The new range of smart devices with Alexa is available from today on Amazon. The new Echo Time arrives, with smart alarms and a customizable display; the new Echo Dot, with integrated Smart Home Hub, and for the first time in Italy the Amazon Kids Echo Dot, designed for children; The new Echo Studio with home camera also arrives. Amazon also presented the new Echo Show 16 with a large 16-inch display, arriving soon.
Below are all the features, news and prices.
New Echo Time
The new Echo Time, the smart clock with Alexa+ designed specifically for the bedside table, introduces new features for evening relaxation and optimal awakening, promoting healthier sleep habits. The new technology offers an optional smart alarm function, which uses ultrasound to detect light sleep phases and wake the user at the optimal time, within a window of 10 to 60 minutes from the set time. As the alarm approaches, the display gradually lights up like at dawn and the alarm volume increases gently, accompanying the awakening. In the evening the dial switches to night mode, dimming the brightness to show only the time or the next alarm and reducing blue light to help you fall and stay asleep.
Thanks to the intelligence of Alexa+, even moments of relaxation before sleeping and waking up become a personalized experience: by telling Alexa that you need to wake up by 7:00 and that you can’t forget to grab lunch before going out at 8:00, Alexa will set the alarm at the right time and program a reminder at the right time. When it’s time to go to bed, you can ask Alexa to play relaxing music: it will choose the most suitable playlist from the user’s favorite music service. Furthermore, you can ask to set a temperature in the room that promotes sleep.
At the base is Omnisense, the Amazon technology that combines data from different sensors: the measurement of room temperature and presence detection help to outline your sleep routine, while ultrasound measures breathing and proximity, without the need to wear any device. You can choose from several customizable ringtones, each of which starts softly and becomes louder each time you snooze the alarm, up to four times.
With a spherical design with a 3.2-inch circular touchscreen, Echo Time allows you to choose from hundreds of watch faces: from analog and modern designs to seasonal themes and those dedicated to sports teams, to adapt to any environment and style. To change the look, just say: “Alexa, set a seasonal themed watch face.”
Echo Time is available for €214.99 in Graphite, Ice White and Coral Pink colours.
New Echo Dot
For the first time, Echo Dot integrates a smart home hub with support for Zigbee and Matter, also with Thread protocol, which allows Alexa to immediately connect to hundreds of compatible devices, including lights and thermostats. Furthermore, the integrated eero Wi-Fi system extends the coverage of your existing Wi-Fi network.
At the heart of the device is Amazon’s proprietary AZ3 chip, with a new AI accelerator designed for on-device processing, which improves conversation detection and filters out background noise, for faster, more natural conversations with Alexa+. Thanks to the addition of a fourth microphone, Alexa hears better when you move around the room, even in the noisiest environments.
On the new Echo Dot, a full-range driver integrated into the body creates greater rear acoustic volume, for clear vocals and 50% more powerful bass than the previous generation.
The compact, spherical design is covered in a 3D knitted fabric. The new Echo Dot is available from today in Graphite, Ice White, Agave Green and Coral Pink at €104.99.
Amazon Kids Echo Dot
The first Echo for the little ones, the Amazon Kids Echo Dot, also arrives in Italy, offering the same functionality and performance as the new Echo Dot in a version with a playful design, with one year of Kids+ service included for unlimited access to age-appropriate Audible audiobooks, radio stations, ad-free music. Parents can set up a child profile that allows little ones to ask Alexa questions, receiving age-appropriate answers.
Children can have fun with features created specifically for them, including Stories with Alexa which, thanks to the command “Alexa, I want to create a story”, transforms the characters and plots proposed by children into stories narrated by Alexa.
At bedtime, Spazio nanna transforms Kids devices with a Kids+ subscription (starting from €6.99 per month) into a complete system that accompanies families in their bedtime routine, with a selection of Calm and Moshi content dedicated to relaxation before sleeping. Parents have full control of the experience and can set sleep times via the Parent Dashboard, so the evening routine begins automatically. Older children can say, “Alexa, open Sleep Space.”
Amazon Kids Echo Dot is available in the colorful Octopus design at €114.99.
Echo Studio with home camera
The new speaker boasts a powerful audio architecture: a wide-excursion woofer delivers deep, immersive bass, while three optimally positioned full-range drivers and Dolby Atmos deliver immersive spatial audio. Furthermore, the new Advanced Room Adaptation technology continuously adjusts the sound based on the environment, automatically adapting to the room acoustics. The camera enables the new Adaptive Volume feature, which optimizes audio playback as you move around the room.
Alexa+ can also see and understand what is in front of the camera and offer help in real time: just show the box of a board game and ask Alexa+ to explain the rules, or point to a pack of cereals for Alexa to recognize them and help rearrange them into other flavor variations.
Echo Studio with home camera also allows you to monitor your home from anywhere: the Live View in the Alexa app allows you to monitor the room when you are away from home, to see how the dog is doing or make sure you haven’t left the lights on. A bright LED and an acoustic signal indicate when the camera is active.
Echo Studio is available in Graphite color for €259.99.
New Echo Show 16
The new Echo Show 16 also arrives, the most advanced and versatile smart display ever, with a speed 20% faster than any previous Echo Show. Featuring a 16-inch high-definition display, Echo Show 16 is nearly 40% thinner and with a 10% larger viewing area. The new option with Nanomatte display reduces reflections, preserving details and colors.
Echo Show 16 integrates the best camera ever made for an Echo Show, with the widest field of view ever offered on the range, automatic framing that keeps the person at the center of the image and, for the first time, night vision, to control the home via Live View both day and night.
With Screen Styles, Echo Show 16 transforms into a full-screen planner for the whole family, with color-coded calendars, household tasks and meal planning; a digital photo frame for favorite memories; or a smart home control panel, to manage lights, thermostat, music and live images from Ring cameras.
Echo Show 16 will be available in Italy soon at a price not yet communicated.
The purchase of the new Echo devices allows access to Alexa+, currently available in Early Access in Italy, free of charge for all customers. At the end of the Early Access period, it will be included in your Prime subscription.
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