Amazon Echo Devices Rain !!! Amazon made 14 big announcements at an event

Hi

Amazon Alexa is a smart assistant and Amazon is weaving around that smart or virtual assistant capabilities in its ECHO series of speakers which was first launched in 2014 and since then it has evolved a lot.Some of the big announcements at an event are briefed up as below

NEW ECHO DOT

Amazon mentioned that “went back to the drawing board” when designing the new Echo Dot. The company says it features a larger 1.6-inch driver, is 70 percent louder than the previous model, and much clearer sounding. It retains both Bluetooth and aux output if you want to hook it up to a bigger speaker you've already got.The new Echo Dot costs the same $49.99. Preorders start today, and it ships in October.

ECHO AUTO


Image credits Amazon

Amazon says it has built the ultimate portable device for taking Alexa on the road. The Echo Auto will be available to start on an invite basis for $24.99 before expanding to all customers and jumping in price to $49.99.

The Echo Auto connects to Alexa through your phone and plays over your car’s speakers. It features eight microphones that the company says can make out your voice even over road noise and music. You can do all the usual Alexa commands, and when you ask for directions, the Echo Auto will send you to Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze, or whatever your preferred navigation app is.Your car should be smart enough to let Alexa Auto to discover and connect to your car settings, audio, AC, and media center of your Car.

ECHO INPUT




Image  credits Amazon

The new, tiny Echo Input is meant to be plugged into speakers you already own; doesn't carry speaker driver unit built in. It contains a far-field microphone array for Alexa commands, but in a put-it-anywhere form factor that is sleeker than even the Dot. In short its Amazon Alexa family device having same smart assistant capabilities without speaker built in. If you own many portable speakers lying around with you and collecting dust then put them all on duty with this Alexa patch. The Echo Input is just 12.5mm tall. Will be available later this year for $34.99.

SECOND-GENERATION ECHO PLUS WITH LOCAL VOICE CONTROL

Image Credits Amazon

The revamped Echo Plus looks much closer in design to the standard, fabric-covered Echo for the elegant appearance in your living room. It has got better sound and, like last year’s model, can act as a hub for your smart home gadgets. There’s also an integrated temperature sensor that can trigger Alexa routines based on a room’s temperature. Priced at the same $149.99, the Echo Plus goes up for preorder today and ships in October.

Amazon also demonstrated new local voice controls that are debuting with the Echo Plus; if your internet goes out, you’ll still be able to control the smart home devices with this speaker. Amazon is starting with “some of the most-used controls like lights” and will expand local voice controls to other devices over time.

ECHO SUB

Image Credits Amazon

Amazon Alexa loaded echo series of speakers are great but the only sown side is that they do not provide rich music experience. This has been solved by Echo Sub, what actually echo sub does is that it pairs with echo or echo plus and spices up the listening experience with rich bass that most echo speakers lack.

SECOND-GENERATION ECHO SHOW

Amazon’s echo show has been improved with a larger screen now with 10 inches and better sound. And similar to the Echo Plus, it can serve as the hub to a smart home. It’s also the best Alexa device when it comes to hearing your voice; As per Amazon, the eight-microphone array in the new Echo Show is the best mic system it has ever shipped.

Amazon is adding web browsers ,including its own Silk browser and Firefox; to the Echo Show. And the company announced a Skype app for the device that will allow users to make video calls directly on the show. In addition to offering the same “drop-in” video chat capabilities as last year.

The second-gen Echo Show will retail for $229.99. Preorders start today and it’ll be available in October.

ALEXA GUARD

Amazon is gradually moving into home security with Alexa Guard. The new feature “integrates Echo devices, smart lights, and security service providers to help customers protect their homes while they’re away.”When Guard is on, Alexa can send you Smart Alerts with audio clips when specific sounds are detected, including breaking glass or smoke or carbon monoxide alarms. 

Just set your Echo device to away mode when you’re heading out by saying, “Alexa, I’m leaving,” and Alexa will let you know if your Echo devices detect an unusual sound.

