Amazon unveils seven new Alexa-powered devices, including a smart ring and glasses

Amazon just unleashed a new wave of Alexa-powered Echo devices and they literally come in every shape and size. This isn’t an exaggeration, the Echo Loop^[1] is a smart ring with a built-in microphone, speaker and an all-day battery life.

Amazon's new Echo Loop is the smallest smart device yet

Alexa is just a tap away (to save battery, there’s no wake word support). You can use the ring to make calls, control your smart home and do everything in Alexa’s ever-growing arsenal of skills. At night, just pop the ring on its wireless charging stand.

The Day1 Edition of the ring, available with invitation only, costs $130. The regular price is $180. Note that you can order a kit with dummy rings of different sizes, so you can wear them for a while and pick the one that fits you best.

If you prefer, you can get the Echo Frames^[2] instead – same as the ring, except it’s glasses. To be clear, this isn’t like Google Glass, there’s no AR here. Frames can make calls, set reminders, add things to your to-do list and more.

The Echo Frames are smart glasses of the audio-only variety

Thanks to the larger battery and more convenient form factor, you can listen to podcasts on the go. The Day1 Edition is $180, regular price is $250.

Perhaps the most practical of the three, but not nearly as futuristic are Echo Buds^[3] – truly wireless earbuds with Alexa built in. They promise 5 hours of playback on their own, the charging case brings the total up to 20 hours. A 15 minute stay in the case charges them enough for 2 hours of music.

The Echo Buds pack Dolby and Bose tech for superior audio quality

The Echo Buds have some serious audio cred, they feature dual drivers and a 3 microphone array with Bose Active Noise Cancellation. You can ask Alexa to play everything from Audible audiobooks to something from Apple Music.

Amazon wasn’t stingy with support for third-party services. The ring, glasses and earbuds can all summon the Google Assistant or Apple Siri if you prefer. The Echo Buds are $130 and will be released on October 30.

The Echo Show 8^[4] is pretty standard – a middle ground between the 5” and 10.1” Echo Shows. It features an 8” HD screen, which can display your daily itinerary, show who’s at the door with a Ring camera, and even play TV shows and movies. For listening to music, there are two 2” speakers (10W each).

The Echo Show 8 falls between the Echo Show 5 (5") and Echo Show (10.1")

There’s a 1MP front-facing camera, which can be used for video calls (there’s a hardware slider that can cover the camera and disable the microphones for privacy). The Echo Show 8 is on pre-order now and will be available on November 21.

If you just want the music, the Echo Studio^[5] boasts s5 speakers with Dolby Atmos technology for 3D audio. It has three 2” mid-range speakers (up, left and right), one 1” tweeter and a 5.25” woofer with bass aperture.

The Echo Studio features 5 speakers and advanced smart home functionality

In addition to the other music streaming services, this one supports the new Amazon Music HD service. This is a $200 speaker, which will be released on November 7. Note that unlike the Echo Show 8, the Studio supports Zigbee for more advanced home automation.

There's a smaller speaker - the 3rd generation Echo Dot^[6]. The Sandstone version has a neat new trick, a digital clock visible through the cloth. Normally it shows the time, but it switches to a temperature display when you ask about the weather. The new Echo Dot will be released on October 16 at $60 or if you can live without the clock, $50.

Echo Dot with clock (Sandstone only)

Finally, there’s the Echo Flex^[7] – a smart speaker disguised as a charger. This is designed to for tight spaces where there’s no room to put a speaker, just plug it in and it will stay on the wall.

The Echo Flex is an out of the way smart speaker

It also has a USB port on the bottom, which you can use to charge your phone (7.5W output). Alternatively, you can plug in accessories – currently, a motion sensor and a night light.

References

1. ^{^} Echo Loop (www.amazon.com)
2. ^{^} Echo Frames (www.amazon.com)
3. ^{^} Echo Buds (www.amazon.com)
4. ^{^} Echo Show 8 (www.amazon.com)
5. ^{^} Echo Studio (www.amazon.com)
6. ^{^} Echo Dot (www.amazon.com)
7. ^{^} Echo Flex (www.amazon.com)

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