Amazon has announced its latest Echo device lineup, made up of four new models that the company says represent its most advanced smart speakers and displays to date.
The new Echo Dot Max, Echo Studio, Echo Show 8, and Echo Show 11 are now available for pre-order and will launch over the coming weeks.
The Echo Dot Max marks the first time Amazon has engineered an Echo Dot with a two-way speaker system, featuring a high-excursion woofer and custom tweeter. It also marks the first time that the company has gone for a miniature Death Star aesthetic. At least, in our opinion.
Amazon claims it delivers nearly three times the bass of the fifth-generation Echo Dot, while maintaining the compact footprint of the Dot range.
The redesigned internal architecture integrates the speaker directly into the device housing, doubling the air space available for bass response. It will retail for $100 / £100 / AU$200.
The refreshed Echo Studio, meanwhile, has been reduced in size by 40 per cent compared with the original model, while retaining support for spatial audio and Dolby Atmos.
It combines a high-excursion woofer with three full-range drivers and features a spherical design with 3D-knit fabric. The Echo Studio is priced at $220 / £220 / AU$429.
In an interesting new feature, both the Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio support Alexa Home Theatre, allowing users to connect up to five units with compatible Fire TV devices to create a surround sound system.
Amazon says this eliminates the complexity and cost typically associated with multi-speaker home theatre setups, though we’ll have to wait and see how the setup actually sounds before getting too excited.
Elsewhere, the new Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 feature redesigned displays that combine in-cell touch and negative liquid crystal technology. Amazon says this approach reduces lamination layers while maximising viewing angles, with the high-definition screens packing more than a million pixels.
Both models include a 13-megapixel camera for video calls and feature front-facing stereo speakers with a custom woofer for spatial audio.
The Echo Show 8 will cost $180 / £180 / AU$349, while the Echo Show 11 is priced at $220 / £220 / AU$429. An optional adjustable stand will also be sold separately.
All four devices are built around Amazon's new custom silicon – the AZ3 processor in the Echo Dot Max, and the more advanced AZ3 Pro in the Echo Studio and Echo Show models.
These chips include an AI accelerator designed for edge computing and improved wake-word detection, which Amazon claims is nearly 50 per cent more accurate than previous generations.
The devices also incorporate Omnisense, Amazon's sensor fusion platform that combines data from multiple sources, including cameras, audio, ultrasound, wi-fi radar, accelerometers, and wi-fi channel state information. This system is intended to enable more contextual and proactive responses from Alexa.
US customers purchasing the new Echo devices will receive access to Alexa+, Amazon's generative AI-powered assistant, out of the box. The Alexa+ service is not yet available in the UK, Australia, or other regions, though Amazon says the new hardware is designed to support these features once they launch.
The Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio will be available from 29th October, while the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 will arrive on 12th November.
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