We see that soft, organic orb shape echoed in the new Echo Dot ($60), which has a clock on its face like one of last year’s Dots. The revamped Echo Dot Kids Edition ($60) is, of course, also an orb, and comes with some insanely cute tiger and panda faces. Soon, your kids’ new Tiger Ball Friend will be able to read to them with a new Reading Sidekick feature. Amazon’s FreeTime and FreeTime Unlimited subscriptions, which give you a bundle of kids software and services, are now called Amazon Kids and Kids+.
The new Echo 10 ($250) is not so spherical, and doesn’t yet have a release date. It uses cameras to slowly pivot to face you on its mushroom stalk, and adds improved video calling features like digital panning, group calling, Zoom, and Amazon Chime.
All of our family members are now home, all the time, forever. So, besides tending to your kids on the new Echos, you’ll also be able to install Care Hub to check on your elderly relatives. Improved video calling features include pivoting to face you as you walk around, digital panning, group calling, Zoom, and Amazon Chime. You can also tell Alexa to delete everything you said, or tell Guard Plus that you’re away, so it can scan for intruders. Maybe they forgot about the part where we never leave our houses anymore.
An Updated Wi-Fi Router
Amazon snapped up mesh router company Eero last year and quickly released a new, cheaper version of the Eero router system. Today Amazon is releasing new models notable primarily for the new Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6 improves the speed and reliability of your home network, but does require new hardware to take advantage.
The new Eero 6 is $129 and comes out November 2. A two-piece Eero 6 system is $199, and the three-piece system is $279. The Eero Pro 6 offers better performance thanks to its tri-band antenna system, which allows more simultaneous connections (the Pro model also supports the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band, which can add stability to connections, especially in urban areas). The Eero Pro 6 is $229, a two pack is $399, and the mansion-spanning three pack is $599.
A Ring Car Alarm
