Amazon adds room monitoring camera to premium Echo Studio speaker
Amazon has added a camera to a new version of its premium Echo Studio, letting it monitor a room, show things to Alexa and, in future, support video calls through Fire TV devices. The launch also brings sound features that adjust audio to the room and the listener’s position.
The Echo Studio with Home Camera costs $249.99 and comes in graphite, while the standard model remains available for $219.99. Amazon also announced a new Echo Dot for $99.99, with an AZ3 chip, a built-in smart home hub supporting Zigbee, Matter and Thread, and an Eero Wi-Fi extender said to cover up to 1,000 square feet.
In short
- The new Echo Studio adds a camera for room monitoring and Alexa.
- Video calls through Fire TV are planned for a future update.
- A new Echo Dot adds smart home features and Wi-Fi coverage.
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The case for
A camera could make the Echo Studio more useful by letting people check on a room, show Alexa what they need help with, and eventually make video calls through Fire TV. For customers who value convenience and already trust smart speakers at home, combining these functions with room-adaptive sound may justify the higher price.
The case against
Adding a camera to a speaker in a private room may make people uneasy about surveillance, data handling and accidental access, even if the feature is optional or controllable. The added cost and complexity may also outweigh the benefits for people who want a speaker primarily for music or prefer cameras and voice assistants to remain separate.
Explained simply
Amazon’s Echo devices combine speakers with Alexa, its voice assistant, which can answer questions and control connected home equipment. Echo Studio is the larger, higher-priced speaker in the range, designed for room-filling sound; Echo Dot is a smaller model.
A camera adds another way for Alexa to take in information about a room, while the speaker’s sound features can adapt playback to its surroundings. Amazon’s products also connect with smart home standards such as Matter and Thread, which help devices from different brands work together. These changes matter to people choosing how much to spend and what roles they want a speaker to play at home.
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Originally published by The Verge as “Amazon’s new Echo Studio speaker has a camera”.