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Amazon launches 8 new Echos – including voice in glasses
At a major hardware unveil in Seattle, Amazon unveiled eight Alexa-enabled devices, some updated and some new.
With five built-in directional speakers, the new Echo Studio has been engineered to create premium sound with space, clarity, and depth. The speaker automatically senses the acoustics of the space where it sits in a room and fine-tunes audio playback to deliver optimal sound. It features a 5.25-inch woofer and 330W of peak power which Amazon says delivers a deep, rich bass by using the bass port at the bottom to maximize airflow and bass output from the woofer. It has a 1-inch tweeter and three 2-inch midrange speakers, which can deliver dynamic midranges and crisp high frequencies. It has a 24-bit Digital-Analogue Converter (DAC) and a power amplifier with 100 kHz of bandwidth for high-resolution, lossless music playback. High quality music to support this feature is on Amazon Music HD and Tidal HQ.
Amazon says it is the first smart speaker to deliver an immersive 3D audio experience using Dolby Atmos and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio. Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment are bringing a growing library of new music, current hits, and legendary tracks to these immersive formats. Native 3D music will be available on Echo Studio with a subscription to Amazon Music HD.
One or two Echo Studio devices can be paired with select Fire TV devices for audio playback with multi-channel sound and support for Dolby Atmos, Dolby Audio 5.1, and stereo audio. Echo Studio also has a built-in Zigbee smart home hub which can be used to control compatible smart home devices.
For those who want Alexa outside the home, Amazon has launched Echo Buds. Each earbud has two outer microphones and one inner microphone that work together to reduce ambient noise so Alexa can hear its users in loud environments. The earbuds have two balanced armature drivers in each earbud. The driver design is inspired by in-ear monitors used by professional musicians.
Plus, with Bose Active Noise Reduction Technology, users can choose to minimise the noise around them. In loud environments, one can double-tap either earbud to turn Active Noise Reduction on. It can be disabled by double tapping again for transparent audio. They are IPX4-rated to withstand splashes, sweat, or light rain.
With one full charge, Echo Buds have up to five hours of music playback or four hours of call time. The included charging case holds up to three additional charges, which is 15 hours of music playback or 12 hours of call time. Users can tap and hold the ear bud to access the linked phone’s native voice services: Siri or Google Assistant.
Click here to read about Amazon’s voice enabled glasses, and new smart ring with Alexa functionality.
