Makers of smart home gadgets have spent years promising us homes that practically run themselves, and here we are, still using our Alexa devices to play music and set timers — and usually not much else. Is that about to change? Amazon seems to think so, judging by its new lineup of Alexa+ devices.
The new Alexa+ AI assistant can carry on more natural conversations, ask clarifying questions and coordinate more complicated requests involving multiple services. Amazon says people using its new Alexa experiences are talking to the assistant two to three times more often and asking it to do more complex things, which suggests people may finally be finding ways to use their smart home tech beyond just the basics.
In this article: Amazon Alexa Photo Frame, Amazon Echo Time (all-new) and Echo Show 16
And now, Amazon is introducing a range of new devices designed specifically around Alexa's widened capabilities, with more emphasis on personalized experiences and fewer manual steps. Here are the new devices and what to know about them.
Digital photo frames have always been a great idea with one big drawback: Someone has to keep them updated. Amazon's new Alexa Photo Frame finally makes that process nearly effortless.
The frame connects to Amazon Photos, where Alexa+ can automatically curate the pictures it displays. Instead of making you manually assemble a slideshow, it can identify photos based on who's in them, when they were taken and how well they turned out. Alexa can choose pictures where people are smiling and the lighting looks good, and filter out screenshots and receipts. It can also match the season, bringing back pictures of previous Halloween celebrations in October, for example.
And because Alexa is built directly into the frame, you can simply ask to see the pictures you're looking for. You might say, "Alexa, show me photos from our beach trip," or ask for pictures of your cat.
The frame has some especially thoughtful gifting features: You can set up photos or albums before giving it to someone, invite friends and family to contribute, and attach personal voice notes to individual pictures.
The 10.1-inch high-definition touchscreen has a semi-matte, anti-glare finish intended to make digital pictures look more like prints. Its brightness automatically adjusts to the room's lighting, and the textured white matting and real walnut wood give it the appearance of a traditional picture frame. There's also a black version and a lighter birch wood option.
The new Echo Time is a small spherical alarm clock with a 3.2-inch circular touchscreen, and unlike a typical smart display, it looks like something designed specifically for a nightstand. There's no camera and no enormous screen glowing beside your bed.
One of the most appealing features is its customizable display. Amazon offers hundreds of clock faces, including traditional analog designs, modern digital styles, nature scenes, weather themes and more — just ask Alexa to change your clock face.
But what really sets Echo Time apart from an ordinary alarm clock is its optional sleep-sensing technology. Using Amazon's Omnisense system, it combines information from temperature sensors, presence detection and ultrasound-based breathing and proximity sensing to estimate when you're in lighter sleep. You can set a wakeup window of 10 to 60 minutes before your scheduled alarm, and the device will attempt to wake you at a more comfortable point within that window.
That means you don't need to wear a smartwatch or sleep tracking device overnight, though Amazon notes that sleep state measurements are just estimates.
As your alarm approaches, the screen also gradually brightens to simulate sunrise. Alarm sounds begin softly and build up, while evening mode dims the display, reduces blue light and shows only essential information, like the time and your next alarm.
The newest Echo Show offers a central screen for everything happening in your home. At 16 inches, it's large enough to function as a family calendar, recipe display, smart home dashboard and even a small TV.
The redesigned HD display has 10% more viewing area than the Echo Show 15, while the aluminum frame is nearly 40% thinner. Amazon also offers a Nanomatte display with a special etched-glass finish that reduces glare by more than 90%.
One of the biggest upgrades is the ability to customize the home screen with three Screen Styles. You can choose a Family Organizer with color-coded calendars, chores, to-do lists, meal planning and a recipe library. It's designed to give everyone in the household a single place to check what needs doing.
The Smart Home layout is another cool option. It puts compatible lights, locks, thermostats, cameras and other connected devices on a customizable dashboard. Amazon's new Alexa Home Map lets you organize controls around a visual representation of your home, so you can find the device you want to adjust more intuitively.
When you're not organizing your household, the Echo Show 16 doubles as a streaming screen, photo frame, video call device and more.
Amazon Echo Show 16 (newest model)
The new Echo Dot should look familiar, with its compact spherical body and fabric covering, but Amazon has made some improvements to both its audio and smart home capabilities.
A redesigned full-range speaker delivers 50% more bass than the previous generation, along with clearer vocals. That should make the new Dot better for playing music, podcasts and audiobooks, particularly in smaller spaces where you don't need the power of a larger speaker.
There's also the built-in smart home hub. The new Echo Dot supports Zigbee, Matter and Thread devices, which means you can connect compatible lights, locks, thermostats and other accessories without purchasing a separate hub for them. It also has temperature and presence sensing, which allows compatible devices to respond automatically when someone enters a room or the temperature changes.
Amazon Echo Dot (newest model)
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Amazon's Echo Studio has always been the speaker for people who want better audio than the smaller Echo devices can deliver. This new version adds a built-in camera that allows Alexa+ to see and interpret what's happening in the room, which gives it an entirely new set of uses.
For example, you can hold up a board game box and ask Alexa to explain the rules. Or show the assistant a product package and ask it to order more.
The camera also supports Live View through the Alexa app, so you can check on a room remotely. That means seeing what your pets are doing or checking whether you left a light on.
And it's still a great speaker too. A high-excursion woofer produces deep bass, while three full-range drivers and Dolby Atmos support provide immersive spatial sound. Amazon's Advanced Room Adaptation technology continually adjusts playback based on the room's acoustics, and Adaptive Volume helps keep audio at a consistent level as you move around.
Amazon Echo Studio with Home Camera
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