Amazon’s new Echo Dot can turn into a Wi-Fi extender – how it works

ZDNET’s key takeaways

  • Amazon has unveiled the next generation of Echo Dot devices.
  • The new Echo Dots serve as Wi-Fi extenders and smart home hubs.
  • The new Echo Dot devices are now available for purchase for $100.

New Amazon Echo Dot devices are now available for $100, with a notable added feature: a built-in Eero Wi-Fi extender that adds up to 1,000 square feet of Wi-Fi coverage to your home network, according to Amazon. On Wednesday, Amazon unveiled the Echo Dot along with several other new Alexa devices, including the Echo Show 16 smart home hub, the Echo Time smart alarm clock, and the Alexa Photo Frame.

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Echo Dot Smart Home Hub Features

Amazon has turned the new-generation Echo Dot into a smart home hub, with Alexa connected to thousands of compatible devices like lights, locks and thermostats out of the box, Amazon says. The device uses a sensor fusion platform to sense the room around it and can detect things like a drop in temperature and turn on the thermostat or turn on the lights when you get home.

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The Echo Dot features Amazon’s AZ3 silicon and a new AI Accelerator for on-device AI processing, for faster, more natural conversations with Alexa and better background noise filtering. A new fourth microphone helps Alexa hear you better no matter where you are in the room. Voice ID can also recognize who is speaking and personalize your experience (for example, by playing your favorite playlist instead of someone else’s at home).

Amazon

In terms of audio, the new Echo Dots contain 50% more bass than the previous generation Echo Dot, according to Amazon.

Also: Apple’s new smart home devices get 3 things right — and one frustratingly wrong

These new Amazon smart home devices come just weeks after Apple unveiled its new smart home forays, including an Echo Show competitor called Home View and the Echo Dot-like HomePod Mini. But Amazon’s big advantage over Apple in the smart home is its current dominance: In January, Amazon had sold over 600 million Alexa-enabled devices worldwide.

Echo Dot price, availability, and colors

You can order a new Echo Dot today for $100, and it comes in four colors (Graphite, Glacier White, Agave Green, and Coral Pink).

Alison DeNisco Rayome

Alison DeNisco Rayome

Managing editor


Alison DeNisco Rayome is the managing editor of ZDNET. She was previously a managing editor at CNET, covering software, services, and home technology, and a senior editor at TechRepublic, covering AI, cybersecurity, tech and the workplace, and CxO/leadership.

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