Amazon’s Echo Lineup: What’s the Difference?
Anyone who’s embraced Alexa likely has an Echo product to thank. Since 2014, Amazon’s smart speakers and displays have been listening for their wake words, ready to set timers and give you the weather, among other things.
Alexa has expanded her virtual footprint to other interesting products and even software. You can access Alexa in apps like Amazon Music on iOS or Android. But while Alexa on an app is nice, Amazon has some pretty cool hardware to house its virtual assistant, too. If you’re wondering which one to get, especially with Black Friday deals on the horizon, read on for a rundown of what each device brings to the table.
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Amazon Echo (4th Gen)
4.5
$99.99
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The baseline of the Alexa hardware experience is the Echo, the fourth-generation of which takes the power and smart home hub of the Echo Plus and puts it in a round package. The sub-$100 Alexa-equipped Echo orb features three audio drivers, Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Amazon Sidewalk, and Amazon’s AZ1 processor.
Amazon Echo (4th Gen) Review
Amazon Echo Studio
4.5
$199.99
at Amazon
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With surprisingly robust Dolby Atmos-compatible directional audio, Amazon’s Echo Studio delivers just as much power as smart speakers that cost twice as much. It’s truly impressive for its size and price, enough to earn our Editors’ Choice award.
In September, Amazon said the Echo Studio would get a software update that adds new spatial audio processing, which can improve the immersiveness of stereo music, along with frequency range extension that can offer better bass and midrange response.
Amazon Echo Studio Review
Amazon Echo Show 15
3.5
$249.99
at Amazon
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The Echo Show 15 is Amazon’s largest Echo Show yet, and is designed to be easily mounted on a wall. It features a 15.6-inch, 1080p LCD surrounded by a large, picture-frame-like bezel that can look like a painting or smart frame when not in use. A visual ID feature lets the Echo Show 15 identify anyone in a household who stands in front of it and load their own calendars and lists. It’s unique, but unless you specifically need a smart display to hang on your wall, Amazon’s other Echo Shows might serve you better.
One upcoming update that may make it more useful: Fire TV support.
Amazon Echo Show 15 Review
Amazon Echo Show 10
4.0
$249.99
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The third-generation Amazon Echo Show 10 smart display features a motorized base that lets it follow you around the room. There’s a 13-megapixel wide-angle camera with digital pan and zoom, so it automatically keeps you centered in the picture during video calls, which now support up to eight other people thanks to Alexa Group Calling. Echo Show devices also support Zoom (as well as Amazon’s own Chime video conferencing service).
Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen) Review
Amazon Echo Show 8
4.5
$84.99
at Amazon
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For those with space constraints and a tighter budget, Amazon’s second-gen Echo Show 8 smart display offers just the right balance of price, performance, and size, with an updated camera for an even better video chat and home security experience. It sports an 8-inch, 1,280-by-800-pixel display and a 13MP camera with auto-framing, a jump up from the first Echo Show 8’s 1MP sensor.
Amazon Echo Show 8 (2nd Gen, 2021 Release) Review
Amazon Echo Show 5
4.0
$84.99
at Amazon
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For something even smaller, the second-generation Amazon Echo Show 5 is nearly identical to the previous version, and remains a capable smart display for virtually anywhere in your home, particularly your nightstand. It comes with a 960-by-480-resolution, 5.5-inch display, a 2MP HD camera that includes a shutter, as well as on/off buttons for the microphone and camera.
Amazon Echo Show 5 (2nd Gen, 2021 Release) Review
Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids
$94.99
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With the kid-centric Echo Show 5, little ones can personalize their home screen, ask Alexa for homework help, make video calls to pre-approved contacts, and set alarms to wake up to the voice of their favorite characters. The device comes with a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+(Opens in a new window) (starting at $4.99 per month for Prime members after the first year), which offers unlimited access to thousands of books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, games, and skills. There is also a two-year “worry-free guarantee” (free replacement for broken displays).
