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Amazon Echo, often shortened to Echo, is an American brand of smart speakers developed by
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
. Echo devices connect to the voice-controlled
intelligent personal assistant An intelligent virtual assistant (IVA) or intelligent personal assistant (IPA) is a software agent that can perform tasks or services for an individual based on commands or questions. The term "chatbot" is sometimes used to refer to virtual ...
service '' Alexa'', which will respond when a user says "Alexa". Users may change this ''wake word'' to "Amazon", "Echo", "
Computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ( computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These prog ...
", as well as some other options. The features of the device include voice interaction, music playback, making
to-do list Time management is the process of planning and exercising conscious control of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity. It involves of various demands upon a person relating to work, s ...
s, setting alarms, streaming
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
s, and playing
audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...
s, in addition to providing weather, traffic and other real-time information. It can also control several
smart device A smart device is an electronic device, generally connected to other devices or networks via different wireless protocols (such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, near-field communication, Wi-Fi, LiFi, or 5G) that can operate to some extent interactively a ...
s, acting as a
home automation Home automation or domotics is building automation for a home, called a smart home or smart house. A home automation system will monitor and/or control home attributes such as lighting, climate, entertainment systems, and appliances. It m ...
hub. Amazon started developing Echo devices inside its Lab126 offices in
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Cou ...
and in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
as early as 2010. The device represented one of its first attempts to expand its device portfolio beyond the Kindle
e-reader An e-reader, also called an e-book reader or e-book device, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and periodicals. Any device that can display text on a screen may act as an e-read ...
. Amazon initially limited the first-generation Echo to
Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...
members or just by invitation, but it became widely available in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
in mid 2015, and subsequently in other countries. Additionally, the Alexa voice service is available to be added to other devices, and Amazon encourages other companies' devices and services to connect to it.


History

Work on the Amazon Echo began in 2011, known as "Project D". It was named this because the Kindle was Project A and the Fire Phone was Project B. The Amazon Echo was an offshoot of Project C. Project C is unknown, even though the work on it has stopped. The Amazon Echo was originally supposed to be called the Amazon Flash. The wake word, the word that makes the device responsive, for the Echo used to be "Amazon". Both of these attributes were disliked by Lab126, the division of Amazon that conducts research and development and creates computer hardware. Lab126 believed that "Amazon" is too much of a commonly used word, and the device would react when it was not intended to.
Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ''né'' Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, and commercial astronaut. He is the founder, executive chairman, and former presi ...
, the CEO of Amazon, ended up being influenced by Lab126 to change the name of the device to the Amazon Echo and the wake word to "Alexa". The Amazon Echo was originally pitched as only a smart speaker, it was not originally intended to be a smart home hub, as it is now, until after it was launched. As Alexa, the artificial intelligence (A.I.) that powers the Amazon Echo, improved, the device became more of a controlling center for smart home appliances. Dave Isbitski, the chief developer evangelist for the Echo and Alexa, received calls from smart home manufacturers to discuss connecting their devices, after the release of the Amazon Echo. But smart home devices had a problem: people were not buying smart home devices because they often required an extra app in order to be used, which was not much better than just using the device manually. The Amazon Echo (1st Generation) was initially released in March 2014 for
Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...
and invited members, and was marketed alongside the voice of the product, Alexa. Alexa is a voice associated with the Amazon Echo that will respond to questions and requests through artificial intelligence.
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
has claimed that the voice of Alexa was inspired by electronic
communications system A communications system or communication system is a collection of individual telecommunications networks, transmission systems, relay stations, tributary stations, and terminal equipment usually capable of interconnection and interoperat ...
s featured in the television series '' Star Trek: The Original Series'' and '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. The Echo featured prominently in Amazon's first
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
broadcast television advertisement in 2016. In March 2016 Amazon released a byproduct of the Amazon Echo, called the Amazon Echo Dot. This device is an ice hockey puck sized version of the original Amazon Echo released in 2014, and it has the same capabilities. This product was designed to be used in smaller rooms such as bedrooms due to its limited speaker capabilities (size) or to be paired with an external speaker. In November 2016 the second generation of the Echo Dot was released for a lower price with improved voice recognition and new colors. The second generation of the Amazon Echo was released in October 2017. This update offered better voice recognition and a fabric covering exterior. Subsequently, other variants of the Amazon Echo have been released. In May 2017 Amazon released the now-discontinued Amazon Tap, a portable, slightly smaller version of the Amazon Echo. Although the two products are similar the Tap is battery powered, portable, and requires the touch of a button in order to enable voice commands. In April 2017 the Amazon Echo Look was released to invitees only, as an Amazon Echo with a built in camera. It was designed as a speaker, that is also handy with artificial intelligence that has smart algorithms to help users pick out outfits. It was released to the general public in August 2018. In June 2018 the Amazon Echo Show was released to the public as a device with a 7-inch screen used for streaming media, making video calls and the use of Alexa. The second generation of the device was made available in November 2018 and features a 10-inch screen with improved speakers.


