Amazon just unleashed a new wave of Alexa-powered
Echo devices and they literally come in every shape and size. This isn’t an
exaggeration, the Echo Loop is a smart ring with a built-in microphone, speaker
and an all-day battery life.
Alexa is just a tap away (to save battery, there’s
no wake word support). You can use the ring to make calls, control your smart
home and do everything in Alexa’s ever-growing arsenal of skills. At night,
just pop the ring on its wireless charging stand.
The Day1 Edition of the ring, available with
invitation only, costs US$ 130. The regular price is US$ 180. Note that you can order
a kit with dummy rings of different sizes, so you can wear them for a while and
pick the one that fits you best.
If you prefer, you can get the Echo Frames instead –
same as the ring, except it’s glasses. To be clear, this isn’t like Google
Glass, there’s no AR here. Frames can make calls, set reminders, add things to
your to-do list and more.
Thanks to the larger battery and more convenient
form factor, you can listen to podcasts on the go. The Day1 Edition is US$ 180,
regular price is US$ 250. Perhaps the most practical of the three, but not nearly as futuristic
are Echo Buds – truly wireless earbuds with Alexa built in. They promise 5
hours of playback on their own, the charging case brings the total up to 20
hours. A 15 minute stay in the case charges them enough for 2 hours of music.
The Echo Buds pack Dolby and Bose tech for superior
audio quality The Echo Buds pack Dolby and Bose tech for superior audio quality
The Echo Buds pack Dolby and Bose tech for superior audio quality The Echo Buds have some serious audio cred, they
feature dual drivers and a 3 microphone array with Bose Active Noise Reduction
(which is a weaker version of noise cancellation). You can ask Alexa to play
everything from Audible audiobooks to something from Apple Music.
Amazon wasn’t stingy with support for third-party
services. The ring, glasses and earbuds can all summon the Google Assistant or
Apple Siri if you prefer. The Echo Buds are US$ 130 and will be released on
October 30.
The Echo Show 8 is pretty standard – a middle ground
between the 5” and 10.1” Echo Shows. It features an 8” HD screen, which can
display your daily itinerary, show who’s at the door with a Ring camera, and
even play TV shows and movies. For listening to music, there are two 2”
speakers (10W each).
There’s a 1MP front-facing camera, which can be used
for video calls (there’s a hardware slider that can cover the camera and
disable the microphones for privacy). The Echo Show 8 is on pre-order now and
will be available on November 21.
If you just want the music, the Echo Studio boasts
s5 speakers with Dolby Atmos technology for 3D audio. It has three 2” mid-range
speakers (up, left and right), one 1” tweeter and a 5.25” woofer with bass
aperture.
In addition to the other music streaming services,
this one supports the new Amazon Music HD service. This is a US$ 200 speaker,
which will be released on November 7. Note that unlike the Echo Show 8, the
Studio supports Zigbee for more advanced home automation.
There's a smaller speaker - the 3rd generation Echo
Dot. The Sandstone version has a neat new trick, a digital clock visible
through the cloth. Normally it shows the time, but it switches to a temperature
display when you ask about the weather. The new Echo Dot will be released on
October 16 at US$ 60 or if you can live without the clock, US$ 50.
Finally, there’s the Echo Flex – a smart speaker
disguised as a charger. This is designed to for tight spaces where there’s no
room to put a speaker, just plug it in and it will stay on the wall. It also has a USB port on the
bottom, which you can use to charge your phone (7.5W output). Alternatively,
you can plug in accessories – currently, a motion sensor and a night light.
