subwoofer. The Echo Studio can also optimize its
sound on account of the room’s layout.
Amazon also announced its long-rumored
AirPods competitor, officially named the Echo
Buds. Amazon claims that the in-ear buds offer
excellent sound, crisp vocals and dynamic
bass, along with Bose Active Noise Reduction
technology. In an early video test of the Echo
Buds, the last of these features excited The
Verge’s Dieter Bohn even more than the Alexa
integration – although of course, being able to
converse with Alexa over battery life of up to 20
hours is a major selling point in itself.
So far, so Apple – or so you’d think. However,
Amazon has also spent time refining its more
‘original’ offerings – including the main Echo
smart speaker, which now features new
Neodymium drivers and a three-inch woofer
enabling improved sound quality. Meanwhile,
a new version of the Echo Dot comes with
the wonderfully self-explanatory name the
Echo Dot With Clock, as it indeed includes a
front-facing LED display capable of showing
the time, alarm, timers and other similarly
useful information.
The company also showed off a new version
of the Echo Show 5. It’s called the Echo Show
8 and integrates an eight-inch display and
crisp audio into a sleek form factor – although
5.5-inch and 10-inch versions of the tablet-
like device are also available. One of the more
ambitious Echo products unveiled was the
Alexa-equipped Smart Oven, which combines
an oven, microwave, air fryer and food warmer,
making it something of a follow-up to the
microwave Amazon unveiled last year.