Amazon has unveiled five new Echo devices, including a redesigned Echo Dot with built-in smart-home controls and eero Wi-Fi extension, alongside its sleep-focused Echo Time alarm clock.
Amazon has expanded its Echo and Alexa range with five new devices, led by a redesigned Echo Dot and a bedside clock called Echo Time. The company says both products run on the latest generation of Alexa+, its updated voice assistant platform.
The new Echo Dot is the most significant upgrade to Amazon’s best-selling smart speaker in years. According to Amazon, it now includes a built-in smart home hub with support for Zigbee, Matter and Thread, allowing it to connect directly to a wide range of compatible devices without a separate bridge. The company has also added an integrated eero Wi-Fi extender, which it says can add up to 93 square metres of coverage to an existing network. That makes the speaker not just an audio device, but a small home-network utility as well.
Amazon says the Dot also uses its new AZ3 custom silicon, which is intended to improve responsiveness and make Alexa+ conversations feel more natural. A fourth microphone has been added to improve voice capture in busier rooms, while the speaker driver has been reworked to deliver stronger bass than the previous model. The company describes that as a 50 per cent increase, a claim that will need real-world testing to judge properly.
Echo Time is aimed squarely at the bedside. Amazon says the smart alarm clock has no camera and uses a 3.2-inch circular touchscreen that can be customised with hundreds of clock faces. It shows the next alarm, the current weather and what is playing, while the display changes through the day to mimic a sunrise in the morning and reduce blue light at night. The device is also built around sleep sensing, which can wake the user between 10 and 60 minutes before the alarm time by detecting lighter sleep, without requiring a wearable.
The clock also reflects Amazon’s push to make Alexa more central to daily routines rather than simple voice requests. The company says its Omnisense technology can manage the gradual build-up of light and sound before an alarm, while the touchscreen dims to a minimal display overnight. A matching adjustable stand will be sold separately, and the device comes in Graphite, Glacier White and Coral Pink.
Amazon is also offering Kids editions of both devices. These include a year of Kids+ access, with Stories with Alexa as well as sleep content from Calm and Moshi. Parents can manage the experience through the Parent Dashboard. The Kids Echo Time is available in Galactic Grape and Cosmic Lime, but unlike the standard model it does not include sleep sensing, instead relying on the bundled Sleep Studio content for bedtime routines.
Pricing in the US starts at $99.99 for the Echo Dot and $199.99 for Echo Time. In the UK, Amazon lists the devices at £94.99 and £184.99 respectively. The launch gives Amazon a broader range of connected-home hardware at a time when consumers are increasingly looking for devices that do more than one job.
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