Overview
- Amazon announced three new Echo models that are available now in Europe with listed euro prices for each model and a kids edition for Echo Time and Echo Dot.
- Echo Time is a bedside smart alarm that uses a suite of sensors called Omnisense to track room conditions, presence and breathing by ultrasound, and it wakes users within a 10–60 minute window at an optimal sleep phase without using a camera.
- The new Echo Dot adds the AZ3 on‑device chip for local request processing, a fourth microphone for better voice pickup, an integrated smart‑home hub supporting Zigbee, Matter and Thread, and the ability to act as an eero Wi‑Fi repeater.
- The Echo Studio now offers a built‑in camera (no screen) to enable visual Alexa features; Amazon provides a microphone‑mute button to disable the camera and visual upload indicators but no physical shutter, which privacy advocates are likely to scrutinize.
- Amazon positions Alexa Plus as the assistant across the new models to handle multi‑command queries, the releases reflect a push toward local AI and tighter smart‑home integration, and typical seasonal discounts make Black Friday the likeliest time for lower prices.