Amazon has officially announced its third-gen Echo smart speaker at an event today.
It costs $100, and comes with improved audio that the company says gives it better bass. What’s more is the company seems to be planning to start shipping the device soon.
The Amazon Echo third-gen is going up for pre-order today
You’ll be able to pre-order the newest version of Amazon’s popular smart speaker later today. While the company hasn’t announced any release dates yet, or the exact time of when pre-orders will go live, it did mention that pre-orders would begin on September 25.
Currently the new 2019 version of the speaker isn’t available on the Amazon website, so it’s likely pre-orders won’t begin till at least after the event is over.
Once the pre-orders begin, there should be a better idea of when the speaker will actually ship to consumers. If Amazon doesn’t announce it at some point during its event.
Stronger bass and clearer audio comes from new components
One of the big improvements for this year’s Echo refresh is the better audio. To make that possible Amazon has added Neodymium drivers to the third-gen Echo. It’s also added a 3-inch woofer inside.
Amazon says this allows for the speaker to put out audio with clearer mids and highs in addition to the stronger bass. The neodymium drivers are also the same ones that are available inside the Echo Plus.
The speaker comes in a new Twilight Blue color
Amazon has kept the same general design for this year’s Echo. That doesn’t mean the speaker doesn’t have anything new about it, as it will come in a new color.
The new color is called Twilight Blue, but is still made up in the fabric material that was seen on the Echo second-gen. This means a more familiar design that consumers will be used to, only slightly updated.
Amazon is also offering the new Echo in the previously available colors. Which are Sandstone, Heather Gray, and Charcoal. The Amazon Echo Third-Gen is one of many devices that the company has announced today.
Alongside it, it has also announced the Echo Studio, a more powerful smart speaker that focuses mainly on higher quality audio and premium sound. It’ll cost $100 more than the new Echo speaker.
It has also introduced consumers to the latest version of the Echo Dot, which comes with a clock so it can be used more like a proper alarm.
Update:
Pre-orders for the new Echo smart speaker are live, and the device will ship on October 16.