Amazon has announced a new Echo lineup, and its pages say "today" for availability (we read them on Oct. 28): a redesigned Echo Dot, an Echo Studio that now comes with a camera, a camera-free Echo Time clock, and a 16-inch Echo Show. Everything below comes from Amazon's own announcement pages, and we have not tested any of it.

Prices and availability

  • Echo Dot: $99.99. Amazon says it ships today. The Kids version is $109.99 and includes a year of Amazon Kids+. Amazon lists an optional $39.99 stand, sold separately, for the Kids Dot.
  • Echo Studio with Home Camera: $249.99. Amazon's announcement says it ships today. The standard Echo Studio stays at $219.99. Amazon lists the same optional $39.99 stand for the camera model.
  • Echo Time: $199.99, available today. The Kids version starts at $209.99 with a year of Kids+.
  • Echo Show 16: from $499.99, or $569.99 with the Nanomatte screen. It is open for preorder with $100 off, and Amazon does not state a ship date.
  • Alexa Photo Frame: a 10-inch frame with Alexa built in. Amazon gives no price or date.

Amazon also says "certain features require Alexa+, which is included with a Prime membership." It does not say which features.

What this means for you: which one to buy

  • Echo Dot, $99.99: our pick for most people (our judgment, not Amazon's). It is the first Dot with a built-in smart home hub for compatible lights, locks and thermostats, and a built-in eero Wi-Fi extender that Amazon says covers up to 1,000 square feet of an existing eero network. Amazon says it has 50% more bass than the last Dot and runs on its AZ3 chip.
  • Echo Studio, $219.99 or $249.99: our pick if sound matters most. Amazon lists Dolby Atmos for the camera model and says it has the same audio architecture as the standard Studio. The camera costs $30 more. We have not tested either.
  • Echo Time, $199.99: a bedside clock with no camera. Amazon says its sleep sensing wakes you within 10 to 60 minutes of your alarm, during lighter sleep, with no wearable.
  • Echo Show 16, from $499.99: a screen for a kitchen or family room, with built-in Fire TV. Our advice: wait for a ship date and reviews before preordering.

The camera in the Studio

Amazon says Alexa can use the Studio's camera to recognize objects you hold up. Its examples: ask Alexa+ to explain the rules of a board game, or hold up a cereal box to reorder it. You can also check the room from the Alexa app with Live View while you are away. Video calling through a compatible Fire TV is "coming soon," with no date.

For privacy, Amazon says "a dedicated button turns off the microphones and any included cameras," and that there are "clear visual indicators" when a camera device is streaming images or video to the cloud. On the Studio, a built-in LED turns on.

What these two Amazon pages do not say is where the camera's images go, how long they are kept, or which of the camera features run on the device and which in the cloud. Until Amazon publishes that, our judgment is that the standard $219.99 Studio is the lower-risk choice if you only want the sound. If you do buy the camera model, read the privacy settings in the Alexa app before enabling Live View. Our guide to locking down a home camera covers the general steps.

Smart display alternative

If a screen matters more than a camera speaker, our smart display comparison covers the older Echo Show 8 against Google's and Apple's options.