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A fresh batch of Amazon Echo devices is here and one of them is brand new!
- Amazon has launched four new Echo devices.
- The Echo Pop is a brand new Alexa speaker with a semi-sphere form factor and Amazon’s powerful AZ2 Neural Edge processor.
- The Echo Buds are also getting an upgrade and now feature multipoint Bluetooth connectivity.
Alexa might be Amazon’s worst-performing division, but the Echo line is reportedly among the best-selling products on the e-commerce platform. The company is now introducing four more devices in the Echo line — the brand new Echo Pop, Echo Show 5 (3rd gen), a redesigned Echo Show 5 Kids, and Echo Buds (3rd gen). Here’s a complete lowdown
Amazon Echo Pop
Leaving behind the circular design of the Echo Dot, the Echo Pop features a new semi-sphere form factor. It comes in Lavender Bloom and Midnight Teal colors and is designed for small spaces like bedrooms, dorm rooms, bathrooms, and such. It gets a front-facing speaker and Amazon’s AZ2 Neural Edge processor that debuted with the pricier wall-mounted Echo Show 15. The chip uses machine learning to process speech much faster than the last-gen AZ1 processor that powered many great Alexa speakers like the Echo Show 10. It’s also capable of facial recognition, but the Echo Pop doesn’t have a camera or display to take advantage of that.
Amazon Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 5 Kids
The new Echo Show 5 pretty much resembles its 2021 predecessor. However, Amazon has made some valuable upgrades under the hood. The company says the smart display is now 20% faster than its previous generation and doubles the bass to provide better sound overall. It also now features the AZ2 chip. Considering the Echo Show 5 didn’t even have the AZ1 on board, the upgrade should result in speedier Alexa interactions on the 3rd gen device.
Echo Show 5 and the Echo Pop are both Matter-enabled.
Meanwhile, the latest Echo Show 5 Kids is the second one of its kind. It comes with a new space-themed design. Otherwise, it has the same features as the previous model. That means Alexa will have more kid-friendly responses, tell jokes, help with homework, filter out explicit lyrics from music, and more. The device also features the same parental controls and comes with one year of free Amazon Kids Plus subscription.
The Echo Show 5 and the Echo Pop are Matter-enabled and can control compatible smart home devices that support the standard.
Amazon Echo Buds
The new Echo Buds get a semi-in-ear design. Each wireless earbud features a 12mm dynamic driver that Amazon claims delivers rich sound and balanced bass. There are two microphones and a “voice detection accelerometer” on each bud to distinguish between the person speaking on a call versus others around.
The new Echo Buds now feature multipoint Bluetooth connectivity.
The new Echo Buds also offer multipoint Bluetooth pairing to switch seamlessly between two devices — a feature absent from the previous generation. Amazon says the latest Echo Buds are capable of up to five hours of music playback on a single charge, extendable to 20 hours with a fully-powered case.
Price and availability
The Echo Show 5, with its redesigned speaker system, costs $89.99, while the Echo Show 5 Kids comes in at $99.99. The latter will only be available in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. The Echo Pop is the most affordable smart speaker of the lot at $39.99. The new Echo Buds will cost you $49.99.
Furthermore, Amazon is also extending the availability of Echo Auto to Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Japan.