Amazon Adds an Alexa Photo Frame and a Bedside Clock to Its Echo Family

Panos Panay, Amazon's elder vice president of Devices and Alexa, says a mates 100 cardinal radical now usage Alexa+, the revamped version of the decade-old dependable assistant, connected its Echo devices. He says radical speech to Alexa+ 2 to 3 times much than before its AI glow-up, navigator with it 5 times more, perceive to euphony 3 times more, and make routines doubly arsenic much.

To support that momentum going, Amazon has caller Echo products to present a richer Alexa+ experience, including insignificant refreshes connected existing hardware and wholly caller categories. Announced Wednesday and disposable for acquisition now, they see the Echo Dot ($100), Echo Studio With Home Camera ($250), Echo Show 16 ($500), Echo Time ($200), and the archetypal Alexa Photo Frame ($200).

“I don't deliberation anyone's truly doing AI astatine each successful the home, and if they are, they aren't doing it well,” Panay says astatine an intimate media-only lawsuit successful New York City. As radical person “deeper” conversations with Alexa+, Panay says devices request to beryllium successful premium shape—a strategy Amazon has been focusing connected aft announcing much premium Kindles and Alexa Tablets successful aboriginal October.

You tin spot that premiumization successful the hardware pricing: The Echo Dot—once the affordable, entry-level $50 astute speaker—now starts astatine $100. That's higher than the marked-up prices connected existing Amazon devices from this summer, which the institution blamed connected the memory shortage.

Echo Dot

Panay says Amazon has sold much than 100 cardinal Echo Dots, and successful 2026 alone, radical spent much than a trillion minutes listening to euphony connected the diminutive orb. So, the main extremity for the caller Dot? Boost the sound. The full-range operator reportedly delivers 50 percent stronger bass show and crisper vocals.

With 4 beamforming microphones (up from three) and Amazon's AZ3 chip, Alexa tin isolate your dependable successful a noisy situation and way your commands much effectively. It besides has Omnisense similar past year's Echo Dot Max, which tin consciousness the situation to, say, observe erstwhile you locomotion into the location and crook connected the lights.

The Dot present supports the Matter standard and works arsenic a Thread borderline router, turning it into a hub for mounting up and controlling astute location devices. If you person an Eero router, it tin besides crook into a Wi-Fi extender.

It comes successful 4 colors, 3 of which are calming pastels. Amazon's plan caput Chris Green tells WIRED that's intentional to evoke a calm, softer aesthetic, citing recent data showing astir fractional of US adults are stressed erstwhile a week. Alternatively, you tin bargain the Kids Echo Dot, which has the aforesaid hardware but successful amusive designs, positive Amazon Kids+ for age-appropriate content.

Echo Studio With Home Camera

The caller Echo Studio is the archetypal Amazon astute talker with a camera—a diagnostic erstwhile constricted to Amazon's Echo Show smart displays—allowing Alexa to place the idiosyncratic making the bid (along with dependable recognition) for much personalized responses. That's particularly important these days arsenic Alexa+ tin link to email oregon calendar apps and needs to verify who's speaking earlier divulging idiosyncratic information.

It besides lets you usage Live View to cheque successful connected your location and show pets, oregon video telephone friends and family. With nary show connected the Echo Studio, you'll request to brace it with a Fire TV oregon usage your smartphone to presumption the camera provender of the idiosyncratic you're calling—as seen successful the representation supra erstwhile Panay utilized the Studio to Drop In connected his dad. This “Drop In” diagnostic volition get aboriginal done a bundle update.

The camera enables what Amazon calls “Advanced Room Adaptation,” which tunes the dependable to the room. Even if you determination astir the space, the measurement volition enactment consistent. And it tin besides beryllium utilized for ocular intelligence—just similar however you mightiness usage your telephone to place an entity with Google Lens, you tin prime up an entity and amusement it to Alexa done the camera, and it tin place it and reply questions. For example, amusement a committee crippled you've decided to play and inquire Alexa to explicate the rules.

While nary privateness shutter physically blocks the camera, you tin property a fastener to crook disconnected the mics and camera, and an LED lights up erstwhile the camera is connected and successful use. If you don't privation yet different camera successful your home, Amazon says you tin bargain the modular Echo Studio. The talker is different precise akin to the 2025 model and is meant to beryllium the top-end enactment for folks who privation adjacent amended audio quality.

Alexa Photo Frame

Digital photograph frames are a well-established class now, with companies similar Aura and Skylight starring the market. Now Amazon's entering the fray with the Alexa Photo Frame. Yes, you tin inactive speech to Alexa conscionable similar immoderate different Echo device, but the 10-inch show volition ever amusement your photos—nothing else. The bottommost borderline lights up erstwhile Alexa activates, and you tin inquire it the upwind oregon to amusement you pictures of your canine past Halloween.

The caveat is that you request to usage Amazon Photos. Once your images are successful Amazon Photos, you tin take who and what appears connected the frame—even recently captured photos truthful Mom tin spot the latest pics from your abrogation earlier she adjacent asks. The show is simply a semi-matte, anti-glare touchscreen that adjusts brightness based connected the room's ambient light, and you tin swipe the surface to spot much images. Tap an representation to play a dependable enactment tied to the picture—that's thing you tin adhd successful the Amazon Photos app, but a aboriginal update volition fto users adhd dependable notes to images consecutive connected the Alexa Photo Frame.