Features


Overview of operation

In the default mode, the device continuously listens to all speech, monitoring for the wake word to be spoken, which is primarily set up as "Alexa" (derived from
Alexa Internet Alexa Internet, Inc. was an American web traffic analysis company based in San Francisco. It was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amazon. Alexa was founded as an independent company in 1996 and acquired by Amazon in 1999 for $250 million in stoc ...
, the Amazon-owned Internet indexing company). Echo's microphones can be manually disabled by pressing a mute button to turn off the audio processing circuit. Echo devices require a wireless Internet connection in order to work. Echo's voice recognition capability is based on
Amazon Web Services Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments, on a metered pay-as-you-go basis. These cloud computing web services provide d ...
and the voice platform Amazon acquired from Yap,
Evi Evi or EVI may refer to: People * Evi (Midianite king) * Evi (given name) Other uses * EVI (European Vaccine Initiative) * Evi (software), a British software developer * .evi, the filename extension used by Envoy (WordPerfect) * EVI, the ICA ...
, and IVONA (a Polish-based specialist in voice technologies used in the Kindle Fire). Echo device requires one time setup by pairing it with your Alexa app which gives you more control over the features. The smart speakers perform well with a "good" (low-latency) Internet connection, which minimizes processing time due to minimal communication round trips,
streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...
responses and geo-distributed service endpoints. While the application is free, an Amazon account is required, and setup is not possible without one.


