This is the new Echo speaker that Amazon just revealed for its 2020 lineup, and it looks like a Nexus Q.
If you’ve been around the Android scene long enough, you may remember the Nexus Q. It was a short-lived device from Google that was released in 2012. And although there are stark differences here, it’s hard not to look at the design and see the similarities either.
All that aside, Amazon decided to give its new 2020 Echo a spherical design because it felt the device needed a change. Visually, it still has some of the telltale signs of an Echo too. Like the fabric-covered top and the light ring around the base. It also doesn’t cost a whole lot.
The 2020 Amazon Echo will retail for $99
Amazon is keeping things simple here and charging the same price for the new Echo that it has for the last couple of them.
The new Echo speaker will retail for $99, and it comes with everything you’d expect from an Echo. Though it does have that new design as well as some new technology baked in.
On the technology side of things it has a new machine learning processor called the AZ1 Neural Edge. What this aims to do is listen for your commands and then process them using local onboard machine learning tech.
After which your responses are sent to the cloud like they always are. Amazon says this will help speed up the times for getting a response. So what this all breaks down to is just the device working faster than before.
If you ask it a question, then you’ll get an answer quicker with this Echo than you would on the earlier versions.
It comes in multiple colors and has a built-in Zigbee smart home hub
One of the other big new features is a built-in smart home hub. In the case of the new Echo, it’s a Zigbee hub.
This means you’ll be able to connect a network of your different smart home devices directly to each other through the new Echo. So long as they’re compatible with the Zigbee technology and software.
The new Echo also comes in a few different colors. There’s a darker Charcoal color, Glacier White, and one called Steel Blue. All three will be available at launch.
The release date for the new Echo will be October 22, but you can already pre-order the device if you want it to show up on launch day.
