Amazon has announced a slew of new products today for its Echo family, including a new Echo, the Echo Connect, and now some buttons for those Echo and Alexa devices. These buttons will connect to the Echo using an API and they do light up. Amazon has been doing demos at this event in Seattle showing how the Echo Buttons would be great for games like trivia. Where you would need a buzzer to buzz in an answer the question before other people do. These buttons are essentially wireless from the Echo, and connect via the Gadget API. It’s likely that Amazon will find other ways to connect these buttons with the Echo in the future, and other use cases.
The Amazon Echo Buttons are fairly small, and are about the size and shape of a hockey puck, with a big light in the middle. It really looks like the buzzers you’ve seen on game shows like Family Feud and many others. These were made specifically for playing games with the family, and will work with all Echo products. This includes the Echo, Echo 2, Echo Dot, and Amazon Tap. Now it is unclear whether or not they will work with third-party Alexa products like the Eufy Genie or not. But these likely will after a software update, seeing as they connect via an API, which is indeed software. Amazon will be selling these Echo Buttons for $20 and they will come in two-packs. Now word yet on when exactly these will be available for purchase yet, but it should be launching later today.
These are a bit of an interesting product for the Echo, although not too surprising. Considering Amazon has been working to make it easier to play more games using the Echo, even if you are alone. Now with the Amazon Echo Buttons, Amazon is hoping that you’ll use the Echo for family game nights, making it a bit more fun. Amazon has given families one more reason to pick up an Echo with these Echo Buttons, especially if they do a lot of family game nights or get togethers.
