The all-new Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio are Amazon’s ‘most advanced’ smart speakers yet

While Apple doesn’t seem to have any intention to release sequels for the second-gen HomePod or the one-and-done HomePod mini anytime soon, and Google’s next Nest smart speaker continues to keep us waiting and speculating for some reason, Amazon is out there doing what it does best.

Meet the “best Echo Dot ever built”

What do you do if you like the look and size of the ultra-affordable Echo Dot, but want a little extra power? Well, you can make a compromise on the former front and go for a “standard” fourth-gen Echo with a “normal” size or, starting today, you can pre-order the first-of-a-kind Echo Dot Max.

This bad boy is almost as compact as the 2022-released Echo Dot (5th Gen), but it comes with the same “room-filling sound” promise as the aforementioned non-compact Echo. That’s made possible by a “sophisticated” two-way speaker system with a high-excursion woofer in charge of producing “deep bass” and a custom tweeter for “crisp high notes.”

Compared to the latest Echo Dot edition, which normally costs $49.99, the Echo Dot Max claims to improve the bass power threefold, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the retail price is also bumped up to $99.99.

Early access to Alexa+ capabilities will be provided right out of the box with the Echo Dot Max when this powerful little guy starts shipping on October 29, and oh, let’s not forget about the “custom-designed” AZ3 chip packed by the new $99.99 smart speaker for better conversation detection and more “natural, free-flowing interactions with Alexa+.”

Interestingly enough, the Echo Dot Max’s launch seems to have led to the silent discontinuation of the “regular” Echo, which is no longer available from Amazon as it’s… no longer really needed.

A mighty new Echo Studio is also here

Naturally, that means the Echo Studio (2nd Gen) is now the company’s best-sounding speaker, incredibly squeezing a powerful high-excursion woofer and three “optimally placed” full-range drivers into a 40 percent (!!!) smaller body than the 2019 edition.

Like its predecessor, the new Echo Studio comes with state-of-the-art spatial audio and Dolby Atmos technology for a “true surround sound experience”, and like the Echo Dot Max, a “modern” spherical design is adopted to help with the style and coherence of the Echo roster.

It pretty much goes without saying that the 2025 Amazon Echo Studio will support all Alexa+ experiences out of the box while packing a fancier version of that aforementioned AZ3 processor unsurprisingly dubbed AZ3 Pro for “advanced performance.”

Up for pre-order today in Graphite and Glacier White colorways, the upgraded and redesigned Echo Studio is only slightly costlier than the original edition, at $219.99, shipping to its earliest adopters on October 29… and looking highly unlikely to receive a price cut during next week’s 48-hour Prime Day extravaganza.

Should you pull the trigger?

While Apple and Google’s lack of activity these last few years in the smart speaker landscape might suggest that this product category is either dead or slowly dying, Amazon is almost singlehandedly trying to keep these devices alive… after essentially creating this market on its own all those years back.

If you still find smart speakers useful and still like to talk to Alexa rather than ChatGPT or Gemini, I don’t believe you’ll be able to get better, prettier, more powerful, or more versatile gadgets than the new Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio this holiday season, so by all means you should probably put in your order today to secure your place in front of the line at the end of the month.

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