Smart curation happens successful the inheritance to take the champion photos. For example, if you person a batch of vertical images, it volition stack them broadside by broadside and radical acquainted faces together. Maybe that means a pic of your kid erstwhile they were 8 years old, and the pic connected the close of erstwhile they're 14. (Though Google has been doing this for years connected its astute displays.) Alexa knows to take pictures of radical smiling, and understands timing—you'll beryllium served past year's Halloween pictures astir this clip of year.

Amazon says it's casual to acceptable up for idiosyncratic else—like your grandparents—and the framework comes successful 3 styles: black, birch, oregon walnut.

Echo Time

The different wholly caller merchandise is the Echo Time. It's akin successful size and dependable to the Echo Dot, but with a integer timepiece screen. No cameras here—it's designed for the bedside table, aft all—and the 3.2-inch circular show tin dim arsenic debased arsenic 0.3 nits (the aforesaid arsenic Apple's caller HomeView).

It's hardly the archetypal clip Amazon has dabbled with clocks connected an Echo (see the Echo Spot), and Amazon adjacent sold a bedside slumber tracker earlier discontinuing it hardly a twelvemonth later.

The Echo Time doesn't track your sleep, but it tin assistance you commencement a bedtime regular arsenic you upwind down. The embedded ultrasonic transducer tin observe your breathing to place erstwhile you're successful a airy slumber signifier and mildly aftermath you up wrong 10 to 60 minutes of your alarm, alternatively than forcing you retired of heavy sleep. These “Smart Alarms” are progressively communal connected fittingness trackers, similar Google's Fitbit Air, but the transportation present is that you don't request a gadget connected your wrist. Sadly, these features enactment lone for the idiosyncratic closest to the Echo Time; with 2 radical successful bed, you'll request 2 Echo Time units—one connected each nightstand.

You tin take from hundreds of timepiece faces, acceptable up alarms with Alexa+, and inquire the adjunct to punctual you astir definite things erstwhile it wakes you up—like grabbing luncheon from the fridge earlier heading out. Alexa tin play soothing soundscapes to lull you to slumber similar a sound machine. And erstwhile you aftermath up, you tin pat the apical of the instrumentality to snooze it (up to 4 times).

There's a Kids Echo Time with wacky designs and much constricted features constrained to Amazon's Kids+ service. Kids tin acceptable their ain alarms, inquire for the upwind forecast, and customize timepiece faces, but the main item is Sleep Studio. This connects to contented from apps similar Calm, Headspace, and Moshi to assistance kids upwind down and autumn asleep.

Echo Show 16

Finally, there's the Echo Show 16. Yes, it's a bigger smart display, but Panay says Amazon has redesigned the full acquisition from the crushed up. This circumstantial exemplary is designed to beryllium wall-mounted, though you tin bargain a kickstand if you'd prefer. It starts astatine $500, but Amazon has introductory pricing of $400; the mentation with the Nanomatte anti-glare show (like the 1 connected the Alexa Tablet Pro 12) costs $550.

It has slimmer bezels, a thinner frame, and an wholly caller audio strategy with 8 woofers and 2 tweeters. The 13-megapixel camera tin supposedly place radical from up to 17 feet away, truthful you won't person to locomotion truly adjacent to the surface to spot your personalized information. It besides supports nighttime vision, truthful you tin usage Live View to cheque successful connected your location and inactive spot successful the dark.

A afloat built-in Fire TV acquisition lets you ticker arsenic overmuch contented arsenic you privation portion cooking, oregon travel on with recipes with Alexa. One large absorption of the redesign was letting users prioritize the features they usage the most. Want to usage it arsenic a astute location controller? There's a dashboard that shows each your controls arsenic your superior “Screen Style.” Parents who similar to usage it arsenic a calendar tin acceptable the “Family Organizer” surface arsenic the main display. Or conscionable fto it crook into a integer photograph framework with the Photos Screen Style.

More unsocial is the AI-generated interface Amazon is debuting with Alexa+ called “Neo.” Instead of a basal chat transcript similar astir different chatbots, Alexa+ volition make charts, make images, and connection different visuals to zhuzh up its responses during much analyzable conversations. (That's thing Google and OpenAI person besides played up with caller updates to Search and ChatGPT.) These “Cards" volition besides look successful your Alexa app truthful you tin revisit them astatine immoderate time.

A Reuters study earlier this year revealed details that Amazon was moving connected a smartphone, codenamed Transformer, with Alexa+ arsenic the absorption of the acquisition and a generative idiosyncratic interface. “Neo” connected the Echo Show 16 gives america a archetypal glimpse of what that mightiness look like, and paired with galore of the Alexa+ features introduced connected the caller Alexa Tablet Pro 12, it feels similar the Amazon smartphone is person than ever.

I asked Panay point-blank whether Amazon was making a phone, and portion helium said determination was “no intent," helium pointed retired that each of the caller bundle experiences are “scalable.” He past asked to look astatine the iPhone Duo I was holding and remarked that it was akin successful size to the Surface Duo, which Panay helmed astatine Microsoft. There whitethorn beryllium “no intent” connected paper, but it definite seems similar helium wants to marque a telephone again.