Skip to content
Sign in
Technology · North America

Amazon adds a room-monitoring camera to Echo Studio

Amazon announced an Echo Studio version with a camera for monitoring a room and showing objects to Alexa. The company also said Fire TV video calls are coming soon and added a smart home hub to the Echo Dot.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 5 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 5 outletsHow it's made

View timeline · 8 entries
5 outlets2 regionsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Mostly CenterL 0 · C 4 · R 1
File photo
Photo: SounderBruce / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

What happened

Key facts

  • Amazon announced an Echo Studio with a built-in camera that can show Alexa objects held up to it (per The Verge, thenextweb.com).
  • The Echo Studio camera can monitor a room while the user is away (per The Verge, stuff.tv, thenextweb.com).
  • Amazon said the Echo Studio will soon support video calls on Fire TV devices (per The Verge).
  • Amazon said Advanced Room Adaptation will continuously tune the Echo Studio's sound to the room (per The Verge).
  • The Echo Studio with Home Camera costs $249.99 and comes in graphite; Amazon will continue selling the standard Echo Studio for $219.99 (per The Verge).
  • The updated Echo Dot is available for $99.99 in graphite, glacier white, agave green and coral pink (per The Verge).
  • The updated Echo Dot has a built-in Eero Wi-Fi extender that Amazon says can cover up to 1,000 square feet (per The Verge).

The brief

Amazon has announced an Echo Studio model with a built-in camera, adding room monitoring and a way to show objects to Alexa. The Verge reports that Amazon says the camera can watch a room when its user is away. The Next Web’s headline also describes the device as letting Alexa see what someone holds up, while Stuff’s headline emphasizes room visibility and real-time assistance.

The camera-equipped speaker will be called Echo Studio with Home Camera and cost $249.99 in graphite, according to The Verge. Amazon will continue to sell the standard Echo Studio for $219.99.

The Verge describes the new model as an iteration on a revised Echo Studio announced the previous year, and says Amazon’s Advanced Room Adaptation feature will continuously tune the speaker’s sound to the space around it. Amazon also announced a refresh of the Echo Dot.

The Verge reports that the updated device is available for $99.99 in graphite, glacier white, agave green and coral pink. Amazon has added a built-in smart home hub, with support for Zigbee, Matter and Thread, and the device includes an Eero Wi-Fi extender. Amazon says that extender can provide up to 1,000 square feet of coverage.

The updated Dot also uses Amazon’s custom-designed AZ3 chip and has a fourth microphone, which The Verge says is intended to improve conversations with Alexa. The outlet reports that the new Echo Studio camera model and Dot are available starting today; the article does not give a calendar date for that availability.

Amazon says the Echo Studio will soon support video calls on Fire TV devices. Its announcement also includes the camera’s room-monitoring function and the ability to show objects to Alexa.

About Amazon’s headline identifies the products as the new Echo Dot and an all-new Echo Studio with Home Camera, while Engadget’s headline lists other announced Echo devices, including an Alexa Photo Frame. The Verge’s account places the camera model alongside updates to the Echo Dot and describes sound adjustment and connectivity features for the two speakers.

Stuff’s headline raises a question about whether users want Amazon monitoring a room; the product description itself identifies room monitoring as a camera function, without detailing how the feature is configured or controlled.

Why it matters

  • The Echo Studio with Home Camera adds room monitoring while a user is away, making the camera a direct part of Amazon’s premium speaker offering.
  • The new camera-equipped Studio is priced at $249.99, compared with $219.99 for the standard Echo Studio.
  • The updated Echo Dot combines a smart home hub supporting Zigbee, Matter and Thread with an Eero extender Amazon says can cover up to 1,000 square feet.
  • Amazon says Fire TV video calls will be supported soon, extending the announced Echo Studio features beyond room monitoring and audio.

What to watch next

  • Whether Amazon enables the promised video-call support on Fire TV devices.
  • How Amazon configures and controls the Echo Studio camera’s room-monitoring function.
  • Whether the updated Echo Dot delivers the Eero extender coverage Amazon says can reach up to 1,000 square feet.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
5 source articles · 5 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Mostly Center· 4 Center · 1 Right
Where the outlets are based: US/Canada 40% · Unknown 40% · Other 20%
Outlet political mix
Mostly Center
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
4 outlets
1 outlet
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
5 unique outletsDominant coverage: US/Canada
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among Center-rated outlets (4 of 5 rated sources); comparatively few Left-rated outlets have published on the event.
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The Echo Studio grew out of Amazon’s Echo speaker line, launched in the United States in November 2014.
    Background · from our historical context
  2. Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service let developers build voice-controlled functions into devices, while the Alexa Skills Kit, released in June 2015, enabled third-party “skills.”
    Background · from our historical context
  3. In 2017, Amazon added multi-room music playback to compatible Echo devices, extending their role beyond single-room voice assistance.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. Amazon announced the Echo Show, its first Echo speaker with a screen.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. Amazon acquired mesh Wi-Fi company Eero in February 2019; Eero’s technology later became part of Amazon’s connected-home offerings.
    Background · from our historical context
  6. Amazon introduced the first Echo Studio on September 25, 2019, positioning it as a high-fidelity smart speaker with Alexa and room-adaptive audio.
    Background · from our historical context
  7. Amazon announced that compatible Echo devices could extend an Eero network.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  8. Amazon announced the Echo Hub, a dedicated Alexa smart-home control panel.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

Amazon introduced the first Echo Studio on September 25, 2019, positioning it as a high-fidelity smart speaker with Alexa and room-adaptive audio. The original model established the product line that Amazon later expanded with camera and smart-home features. The Echo Studio grew out of Amazon’s Echo speaker line, launched in the United States in November 2014.

Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service let developers build voice-controlled functions into devices, while the Alexa Skills Kit, released in June 2015, enabled third-party “skills.” In 2017, Amazon added multi-room music playback to compatible Echo devices, extending their role beyond single-room voice assistance.

Original sources

5 articles from 5 outlets

Every story links to the reporting it was built from. How we choose sources

Spotted a factual error, a broken link or a misleading summary? Tell us.