Available services

Echo devices offer weather from
AccuWeather AccuWeather Inc. is an American media company that provides commercial weather forecasting services worldwide. AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Pennsylvania State University graduate student working on a master's degree ...
and news from a variety of sources, including local radio stations, BBC, NPR, and
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
from
TuneIn TuneIn is a global audio streaming service delivering live news, radio, sports, music, and podcasts to over 75 million monthly active users. TuneIn is operated by the company TuneIn Inc. which is based in San Francisco, California. The compan ...
and
iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. , iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbrella brand for iHe ...
. Echo can play music from the owner's Amazon Music accounts and has built-in support for other streaming music services like
Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights ...
,
Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Appl ...
,
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active use ...
,
Deezer Deezer is a French online music streaming service. It allows users to listen to music content from record labels, as well as podcasts on various devices online or offline. Created in Paris, Deezer currently has 90 million licensed tracks in ...
,
Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora (Greek language, Greek: , derived from , ''pān'', i.e. "all" and , ''dōron'', i.e. "gift", thus "the all-endowed", "all-gifted" or "all-giving") was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions ...
and
Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
among others, and has support for IFTTT and
Nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...
thermostats. Echo can also play music from non-compatible music streaming services such as Google Play Music from a phone or tablet via
Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
. Echo maintains voice-controlled alarms, timers, shopping and to-do lists and can access
Wikipedia Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read refer ...
articles. Echo will respond to questions about items in one's Google Calendar. It also integrates with Yonomi,
Philips Hue Philips Hue is a line of color-changing LED lamps and white bulbs which can be controlled wirelessly. The Philips Hue line of bulbs was the first smart bulb of its kind on the market. The lamps are currently created and manufactured by Signify ...
,
Belkin Wemo WEMO, a subsidiary of Belkin, are a series of products from Belkin that enable users to control home electronics remotely. The product suite includes electrical plugs, motion sensors, light switches, cameras, light bulbs, and a mobile app. P ...
, SmartThings, Insteon, and Wink. Additionally, integration with the Echo is in the works for Countertop by Orange Chef,
Sonos SONOS, short for "silicon–oxide–nitride–oxide–silicon", more precisely, " polycrystalline silicon"—"silicon dioxide"—" silicon nitride"—"silicon dioxide"—"silicon", is a cross sectional structure of MOSFET (metal-oxide-semicondu ...
, Scout Alarm,
Garageio Garageio is a smart home garage door controller created by Alottazs Labs, LLC headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Alottazs Labs, LLC is a privately held company founded in October 2012. Garageio is an Internet of Things product providing managed gar ...
, Toymail, MARA, and Mojio. Questions like "Who is Barack Obama?" are answered by reading the first few lines of the corresponding Wikipedia article. Echo devices also have access to "skills" built with the Alexa Skills Kit. These are third-party-developed voice applications that add to the capabilities of any Alexa-enabled device (such as the Echo). Examples of skills include the ability to play music, answer general questions, set an alarm, order a pizza or a ridesharing car (e.g.,
Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery ( Uber Eats and Postmates), pa ...
, Lyft), and more. Skills are continuously being added to increase the capabilities available to the user. For example, one new skill that Alexa has learned is the ability to play "games" with users. One such game is "Escape the Garage" in which the user must correctly answer questions that Alexa asks, while figuring out a way to escape. The Alexa Skills Kit is a collection of self-service
application programming interface An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
s (API), tools, documentation and code samples that make it fast and easy for any developer to add skills to Alexa. Developers can also use the "Smart Home Skill API", a new addition to the Alexa Skills Kit, to easily teach Alexa how to control cloud-controlled lighting and thermostat devices. All of the code runs in the cloud and nothing is on any user device. A developer can follow tutorials to learn how to quickly build voice-response capability for their new and existing applications. In November 2018, a major new feature was launched that will allow users to make
Skype Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, debi ...
calls. Every past and present Echo device will be able to dial a number via Skype. Echo devices that have a display will offer full video Skype capability. In May 2019, Amazon released Alexa Guard. If "Away mode" is enabled, if an Echo device detects the sound of smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, or glass breaking, it will send alerts to the Alexa app on smartphones. If the user has professional monitoring, it can send alerts directly to the security provider. It can also switch smart lights on and off to make it look like someone is home. Amazon also offers Guard Plus, this paid for option enables other features such as playing the sound of a dog barking when an intruder is detected.


Voice Services

The
Alexa Voice Service Amazon Alexa, also known simply as Alexa, is a virtual assistant technology largely based on a Polish speech synthesiser named Ivona, bought by Amazon in 2013. It was first used in the Amazon Echo smart speaker and the Echo Dot, Echo Studio an ...
(AVS) allows developers to voice-enable connected products with a microphone and speaker. The AVS enables volume control, audio playback, and speech recognition. The devices have natural lifelike voices resulting from speech-unit technology. High speech accuracy is achieved through sophisticated
natural language processing Natural language processing (NLP) is an interdisciplinary subfield of linguistics, computer science, and artificial intelligence concerned with the interactions between computers and human language, in particular how to program computers to proc ...
(NLP) algorithms built into the Echo's
text-to-speech Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware products. A text-to-speech (TTS) system converts normal langu ...
(TTS) engine.


Software updates

As with all Alexa devices, the functionality of Echo smart speakers periodically evolves as Amazon releases new software for it. Most new releases fix bugs in addition to including enhanced functionality. New releases are pushed to the devices on a gradual basis so it may take several days to a week or more for a particular device to be updated. Because much of Echo's intelligence lies in the cloud, significant functional enhancements can be made to Echo without updating the software version it is running. For example, in April 2015, the Echo added the ability to give live sports scores without updating the software version running on the device.