Alexa Guard also has an Away Lighting mode that uses machine learning to turn your smart lights on and off “in patterns that seem natural” to deter house break-ins and robberies.

AMAZON BASICS MICROWAVE

Amazon’s own Amazon Basics brand is putting out a new microwave that takes advantage of the new Alexa Connect Kit, which will also be made available to third-party device makers. The kit “includes a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE module that contains software  developed and managed by Amazon; that automatically and securely connects to Amazon-managed cloud services.” There’s no actual microphone in here; the microwave connects to your Echo devices over Bluetooth.

So how does this make a kitchen appliance better, that might be a valid question. The Amazon Basics Microwave includes “dozens of quick-cook voice presets, so you can cook just by asking Alexa.” There’s a built-in Ask Alexa button that you can press and say simple commands like “two minutes and thirty seconds on medium” to speed up the process of heating up your food.

The microwave will cost $59.99 when it ships later this year, and you can preorder beginning today.

ECHO WALL CLOCK

Image credits Amazon

Amazon’s new wall clock is similar to the microwave as mentioned above in the articel. I know, that sounds strange but may be we cant predict market as it may pick up. Clock connects to your Echo speakers over Bluetooth. The big plus here is that you can set timers, alarms, and change the time using your voice and Alexa commands.

AMAZON SONOS MULTI-ROOM AUDIO AND ECHO LINK / LINK AMP

Image credits Amazon

Sonos and Amazon have been working in partnership; Alexa is the voice assistant on the Sonos One and Sonos Beam. But today, Amazon made clear that it wants to make its own multi-room audio functionality much more powerful. Third-party speakers with Alexa will soon be able to be grouped into a whole-home setup same like the Echo speakers can do today.

The Echo Link (above) is “designed to connect to a receiver or amplifier, with multiple digital and analog inputs and outputs for compatibility with your existing stereo equipment.” There are no mics built in here; instead, the Echo Link serves only to “let you control music selection, volume, and multi-room playback on your stereo with your Echo or the Alexa app.”

If you have passive speakers, the Echo Link Amp adds “a built-in 60W 2-channel amplifier” to the equation. These two products are similar in concept to the Sonos Connect and recently announced Sonos Amp.

WI-FI SIMPLE SETUP

Amazon announced what it describes as “a multi-year journey to make setting up all types of electronic devices as easy as plugging them into the wall.” The effort is called Simple Wi-Fi setup . Wi-Fi Simple Setup is part of a larger plan of frustration-free setup, which includes Zigbee setup. Smaller smart home devices won't actually talk directly to your Wi-Fi router. They use lower-frequency signals like Zigbee to help save power, and it looks like Amazon's new setup assistance will help connect those devices as well..

Now, compatible devices will be able to access the Wi-Fi credentials stored on your Amazon products so that they can automatically connect to the internet within seconds of being plugged in. Amazon says its customers have already securely stored more than 100 million Wi-Fi credentials in the “locker.”

AMAZON SMART PLUG

Smart plugs are not something ground breaking many Chinese firms have sold those in millions. This new $24.99 product is exactly what the name suggests: it’s a plug that goes into an outlet and is compatible with Alexa. So you can tell Alexa to turn on or turn off whatever’s plugged into the Smart Plug from wherever you are. And it supports the automatic Wi-Fi setup mentioned above. Preorders start today, and the $24.99 Smart Plug will be available in October.

RING STICK UP CAM

Image Credits Amazon

This is yet another Amazon product to foray into home security system.The Ring Stick Up Cam will be offered in both wired and battery-powered configurations both for $179.99. The Stick Up Cam can be used both indoors and out, according to Amazon, marking Ring’s first cameras designed for both environments. They can integrate with the Ring Alarm when used inside the house. The wired variant is up for preordered right away, with the battery Stick Up Cam to arrive in December. Both offer 1080p video, night vision, motion detection, and IPX5 water resistance.

My personal favorite is Echo input and Echo Sub. What did you found interesting do let me know in the comments.