Amazon unveils new Echos: Echo Time, Dot with hub, Studio with camera

What's going on

Amazon has expanded its Echo lineup with several devices. According to TechRepublic, five new or updated products were announced on Oct. 28: an Echo Dot, an Echo Studio with a camera, the Echo Time alarm clock, a redesigned Echo Show 16 and the Alexa Photo Frame. t3n comments that the three new speakers don't exactly bring clarity to an already confusing Echo lineup. All the devices rely on Alexa Plus, the AI-based assistant. According to TechRepublic, Alexa Plus is included with Prime; in the US it costs $19.99 a month without Prime. Buyers should check in advance which features are available in which country.

Echo Time: an alarm clock with sleep sensing

The Echo Time is meant to sit on your nightstand as a smart alarm clock. Amazon uses a sensor package called "Omnisense" for this. According to t3n, the device tracks your sleep routine via room temperature and presence detection, and uses ultrasound to detect breathing. Engadget refers to an ultrasonic transducer. There is explicitly no camera.

With this data, the Echo Time is supposed to wake you during a light sleep phase, between 10 and 60 minutes before your set alarm time. Mashable adds a caveat: it isn't full sleep tracking like the Hatch Sleep Clock, though there are similarities.

Snooze fans get a trick: the ring tone can get louder after each snooze, up to four times. The round display (t3n says 3.2 inches, Engadget 2.3 inches, so the sources contradict each other) simulates a sunrise. t3n doubts that this really helps at that size. At night, according to Engadget, the display dims to below 0.3 nits, reduces the blue light and shows only the time and alarm time. During the day, hundreds of clock faces are available. You can pair a sunrise with smart lamps (Mashable).

There is also a kids' version. According to Engadget, it includes Sleep Studio and a year of Kids+; Mashable cites content from Headspace, Calm and Moshi. Parents can manage the device.

Echo Dot: hub and Eero extender

According to Amazon, the new Echo Dot has the AZ3 chip, which can process requests directly on the device. TechRepublic describes an AI accelerator meant to improve speech recognition and filter out background noise. t3n notes that Amazon doesn't say exactly which data is processed locally. TechRepublic cautions that local processing doesn't mean every Alexa interaction stays on the device.

Also on board:

• a fourth microphone (previously three) and a revised noise-cancellation algorithm
• a smart home hub with Zigbee, Thread and Matter, so no extra bridges are needed
• a range-extender function for Eero networks, which according to Mashable and TechRepublic covers up to 1,000 additional square feet (about 93 m²)
• according to Mashable, a wideband driver with 50 percent more bass than its predecessor
• Voice ID to recognize users, for example for personal playlists

It comes in Graphite, Glacier White, Agave Green and Coral Pink. The kids' version comes in octopus and penguin designs.

Echo Studio with camera

The Echo Studio now has a camera but no display. It enables the visual features of Alexa Plus: hold up a board game and Alexa explains the rules, or show a cereal box and have it reordered. Mashable also mentions help for visually impaired people. t3n sees these as problems that only a few people have.

Other features, per Engadget and Mashable: live view through the Alexa app (for pets, say), face recognition for personalization, video calls via a Fire TV and "Advanced Room Adaptation." With it, Omnisense detects how many people are in the room and adjusts sound and volume. The Studio can be integrated into an Alexa home theater.

On privacy, Amazon says the camera doesn't record anything but streams live. Visual indicators show when images or video go to the cloud. t3n criticizes the apparent lack of a physical shutter; instead, the mute button covers the camera too. TechRepublic points out that screens or documents could end up in frame in a home office, and notes that the Echo Studio without a camera is still available ($219.99).

Echo Show 16 and Alexa Photo Frame

According to Engadget, the Echo Show 16 has a body that's 40 percent thinner and bezels that are 80 percent narrower. It has a Full HD display with Fire TV, optionally anti-glare (Nanomatte), a 13-megapixel camera with night vision, four microphones, eight woofers and two tweeters. New are Alexa conversations shown as cards and the "Alexa Home Map": you scan your home with a compatible iPhone and place devices on an interactive map (Mashable). A switch can turn off the camera and microphones.

The Alexa Photo Frame is a smart picture frame with a 10-inch touch display, connected to Amazon Photos. Alexa can group and select photos, and you can attach voice notes.

Pricing and availability

According to Engadget and Mashable, the Show 16 comes with $100 off if you preorder. t3n advises waiting for Black Friday week, when Amazon usually discounts its own hardware heavily.

Takeaway

The devices bring sensible improvements, above all the Dot with its built-in hub. The Echo Time is a niche product for people who want an alarm clock that wakes them in a light sleep phase, and €215 is a lot for that. The camera in the Studio is the most contentious point: according to t3n, its usefulness is limited, and the lack of a shutter raises privacy questions. How reliably the light-sleep wake-up works hasn't been independently tested yet; so far there are only the manufacturer's claims.