Amazon’s new Echo Dot speakers promise the best sound yet

there was no news Amazon Echo Smart Speaker on display at the online mega-retailer hardware and services annual event this Wednesday, but Amazon revealed a new line of smaller Echo Dot speakers, as well as a new Echo Dot with a clock and new Echo Dot Kids speakers too.

“This is our most powerful line yet,” explained Nedim Fresko, vice president of Alexa Devices and Developer Technologies at Amazon. “We’ve redesigned the audio architecture with a full-range driver and the highest-excursion speaker of any Echo Dot.”

According to Fresko, that high-excursion design means the new Echo Dot speakers pump out up to twice the bass of previous generations, all from the same spherical form factor and a familiar choice of colors (Charcoal, Glacier White, or Deep). sea blue). Available for pre-order starting today and expected to ship in October, prices are also the same: $50 for the new 5th-gen Echo Dot, or $60 for the new Echo Dot with clock or the new Echo Dot Kids.

A mockup shows the inner workings of the fifth-generation Echo Dot smart speaker, which features better bass thanks to a new high-excursion design. — The new Echo Dot speakers feature high-excursion designs, which basically means the speaker cone can move and vibrate more than before to produce up to twice the bass of previous generations.

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Along with better sound quality, the new Echo Dot devices include new sensors that allow tap gestures on the top of the device, which could be a quicker means of turning off your morning alarm or kitchen timer. The new Echo Dot with Clock, available in Cloud Blue or Glacier White, also comes with some slight improvements to the clock readout, namely the ability to display upcoming calendar events, artists, and song titles during music playback. or weather information with icons. every time you ask Alexa for the day’s forecast.

The newest Amazon Echo Dot Kids smart speakers, one made to look like a purple dragon, the other made to look like a turquoise owl. Both are spherical in shape with a ring-shaped blue indicator light around the bottom. — The new Echo Dot Kids speakers come in dragon and owl designs, complete with custom Alexa voices to match.

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Meanwhile, Echo Dot Kids got a makeover, with new purple dragon and turquoise owl-themed designs. Each device offers parental controls in the Alexa app, a two-year warranty, and a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids Plus for kid-friendly content options. Soon, the speakers will also offer Kids Plus subscribers exclusive custom Alexa voices themed around owls and dragons.

“Ambient intelligence has been our North Star since the early days of Echo and Alexa, and a true ambient experience is personalized, proactive and intuitive enough to adapt to you and your environment,” Fresko told CNET. “All of our Echo devices and services are designed to drive this idea forward for our customers, whether they’re at home or on the go.”