Echo Spot is it does not have as good of sound as the normal Echo and Echo Plus, because it doesn’t have the Dolby speakers with room-filling sound. But for those that want to see things, the Echo Spot is something to consider. It comes in white or black.
The Echo Spot is $129.99 and will be released on December 19.
Fire TV
One of the most impressive new products revealed by Amazon was the new Fire TV. The upgrade from the previous Fire TV Stick was overdue, as the new Fire TV now has 4K Ultra HD as well as HDR 10 capability.
The new Fire TV is $69.99 and will be available on October 25.
Echo Connect
The Echo Connect is another step forward for Alexa devices. The new device can connect to both your home phone and Amazon Echo so that you can make calls hands-free, including receiving calls from your landline. And you can also upload your contacts so you can say “Call (name).” It’s probably a good decision by Amazon to go this route instead of entering the smartphone market.
The Echo Connect is $34.99 and will be released on December 13.
Echo Buttons
This one, we’ll see how much they catch on. Echo Buttons are like game show buttons that you use in complement with your Echo device to play games. The price isn’t too outrageous or anything, but I’m not considering buying this. Maybe I’m just no fun, though.
The Echo Buttons are expected to be available around the Holidays, and they will be $19.99 for a pair.
I guess you need to cover stuff like this but garbage Amazon is annoying
Did you ever see the commercial with the dog?! “Garbage” and “annoying”… come on! No way.