Amazon
The best new Amazon devices: Echo, Fire TV, and more
Amazon just launched a ton of new smart home devices. Here’s what to know.
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Amazon just announced not a handful of new devices but a wide range of no less than 14 devices across most of its brands. It wasn’t just devices, as new improvements to Alexa were announced and new assistive technologies.
The devices include new kid-focused versions of existing Echo speakers, all-new products from Blink, Ring, and Eero, and tons of AI-talk.
You’ll soon be able to have generative AI-powered conversations with Alexa, so that younger users can use the voice assistant easier. That’s important because while Alexa is still the best overall voice assistant in our opinion, the others are catching up.
Here’s what to know about all of the new devices.
New Echo devices
The all-new Echo Hub is a wall-mountable touchscreen that also doubles as a hub for all of your smart home devices that use Matter, Thread, or the other common protocols.
That means you can ditch the multiple hubs that you probably are using already.
It can show multiple camera feeds at once, control your security system, control lights, and other smart devices, and more.
The Hub will be available later this year for $179.99.
The Echo Hub is a wall-mounted touchscreen to control your smart home at a tap, or with Alexa. It also serves as smart home hub to connect all your devices using the most common standards, including Matter and Thread.
The Echo Show 8 gets a bunch of upgrades, including a centered webcam for better video calling. It also has better speakers, with new audio processing technology and room adaption tech.
It also has a smart home hub, to replace the other manufacturer hubs you might be using. And the home screen will adapt what it shows based on who is nearby.
Pre-orders are open now for $149.99, with devices shipping in October.
The new Echo Show 8 has better audio playback, a centered camera for better video calls, and adaptive content that senses if someone is nearby and changes the display contents to suit.
- Great speaker that adjusts audio output based on room acoustics
- Smart Home compatibility
- Fast processor and responsive screen
Alexa is getting a huge list of upgrades
New devices for kids
The Echo Pop speaker gets a Kids version, with either Marvel’s Avengers or Disney Princess co-branding. The quirky smart speakers get themed alarm sounds and fun facts read by the characters.
They also come with six months of Amazon Kids+, the curated content service with many child-friendly things to keep your little ones entertained.
Later this year, Amazon will also be rolling out a new Alexa update powered by generative AI, which makes the voice assistant even easier to interact with. Perfect for little conversationalists.
Preorders are live now for $49.99, with devices shipping in October.
The Echo Pop Kids comes in co-branded Marvel's Avengers and Disney Princess variations, each with themed content. They also bring the vast depth of Amazon Kids+ content for six months for free.
- Fun, kid-friendly Alexa responses and explicit song filter for secure interaction.
- Six-month Amazon Kids+ subscription offering interactive games and educational content.
- Enhanced parental controls with daily time limit settings and activity review.
There are also two new Amazon Fire tablets for kids, the Fire HD 10 Kids and Pro. Both have 10.1-inch, 1080p displays, have 3GB of RAM, and 25% more performance than the previous models.
Each is tailored for a specific age group, while coming with a protective case, two-year worry-free guarantee, and faster performance.
The Fire HD 10 Kids is set up for 3- to 7-year olds, with a simplified user experience and all the quality you’d expect from the Kids range. There are also Disney-themed options for either Mickey Mouse or Disney Princess.
And the Fire HD 10 Kids Pro is designed for the six to twelve age group, with a more adult user experience.
You also get a free year of Amazon Kids+, so you won’t have to worry about finding curated content for your little ones to consume. Both devices are available now to pre-order, with shipping in October.
The Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids is tailor made for the 3 to 7 age group, with a protective case, two year worry-free guarantee, and a year of Amazon Kids+ subscription for free.
The Amazon Fire HD 10 Pro is geared for six to twelve year olds, with faster performance, a protective case, and all of the usual Kids benefits like a two year guarantee and Amazon Kids~ content free for a year.
- Fastest Fire HD 10 tablet ever, with snappy performance and multitasking
- Comes with a full year of Amazon Kids+, jam packed with content, games, and apps for your little readers
- 1080p screen with bright, colorful display
- Two-year, no-questions-asked worry-free warranty against accidental damage
New Fire TV devices
Amazon upgraded the Fire TV Stick 4K Max to Wi-Fi 6E for better, smoother connectivity and streaming.
It also gets Fire TV ambient, which was previously on the Fire TV Omni series, to show calendars, art, and more on the screen when not in use. The Fire TV Stick 4K ($49.99) also gets upgraded to Wi-Fi 6, and a 30% more powerful processor.
The second generation Fire TV Stick 4K Max comes with Wi-Fi 6E support for smoother, faster connectivity. With support for Dolby Vision, HDR and HDR10+, it promises better image quality and the immersive Dolby Audio means awesome sound.
And the new Fire TV Soundbar comes to fix the most common issue with TVs–their lackluster sound system. With support for DTS Virtual:X and Dolby Audio, the 24-inch soundbar will improve your experience substantially.
Amazon's first soundbar comes with DTS Virtual:X and Dolby Audio support, with a compact 24-inch design to fit in any TV setup.
New Eero mesh routers
The Eero range is getting a new router with Wi-Fi 7 connectivity. The Max 7 comes with the fastest in wireless connectivity, two 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports, while being backward-compatible with existing generations of Eero devices.
It’s available soon for $599.99 each, $1,149.99 for a two-pack, and $1,699.99 for a three-pack.
The new tri-band mesh router from eero, the Max 7 has the latest in connectivity with Wi-Fi 7, two 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports, and multi-gigabit backhaul speeds.
The rest
Amazon announced so many new devices today, but these are our favorites. New cameras from Blink and Ring also got announced, and we’ll have thoughts on those in due time.
The star of today’s show was Alexa, not the devices she runs on. With new generative AI smarts, the voice assistant will be much easier to talk to.
We look forward to bringing you reviews and other content on these devices as we get our hands on them.
Have any thoughts on this? Drop us a line below in the comments, or carry the discussion to our Twitter or Facebook.
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