Smart Home

The Amazon Echo is able to connect to many different smart home devices. Thermostats, humidifiers, lightbulbs, plugs, dog and cat feeder, door locks, cameras, thermostats, security systems, speakers, WiFi, televisions, vacuums, microwaves, printers, and other smart home devices can now all be controlled through Alexa. Alexa can be used to activate and deactivate all of these smart home appliances, as well as change their settings depending on the device. For example, Alexa can be used to change the temperature in a house through a thermostat, turn off the lights with smart lights, put out dog or cat food via a smart pet feeder, and activate the security systems via a smart security system. The user is able to organize these smart home devices by putting them into groups. For example, a user can make a "Music Group" on the Amazon Echo. The Amazon Echo will be able to play music and other media in multiple rooms in a house through other Echos and speakers that are in the "Music Group". Along with multiple groups, an Amazon Echo can hold multiple profiles. Switching between the profiles can allow users to play their music, access their calendars, and use their accounts for shopping, instead of just using one person's. In December 2021, an outage of Amazon's cloud service caused smart home devices to stop working.


Hands-free

Amazon Echos are able to make calls and send messages. Users can make calls to another Amazon Echo or speaker that is in the house by calling the device name. Users can also make calls and send messages to other people that have an Amazon Echo. This is done by connecting the user's contacts to the Amazon Echo. The user's Amazon Echo will call their contact's Amazon Echo. They will be able to have a conversation using the Amazon Echos. Messages will go to the contact's phone, in the Alexa App. The message can also be played on the Echo.


Variants


Echo

The first-generation Amazon Echo consists of a 9.25 inch (23.5 cm) tall cylinder speaker with a seven-piece microphone array. The Echo hardware complement includes a
Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globa ...
DM3725 ARM Cortex-A8 processor, 256MB of LPDDR1 RAM and 4GB of storage space. , the first-generation Echo maintained an 83% score on GearCaliber, a review aggregator. Although the Echo is intended to be voice-controlled at the unit, a microphone-enabled remote control similar to the one bundled with the
Amazon Fire TV Amazon Fire TV (stylized as amazon fireTV) is a line of digital media players and microconsoles developed by Amazon. The devices are small network appliances that deliver digital audio and video content streamed via the Internet to a connected ...
is available for purchase. The remote was also bundled with early units. An action button on top of the unit is provided for user setup in a new location, and the mute button allows the microphones to be turned off. The top half-inch of the unit rotates to increase or decrease the speaker volume. The Echo must be plugged in to operate since it has no internal battery. Echo provides dual-band
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves ...
802.11a/b/g/n and
Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) support for audio streaming and Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP) for voice control of connected mobile devices. The mainline
Linux kernel The Linux kernel is a free and open-source, monolithic, modular, multitasking, Unix-like operating system kernel. It was originally authored in 1991 by Linus Torvalds for his i386-based PC, and it was soon adopted as the kernel for the GNU ...
is able to boot the Amazon Echo since version 5.6. In September 2020, the 4th gen Echo was announced replacing the Echo and Echo Plus devices in a new spherical form-factor. The Echo brings the Echo Plus'
Zigbee Zigbee is an IEEE 802.15.4-based specification for a suite of high-level communication protocols used to create personal area networks with small, low-power digital radios, such as for home automation, medical device data collection, and oth ...
smart home hub with support for Amazon Sidewalk.


Limited editions

As part of a holiday promotion,
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...
player Marshawn Lynch drove the
Treasure Truck Treasure Truck was a free subscription-based service offered to Amazon customers in the US and UK. It notified subscribers of hand selected offers and experiences via SMS. History The first Treasure Truck was released in Amazon's hometown of Se ...
around
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
in December 2016 selling a limited-edition beast-mode Echo with a custom skin. The beast-mode version was a first-generation Echo that responded to a user's commands with Marshawn Lynch's voice, instead of the Alexa voice. In November 2017, a
Product Red Product Red, stylized as (PRODUCT) or (PRODUCT)RED, is a licensed brand by the company Red, stylized as (RED), that seeks to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds to help eliminate HIV/AIDS in eight African countries, namely E ...
version of the second-generation Echo was announced as a limited edition item. Another special version of Echo is the Alexa Super Skills Collectible edition, which was given to select Amazon Alexa developers who published five skills between July 22 and October 30, 2017. This special variant comes with a white mask, a blue cape, and a blue belt.