Amazon Echo Dot
4.0
$44.99
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The Echo Dot has long been a space-conscious, affordable way to bring Alexa into your home. And Amazon’s formerly puck-shaped smart speaker now has a more orb-like form and a glowing blue LED. Amazon just announced an update with a new audio system, a custom full-range driver that Amazon says doubles the bass the previous models can put out. Ultrasound motion detectors are also built into the new smart speakers, letting them respond to tap gestures and movement.
Plus, it includes Eero mesh Wi-Fi support, letting Amazon Dots serve as network nodes that can add up to 1,000 square feet of coverage to an Eero Wi-Fi network (the 4th-gen Dots will also get an update adding Eero support).
Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen, 2022 Release) Review
Amazon Echo Dot with Clock
4.0
$54.99
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The Echo Dot with Clock features the same spherical look as the latest Echo Dot, with the addition of a digital clockface that makes a big difference in usability. It too got all the updates added to the base Dot, plus new visible information like song titles and weather conditions, making it an ever smarter speaker than the previous model for the same price, earning it our Editors’ Choice award.
Amazon Echo Dot With Clock (5th Gen, 2022 Release) Review
Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition
$54.99
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The Echo Dot Kids Edition is shaped like the Echo Dot, but comes in owl and dragon(Opens in a new window) prints. It packs some kid-friendly features, like one free year of Amazon Kids+ for thousands of hours of kid-friendly Audible books, interactive games, and educational skills. (After a year, Amazon Kids+ is $4.99/month.) This Echo Dot also comes with a two-year, worry-free guarantee, so if it breaks, Amazon will replace it for free.
Amazon Echo Glow
3.5
$23.99
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This colorful smart light orb is intended for kids. Ask Alexa to change the Glow’s colors; tap to make it flicker like a campfire or flash while an Echo Dot plays music for a dance party. The Echo Glow doesn’t work with any Alexa skills and can’t be set to flash or give any indication of you getting a message or alert. But for the price, it seems like a fine smart light for your kids’ rooms. (Not to be confused with the now-defunct Amazon Glow, a $300 smart speaker plus projector that let kids connect with faraway loved ones and play games.)
Amazon Echo Glow Review
Amazon Echo Wall Clock
4.0
$29.99
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The Amazon Echo Wall Clock is part of a line of products called Alexa Gadgets, which need to be connected to other Echo smart speakers. For people who want to make their Alexa-enabled homes even livelier, this clock lets you visually monitor countdowns.
Amazon Echo Wall Clock Review
Amazon Smart Plug
3.5
$19.99
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Another Alexa Gadget, the Smart Plug connects to Echo devices like the Dot to turn compatible devices with mechanical on and off switches into smart ones. You can then say things like “Alexa, turn on the coffee pot.”
Amazon Smart Plug Review
Amazon Echo Frames (2nd Gen)
$129.99
at Amazon
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Echo Frames were initially an invite-only Day 1 Edition device, but the second-gen version is now available to everyone for $250. They promise to last about 40% longer than the previous model when it comes to continuous audio playback, but battery life is still only at 2 hours of talk time, Alexa interactions, and media playback over a 14-hour day at 80% volume. Amazon does promise improved audio quality and a more premium feel.
Amazon Echo Sub
3.0
$129.99
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The Amazon Echo Sub provides much-needed sub-bass to your Echo smart speaker as long as you’re willing to overlook some frustrating limitations. In our review, we found that it can’t shake the walls like home theater subwoofers, and it’s held back by a bizarre incompatibility with Bluetooth streaming.
Amazon Echo Sub Review
Amazon Echo Link
$199.99
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Echo Link connects to your existing stereo equipment, letting you control music playback and volume via Echo devices or the Alexa app.
Amazon Echo Link Amp
$299.99
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The Echo Link Amp adds a built-in 60W, 2-channel amplifier and a left-right speaker binding post outputs for wiring directly to passive and non-powered speakers.
Fire HD Tablets With Hands-Free Alexa
Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids
They’re not Echo devices, but the Amazon Fire HD color tablets have hands-free Alexa support (even if the screen is asleep), meaning they can do everything the Echo Show does. With the exception of the kid-focused Fire HD 10, these prices are “With Special Offers” (translation: ads); get rid of them by paying an extra $15.
