Amazon Launches Echo Studio Smart Speaker With Built-In Camera
Amazon has refreshed its smart speaker range and released the Echo Studio with Home Camera, which has a built-in camera. It costs $250 and keeps the Dolby Atmos sound and Alexa+ features.
Technology company Amazon has substantially reworked its Echo Studio smart speaker as part of a broader refresh of its smart speaker lineup. The new device, called the Echo Studio with Home Camera, has a built-in camera that sees everything in front of it. It costs $250, which is $30 more than the standard Echo Studio.
What the camera does
The speaker can stream video to Live View in the Alexa app, so users can check on a cat or see whether they left the lights on. With Alexa+, it can also help with everyday tasks, such as reordering cereal or explaining the rules of a board game. The speaker can also work as a webcam for personal or business video calls.
At a demo event in New York City, Amazon's head of devices Panos Panay used the speaker to call his father. Cherlynn Low of the technology site Engadget confirmed the camera worked by waving energetically in the background. A connected Fire TV showed Panay's parents.
Sound remains the main selling point
Amazon also sells cheaper camera-equipped devices, such as the Echo Show 5, so the company stressed that the new Studio version's main strength is still sound quality. It has the same high-excursion woofer for deep bass, three full-range drivers for midrange and highs, and Dolby Atmos spatial audio.
A new feature, Advanced Room Adaptation, continuously tunes the sound to the room's acoustics. Another, Adaptive Volume, adjusts to the listener's position so that music and podcasts keep the same relative volume as the user moves around a room.
The standard Echo Studio from 2025 remains available for $220 for those who want high-quality audio without a camera.