Availability

Amazon initially limited the first-generation Echo to
Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...
members or just by invitation, but it became widely available in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
in mid 2015. In 2016, the Echo became available in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
and Germany. , the Echo was available in 40 countries:
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
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Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
,
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
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Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
,
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
,
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
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Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
, the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
,
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
,
El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south ...
,
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...
,
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
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Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
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Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
,
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
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Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
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Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
,
Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
,
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German language, German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constit ...
,
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
,
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
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Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
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Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
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New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
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Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
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Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
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Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
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Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
,
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
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Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
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United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
, the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, and
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
. In 2018, Amazon and Microsoft jointly announced a solution to integrate their digital assistants so that Cortana, Microsoft's voice assistant, could be called from an Amazon Echo device and Alexa could be called from Windows devices, including PCs. In January 2019, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Cortana would no longer be a platform competitor to Alexa or Google Assistant, but rather a voice skill to access Microsoft 365 via other voice assistants. As of April 2019, Alexa was the only Cortana-integrated voice assistant, which gave it exclusive access to Microsoft's suite of business applications.


Echo Dot


1st Gen

In March 2016, Amazon unveiled the original Amazon Echo Dot, which is a
hockey puck A hockey puck is either an open or closed disk used in a variety of sports and games. There are designs made for use on an ice surface, such as in ice hockey, and others for the different variants of floor hockey which includes the wheeled skat ...
-sized version of the Echo designed to be connected to external speakers due to the smaller size of the onboard speakers, or to be used in rooms such as the bedroom as an alternative to the full-sized Echo. Beyond these distinctions, the Amazon Echo Dot possesses the same functions as the original Amazon Echo. External third-party portable batteries are available for the Dot.


2nd Gen

The second generation of the Amazon Echo Dot became available on October 20, 2016. It is priced lower, has improved voice recognition, and is available in black, grey and white. The Echo Spatial Perception (ESP) technology allows several Echo and Dot units to work together so that only one device answers the request. , the Echo Dot maintained a 78% score on GearCaliber, based on 23 reviews. On August 18, 2017, an Amazon promotion allowed Amazon Prime customers to receive a 100% price reduction on the Echo Dot (from $49.99 to $0.00). Amazon never commented on the promotion or gave any indication of how many Dots were given away.


3rd Gen

In September 2018, an updated Echo Dot (3rd gen) was unveiled with a fabric covering. In January 2019, Amazon's SVP of devices and services, Dave Limp, revealed that over 100 million Alexa-enabled devices had been sold. The company's earnings reports and press releases also reveal that the Echo Dot has been among the top-selling products on Amazon.com for 2017 and 2018. In July 2021, Amazon ran a promotion to give a price discount on the Echo Dot, reducing the price from $39.99 to $4.99 with a coupon code.


4th Gen

In September 2020, the fourth generation Echo Dot was revealed with a new spherical design and 30% smaller compared to the 3rd gen Echo.


Amazon Tap

The Amazon Tap is a smaller portable version of the Echo. The Tap can do the many things the Echo can do; however, as it is battery-powered, it is also portable. Initially, the user had to press an activation button on the front of the Tap to speak commands. However, a February 2017 software update allows the option of activating the Tap with an activation word, just like the Echo and the Dot. Some of the limitations of the Tap include not being able to stream music as part of a group and not being able to send announcements to the device. Additionally the Tap does not support "Drop In" feature and as a result cannot be used for two-way voice communication. Amazon has discontinued the Tap. This has encouraged 3rd party accessory manufacturers to make available battery add-on units for other Echo products.


