The Latest Echo Smart Speakers Double as Nanny Cams and Wi-Fi Extenders

Amazon dropped a flurry of new and updated smart home devices today, including its first-ever smart frame and an alarm clock that apparently knows when you’re in a deep sleep and automatically snoozes the alarm until your slumber lightens. At the heart of the Echo smart speaker lineup are the Echo Dot, which brings simple smart home convenience, and the Echo Studio, Amazon’s premium listening speaker with a richer sound. Both received big upgrades: The Dot now includes a built-in smart home hub and Wi-Fi extender, while a new Studio adds a camera for live in-home monitoring. We got a sneak peek at the new smart home speakers at Amazon’s launch event.David Carnoy/CNET The Studio is the first Echo smart speaker with a camera Cameras are making their way into products they have no logical business being in, like dishwashers, but a camera in the $250 Echo Studio with Home Camera turns the humble smart speaker into a useful nanny cam, letting you keep tabs on family and pets via its live view. If you’re deciding between a pet cam and a smart speaker, the Echo device should offer a reliable version of both. You can still buy the Echo Studio without a camera for $220. The Studio Home Camera serves as a nanny cam and uses adaptive vision to help with small tasks.David Carnoy/CNET The cam does more than let you watch the dog chew slippers Through the Home Camera, Alexa “gains visual intelligence to make everyday experiences more personal and helpful,” according to Amazon. Alexa can “see and understand what’s in front of the camera and help. Pull out a board game box and ask Alexa to explain the rules or hold up a cereal box and Alexa can recognize it and help you reorder more flavors.” Adaptive sound and volume for tailored listening Camera shamera, the Echo Studio also has fancy new audio features.Amazon Expect the same souped-up sound quality that Studio built its name on, including a high-excursion woofer for deep, immersive bass, three optimally placed full-range drivers, and Dolby Atmos to fill the room with immersive spatial audio. The Best Smart Speakers We Tested A new feature called Advanced Room Adaptation adjusts the sound to your space’s unique acoustics, while Adaptive Volume adjusts the volume based on how close or far you are from the device. The latter sounds particularly useful for those of us who doddle about the house cooking and cleaning while trying to follow a podcast or audiobook. Echo Dot is now a smart home hub and Wi-Fi extender The smaller Echo Dot gets its own updates, including a smart home hub feature and a built-in Wi-Fi extender. For the first time, Amazon has integrated a smart home hub to connect and control compatible devices like your smart thermostat, lights and locks without the need for a standalone hub. The latest iteration adds a built-in Eero Wi-Fi extender that extends internet coverage by up to 1,000 square feet to an existing Eero network. For the first time, the Echo Dot features a built-in smart home hub and Wi-Fi extender.David Carnoy/CNET Echo Dot is now powered by AZ3, Amazon’s custom-designed silicon, enabling advanced on-deviceprocessing for faster, more natural conversations with Alexa Plus. Speaking of Alexa, there’s now a fourth speaker (all the better to hear you with, my dear). Echo Dot and Studio pricing Echo Studio with Home Camera is $249.99 and available in Graphite. An optional stand is sold separately for $39.99 Echo Dot is available in Graphite, Glacier White, Agave Green, and Coral Pink for $99.99. Amazon Kids Echo Dot is available in two colorful designs – Octopus and Penguin – starting at $109.99