Amazon has unveiled a new version of its premium Echo Studio speaker with a built-in camera for monitoring a room while you're away, showing things to Alexa and, soon, video calls on Fire TV devices.
The new Echo Studio with Home Camera, announced Wednesday, is an iteration on the revised Echo Studio unveiled last year, which brought a brand-new design.
Amazon also detailed audio updates for the speaker. A feature called "Advanced Room Adaptation" will continuously tune sound to the space the speaker is in, while an "Adaptive Volume" feature raises or lowers playback levels, according to the company.
The announcement came as part of a wider batch of product unveilings from Amazon this week.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The Echo Studio has been Amazon's premium smart speaker; adding a camera extends it into home monitoring, a significant step for a device that sits in living spaces.
- The camera's ability to show things to Alexa and support video calls on Fire TV marks another move toward speakers becoming visual, multi-purpose home hubs.
- The audio updates signal that Amazon still treats sound quality as central to the device, even as it adds new functions.
Background
Amazon's Echo line has long been a cornerstone of the smart speaker market. Last year's revised Echo Studio introduced a brand-new design, and the new model builds directly on that version rather than starting from scratch. The addition of a camera follows a broader industry trend of smart speakers and displays becoming more visual, with video calling and monitoring features increasingly common in home devices.
What to Watch
- Amazon says video calls on Fire TV devices are coming soon; watch for details on timing and which Fire TV models will support the feature.
- Watch for Amazon to announce availability and pricing for the new model in the coming weeks.
- The room-monitoring function may draw attention to privacy, given where the speaker is designed to be used.
Checked
11 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 6 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedAmazon added a camera to its premium Echo Studio speaker.The Verge: “Amazon is giving its premium smart speaker a camera.”
- SupportedThe new model can monitor a room while you’re away.The Verge: “has a built-in camera for monitoring a room while you're away”
- SupportedThe new model can show things to Alexa.The Verge: “showing things to Alexa”
- Partly supportedThe new model will handle video calls on Fire TV devices.The Verge: “and, soon, to use with video calls on Fire TV devices.”
- Partly supportedAmazon announced the new model on Wednesday.The Verge: “The new Echo Studio with Home Camera, announced today”
- SupportedThe new speaker is an iteration on the revised Echo Studio announced last year.The Verge: “It's an iteration on the revised Echo Studio announced last year”
- SupportedThe revised Echo Studio had a brand-new design.The Verge: “which had a brand-new design.”
- SupportedAmazon says Advanced Room Adaptation will continuously tune sound to the speaker’s space.The Verge: “Amazon says a new feature called "Advanced Room Adaptation" will continuously tune sound to the space that the speaker is in.”
- Partly supportedAdaptive Volume raises or lowers playback levels.The Verge: “There's also an "Adaptive Volume" feature that raises or lowers …”
- Not in the sourcesAmazon attributed the Adaptive Volume description to the company.The Verge: “There's also an "Adaptive Volume" feature that raises or lowers …”
- Partly supportedThe announcement was part of a wider batch of Amazon product announcements this week.The Verge: “announced today as part of Amazon's big blast of announcements”
