It was only a few months ago that Amazon introduced the Echo Dot, the smaller version of its popular hands-free, voice-enabled Echo speaker powered by Alexa. Now it’s back with a new, updated version of the Echo Dot that costs $50 or £50, or nearly half the price of the original. It comes not only in black but white, and it’s available for pre-order now, shipping in October.
The new Dot is slightly more compact and sleeker than the original. It has the Echo’s same array of seven microphones and advanced noise cancelling technology that allow you to speak to Alexa from across the room, even when you have music playing. Amazon also says that the new Echo Dot features a more powerful speech processor, which delivers improved far-field speech recognition accuracy
Amazon Echo Dot is a hands-free, voice-controlled device that uses Alexa to play music, control smart home devices and provide information, read the news, set alarms and more. It also connects to speakers or headphones through Bluetooth or 3.5mm stereo cable to play music from Prime Music, Spotify and TuneIn.
The Amazon Echo Dot can also control lights, switches, thermostats and more with compatible connected devices from WeMo, Philips Hue, Hive, Netatmo, tado and others. It has the ability to hear you from across the room with seven microphones for far-field hands-free voice control, even in noisy environments or while playing music.
It also includes a built-in speaker so it can work on its own as a smart alarm clock in the bedroom, an assistant in the kitchen, or anywhere you might want a voice-controlled device. It is always getting smarter through Alexa updates through the cloud automatically and is continually learning, adding new features and skills. It costs just $50, £50. Also available as a six-pack (buy five, get one free) or a 12-pack (buy 10, get two free). It is set to start shipping in October.