Amazon launches a series of all-new Echo devices that support AI Alexa+

At its annual hardware event, Amazon introduced a new line of Echo products, designed specifically for its AI assistant Alexa+, which is now rolling out to millions of customers through an early access program.

To showcase its AI capabilities, Amazon is releasing four new Echo devices with improved processing power and memory: the Echo Dot Max, Echo Studio, Echo Show 8, and Echo Show 11.

Key to these devices is Alexa+ integration, which allows the speakers to respond to more queries than previous models, supporting natural language conversations, more complex questions, and more add-ons and capabilities to come.

Alexa+ Store will be integrated later, where users can discover services from brands like Fandango, GrubHub, Lyft, Priceline, Taskrabbit, Thumbtack, and Yahoo Sports.

Devices can also manage new or existing subscriptions to Amazon's own services like Amazon Music, Amazon Kids+, or Alexa Emergency Assist, and customize their Alexa experience.

The new Echo devices launching today run on Amazon's custom-designed silicon chips, the AZ3 and AZ3 Pro, which include an AI Accelerator designed to run edge AI models.

The AZ3 enables better conversation detection on the Echo Dot, allowing people to talk to the device from anywhere in the room while still filtering out background noise. Amazon claims the chip also improves wake word detection by more than 50%.

The remaining three devices—Studio, Show 8, and 11—use AZ3 Pro, which adds support for advanced language models and image transducers. Additionally, AZ3 Pro-enabled devices come with Ominisense, a custom sensing platform for environmental AI.

The new Echo Show devices use a 13-megapixel camera, along with audio, ultrasonic, Wi-Fi radar, accelerometer, and Wi-Fi channel state information (CSI) sensors. This allows Alexa to respond to events in your home, such as alerting you when someone enters a room or alerting you to an open garage door before you go to bed at night.

The new Echo Dot Max, $99.99, has nearly triple the bass for better sound. The two-way speaker includes a woofer for deep bass and a custom tweeter for high notes.

Meanwhile, the $219.99 Echo Studio has a new spherical design that makes it 40 percent smaller than the original, according to Amazon. The Echo Studio also includes a high-excursion woofer, spatial audio and Dolby Atmos, and an upgraded light ring to make it easier to see what Alexa is doing or doing.

The company notes that consumers can connect up to five Echo Studio or Echo Dot Max devices to compatible Fire TV devices to create an immersive home audio system, and the company plans to sell the products in an Alexa Home Theater bundle.

There are also two new smart displays, the Echo Show 8 ($179.99) and Echo Show 11 ($219.99), both of which feature a new design, improved image quality, a 13-megapixel camera, larger screen real estate, new front-facing stereo speakers, a custom woofer, and Alexa+ support.