Echo Look

In April 2017, the Amazon Echo Look was introduced as a camera with Alexa built-in, for US$20 more than the first-generation Echo. The device can provide artificial intelligence outfit recommendations, take photos, and record videos; in addition to the features available on the Echo. It offers Amazon Alexa's key feature plus a camera to take full-length photos and 360-degree videos with built-in AI for fashion advice. As a consumer product, it helps catalog users' outfits and rates their looks based on "machine learning algorithms with advice from fashion specialists. The device was initially only available for purchase by invitation-only in the U.S. However, it became generally available on 6 June 2018. Three years later, Echo Look owners received an email from Amazon stating that the device would soon stop working, because Amazon was discontinuing production and sales of the device. Echo Look owners had a device that they could not use.


Echo Show

In May 2017, Amazon introduced the Echo Show, which features a tactile 7-inch
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screen that can be used for playing media, making video calls (5 MP front camera), and other features. The Echo Show was offered for purchase at a price of $229.99 on June 28, 2017 and was initially only available in the U.S. A second generation of the Echo Show was unveiled at an Alexa-themed product event by Amazon on September 20, 2018 for release the following month. The new device has a 10-inch touchscreen, improved speakers, and mesh casing. Amazon has released two additional sizes of the Echo Show making them available in both 5- and 8-inch displays. These devices broke the traditional naming mechanism of naming strictly on generation. They are known as the Echo show 5 and Echo Show 8. As of 2021, Amazon announced an Echo Show 15 at their "Introducing the latest products and services" event with a 15-inch display.


Echo Spot

On 27 September 2017, Amazon launched the Echo Spot, a hemispherical device that has the same functions as an Echo Show. The device has a 2.5-inch circular screen, and looks like an alarm clock. The device sold for $129.99. The Echo Spot has been discontinued in all regions.


Echo Plus

On 27 September 2017, Amazon announced the Echo Plus, which released on 31 October 2017. It shares design similarities with the first-generation Echo, but also doubles as a smart home hub, connecting to most common wireless protocols to control connected smart devices within a home. It incorporates seven second-generation far field microphones and noise cancellation, while also supporting
Dolby Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (often shortened to Dolby Labs and known simply as Dolby) is an American company specializing in audio noise reduction, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and HDR imaging. Dolby licenses its technologies to ...
Sound. In September 2018, a second-generation Echo Plus was released. The new version has a fabric covering and includes an embedded temperature sensor. The Echo Plus has since been discontinued in 2020.


Echo Flex

On 14 November 2019, Amazon released the Echo Flex for $24.99. It is a small device with a speaker that can be plugged directly into a wall outlet. It has a full-sized USB Type-A port into the bottom to charge other devices or into which additional accessories, such as a motion sensor, can be plugged.


Speakerless devices

At an Alexa-themed product launch event in September 2018, Amazon announced an Echo device designed for cars. The device connects with the user's smartphone over Bluetooth and offers driving direction, in addition to other Alexa functionality. Echo Auto became available as an invite-only product to US customers near the end of 2018. The Echo Input is an Alexa input device with no on-board speakers. It must be connected to external speakers for audio output. The Echo Link is a higher-end version of the Echo Input, with additional output ports and a volume knob. The Echo Link Amp has the same controls of the Link, but with an
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.


Accessories

Along with the second-generation Echo, Amazon announced two new accessories. The Echo Buttons can be used while playing games on Echo devices, such as ''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
''. The Echo Connect is a small adapter that plugs into any Echo and a home phone line, allowing the Echo to make voice calls through a home phone number. In September 2018, Amazon announced the Echo Sub, a
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that connects to other Echo speakers, and the Echo Wall Clock, which can display how much time is remaining on timers set with an Echo device.


