Amazon Australia unveils new Echo product

Matthew Elmas

19th Apr 2018

A week after showcasing Alexa to over 10 thousand local industry members, Amazon has moved to further expand its voice capabilities in Australia, making its latest Echo product available for pre-order.

Echo Spot differs to Amazon’s other Echo products in that it has a small screen, enabling the voice assistant to display corresponding graphics to its various functions.

It comes as Amazon embarks on a national marketing push for Alexa in Australia, including outdoor and digital assets.

Pre-orders begin on 26 April and will set customers back $199, more expensive than the $149 base echo product, but less expensive than the $229 Echo Plus.

The Spot features many of the same features that Amazon’s other Echo products do, including access to the 15,000 local ‘skills’ (applications) available through Amazon and other third parties.

“Echo Spot combines the popular small design of Echo Dot with the added benefit of a display, and the features you love about Alexa into a stylish and compact device,” said Sylvia Ding, Alexa Australia and New Zealand Country Manager. “See the weather, watch video news briefings, glance at your alarm clock, make video calls, and more—we think customers in Australia will find lots of places for Echo Spot in their homes.”

Amazon is hoping that Alexa will be a cornerstone of its Australian ambitions, helping to complete the closed loop model that’s made it so successful in its other markets such as the United States.

Yesterday in the states Amazon chief Jeff Bezos took the company’s next step towards increasing Amazon’s presence in American living rooms, inking a deal with Best Buy to retail Amazon’s range of smart TVs in stores.