Amazon announced five new Alexa devices on 28 October 2026: a new Echo Dot, Echo Studio with Home Camera, Echo Time, Alexa Photo Frame and a redesigned Echo Show 16. For smart home users the Dot is the interesting one, because it is the first Echo Dot with a built-in smart home hub.
Echo Dot: a cheap hub with Zigbee, Matter and Thread
The new Dot supports Zigbee, Matter and Thread, so it can connect lights, locks, thermostats and other compatible devices directly, without a separate bridge. It also works as an eero Wi-Fi extender that Amazon says adds up to 1,000 square feet of coverage to an existing network. Engadget points out that the "existing" wording suggests you may need an eero router already.
Inside is Amazon's AZ3 chip with an AI accelerator for on-device voice processing, and a fourth microphone that should help with hearing you across the room and with Voice ID. Omnisense, the room temperature and presence sensing from earlier models, stays, so the Dot can still trigger routines when someone walks in. Amazon also claims 50% more bass than the previous generation.
The Echo Dot ships now for $99.99 in Graphite, Glacier White, Agave Green and Coral Pink. The Amazon Kids Echo Dot, in Penguin and Octopus designs, costs $109.99 with a year of Kids+.
Echo Show 16 and the other screens
The Echo Show 16 has a 16-inch full HD screen that Amazon says is nearly 40% thinner, with 10% more viewing area, plus an optional Nanomatte finish that cuts glare by more than 90%. Screen Styles turn it into a family organiser, a photo frame or a smart home dashboard with the new Alexa Home Map, which shows lights, locks, thermostats and cameras where they sit in the home. Fire TV is built in, and the camera gets auto-framing and, for the first time on an Echo Show, night vision for Live View. Preorders start at $499.99, or $569.99 with Nanomatte.
Echo Time is a $199.99 bedside clock with a 3.2-inch round touchscreen and no camera. Its Omnisense sleep sensing is opt-in and uses room sensors rather than a wearable to wake you within 10 to 60 minutes of your alarm, during lighter sleep, with a display that brightens like a sunrise. Alexa Photo Frame has a 10-inch anti-glare touchscreen and syncs with Amazon Photos.
Echo Studio with Home Camera
The Echo Studio with Home Camera adds a camera to Amazon's premium speaker. You can check on the room from the Alexa app, show objects to Alexa, and later make video calls through a compatible Fire TV. It costs $249.99 and ships now, while the standard Echo Studio stays at $219.99.
What it means for home automation
A $99.99 Dot with Zigbee and Thread puts a hub into homes that never planned to buy one. For anyone also running Home Assistant or another controller, the key detail is Matter: a Matter device added to the Dot can also be shared with a second controller. A Zigbee device paired directly to the Dot joins Amazon's Zigbee network instead, so decide which hub gets which device before you start pairing.
Amazon notes that some features require Alexa+, which is included with Prime.