Wearables

Amazon announced the Echo Loop in September 2019, a
smart ring A smart ring is a wearable electronics device with advanced mobile components that combine features of mobile devices with innovative features useful for mobile or handheld use. Smart rings, which are typically the size of traditional rings or la ...
with a button that activates Alexa. The Echo Loop uses
Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
to connect to a smartphone for Internet access. The Echo Frames
smartglasses Smartglasses or smart glasses are eye or head-worn wearable computers that offer useful capabilities to the user. Many smartglasses include displays that add information alongside or to what the wearer sees. Alternatively, smartglasses are som ...
, which support prescription lenses, were also announced on the same day.


Privacy concerns

There are concerns about the access Echo has to private conversations in the home, or other non-verbal indications that can identify who is present in the home and who is not—based on audible cues such as footstep cadence or radio and television programming. Amazon responds to these concerns by stating that Echo only streams recordings from the user's home when the "wake word" activates the device, though the device is technically capable of streaming voice recordings at all times, and in fact will always be listening to detect if a user has uttered the word. Echo uses past voice recordings the user has sent to the cloud service to improve response to future questions the user may pose. To address privacy concerns, the user can delete voice recordings that are currently associated with the user's account, but doing so may degrade the user's experience using voice search. To delete these recordings, the user can visit the "Manage My Device" page on Amazon.com or contact Amazon customer service. In May 2018, it was reported that an Echo device had sent a recorded conversation to an acquaintance of a user who did not intend for this to happen. Amazon apologized and conjectured that one part of the conversation had been misinterpreted as a command to distribute it. Echo uses an address set in the Alexa companion app when it needs a location. Amazon and third-party apps and websites use location information to provide location-based services and store this information to provide voice services, the Maps app, ''Find Your Device'', and to monitor the performance and accuracy of location services. For example, Echo voice services use the user's location to respond to the user's requests for nearby restaurants or stores. Similarly, Echo uses the user's location to process the user's mapping-related requests and improve the Maps experience. All information collected is subject to the Amazon.com Privacy Notice. Amazon retains digital recordings of users' audio spoken after the "wake up word", and while the audio recordings are subject to demands by law enforcement, government agents, and other entities via subpoena, Amazon publishes some information about the warrants it receives, the subpoenas it receives, and some of the warrant-less demands it receives, allowing customers some indication as to the percentage of illegal demands for customer information it receives. As Amazon employed ex-US-security-chief Gen Keith B. Alexander in autumn 2020, Edward Snowden commented laconically: "It turns out 'Hey Alexa' is short for 'Hey Keith Alexander."


Echo as criminal evidence

During the course of the investigation into the November 22, 2015 death of Victor Collins in the home of James Andrew Bates in
Bentonville, Arkansas Bentonville is the tenth-largest city in Arkansas, United States and the county seat of Benton County. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers adjacent to the east. The city is the birthplace of and world headquarters locatio ...
, police sought the data stored on the Amazon Echo on the premises as evidence, but were refused by Amazon. The conflict was resolved when Bates consented to the release of his personal information that was held by the company.


Concerns relating to in-car smart systems

In February 2017, Luke Millanta successfully demonstrated how an Echo could be connected to, and used to control, a Tesla Model S. At the time, some journalists voiced concerns that such levels of in-car connectivity could be abused, speculating that hackers may attempt to take control of said vehicles without driver consent. Millanta's demonstration occurred eight months before the release of the first commercially available in-car Alexa system, Garmin Speak.


Limitations

Purchasing merchandise in the categories of apparel, shoes, jewelry, and watches is not available. In addition,
Amazon Prime Pantry Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...
, Prime Now, or Add-On items are not supported by Alexa's ordering function, while the shopping list function allows no more than one item to be added at a time. Echo has provided inconsistent responses when asked common questions to which users would expect better answers. Echo sometimes confuses certain
homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (pa ...
s.


See also

*
Google Home Google Nest, previously named Google Home, is a line of smart speakers developed by Google under the Google Nest brand. The devices enable users to speak voice commands to interact with services through Google Assistant, the company's virtual ...
* HomePod * INVOKE


References


External links

*
''Unacceptable'', where is my privacy? Exploring Accidental Triggers of Smart Speakers
{{Smart speaker Echo Products introduced in 2014 Smart speakers Smart home hubs