At an event in Seattle, Amazon today unveiled a series of new Alexa-enabled Echo products, ranging from a new high-end speaker to a lamp.
Amazon’s Echo Studio, a new higher-end version of its Echo smart speaker, is designed to compete with Apple’s HomePod. The Alexa-equipped Echo Studio, which is priced at $199, supports 3D Dolby sound and, like the HomePod, is designed to optimize sound based on the layout of a room. The Echo Studio features three mid-range speakers (left, right, and top) along with a directional tweeter and a 5.25-inch subwoofer for bass and improved sound.
In addition to a HomePod competitor, Amazon also debuted a new product designed to compete with the AirPods. The Echo Buds, priced at $130, are Amazon’s first Echo wearable that offers hands-free access to Alexa.
For kids, Amazon introduced the Echo Glow, a multi-color smart lamp that pairs with Alexa. Priced at $30, Echo Glow can light up with different colors, mimic a flickering campfire, offer a Sleep Timer, or work in “dance party” mode with music and lights… Amazon even debuted a new Alexa-equipped Smart Oven that can cook common foods through Alexa voice commands. Priced at $250, it is a combination microwave, convection oven, air fryer, and food warmer.
A new product, Echo Frames, is part of a program Amazon is calling “Day One Edition.” Amazon is making a limited number of Day One Edition products, and if they prove popular, Amazon will make more. Echo Frames are Alexa-enabled glasses that look like regular prescription glasses. There’s no camera, but they offer Alexa voice access. Another Day One Edition product is the Echo Loop, an Alexa-enabled smart ring that has two microphones that can be activated with a tap.
MacDailyNews Take: Amazon’s quest to put Alexa everywhere continues unabated.
The Echo Studio is interesting, but cannot match HomePod on specs. Apple’s HomePod’s features include:
• 4-inch high-excursion, upward-firing woofer with custom amplifier
• Array of seven horn-loaded tweeters, each with its own custom amplifier
• Six-microphone array for far-field Siri
• Internal low-frequency calibration microphone for automatic bass correction
• Direct and ambient audio beamforming
• Transparent studio-level dynamic processing
• Stereo pair capable
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