SearchSubscribe

NewsTechnology

Amazon’s new Echo Studio has a camera that sees the room

The new Echo Dot (A$199), Echo Studio with Home Camera (A$479) and Echo Time clock (A$379) are on sale in Australia. What the camera does, and how to turn it off.

By Digital Advisors Publisher Bob Jones 5 min read 5 sources

a halftone Australian kitchen bench seen side-on, with a halftone man in his forties in a T-shirt holding up a box of breakfast cereal at arm's length towards a large round smart speaker sitting on the bench, while a halftone teenage girl at the end of the bench looks up from her bowl, curious. a single round camera lens on top of the speaker that glows full-colour cyan blue, with a thin cyan beam fanning out from it onto the cereal box; the only full-colour element, with no words
Illustration: Digital Advisors

Your next smart speaker might be able to see you. Amazon’s new Echo Studio with Home Camera adds a camera to its best-sounding speaker. Alexa can now look at the room as well as listen to it.

Amazon Australia announced three new Echo devices on 28 October, all on sale now:

Device Australian price What’s new
Echo Dot A$199 Built-in smart home hub and eero Wi-Fi extender
Echo Studio with Home Camera A$479 A camera on Amazon’s top speaker
Echo Time A$379 A camera-free bedside clock with sleep sensing

All three are on sale now. Echo Time comes in Coral Pink, Glacier White and Graphite.

A speaker that looks back

The Studio keeps the high-excursion woofer and Dolby Atmos, and adds new Advanced Room Adaptation that tunes the sound to your room. The big change is the camera.

Amazon's press image of a dark grey, ball-shaped Echo Studio with Home Camera sitting on a stack of books on a wooden sideboard, with a small blue light arc at the bottom of its flat face.
The Echo Studio with Home Camera, Amazon's top speaker with a camera added.Image: Amazon

Amazon gives three examples of what Alexa can now do with it:

  • explain the rules on a board game box you hold up
  • recognise a box of cereal so you can reorder it
  • let you check in on the room from the Alexa app while you’re out.

The camera also drives a feature called Adaptive Volume, which adjusts playback as you move around the room.

That makes this speaker part home camera, so where you put it matters.

How to turn the camera off

Amazon’s US announcement says a dedicated button “turns off the microphones and any included cameras”. A built-in light turns on whenever the Studio is “streaming images or video to the cloud”.

Amazon doesn’t say whether the camera has a physical cover, or how long any images or video are kept. Its Australian announcement says only that a privacy button turns the microphones off and that indicators show when Alexa is listening.

If you’d rather not have a camera at all, Amazon’s US announcement says the standard Echo Studio stays on sale. Its Australian announcement doesn’t mention the older model.

The Dot doubles as a smart home hub

Amazon says the new Echo Dot is the first with a built-in smart home hub, connecting to hundreds of compatible lights, locks and thermostats straight out of the box.

Amazon's press image, taken from above, of a woman lying on a bed reading a book, beside a small round red side table holding a pale pink Echo Dot.
The new Echo Dot on a bedside table.Image: Amazon

It also has an eero Wi-Fi extender that adds up to 93 square metres of coverage. In the US, Amazon says it extends an existing eero network; the Australian announcement just says “your existing network”.

Inside is the AZ3 chip with an AI accelerator, to pick up conversation and filter background noise. The Dot also gets 50% more bass than the last model.

A bedside clock that listens for your breathing

Echo Time is Amazon’s first Echo built for the bedside table, and it has no camera. You can choose from hundreds of clock faces.

Amazon's press image of two round Echo Time clocks on a dark shelf, both with dark grey fabric. The left one, on a stand, has a pale bezel and shows 7:00; the right one shows 5:00 on a dark screen.
Echo Time has a round screen showing a clock face you can change.Image: Amazon

Its sleep sensing tries to wake you during lighter sleep, within a window before your alarm. Amazon’s Echo Time page says it uses temperature sensors, presence detection and ultrasound that “detects breathing and proximity”, with nothing to wear. As the alarm nears, the screen brightens like a sunrise and the tone gets louder.

Amazon’s US page says sleep sensing is opt-in. You can turn it on or off in the Alexa app, or switch off the microphone with the mute button.

Built for Alexa+

Amazon says all three are designed for Alexa+, its newer AI assistant. Alexa+ Early Access began rolling out in Australia in August, free while Early Access lasts. Amazon says it will then be included with Prime, and non-Prime members will pay A$29.99 a month. Amazon hasn’t said when Early Access ends.

Prime itself is going up to A$99 a year, for existing members from their first renewal on or after 25 November.

Not everything Amazon announced in the US is in the Australian announcement. Video calls through Fire TV, which Amazon says are coming soon in the US, aren’t mentioned.

Checklist

  • Decide where a camera speaker belongs. The Echo Studio with Home Camera can show its room in the Alexa app, so think twice before putting it in a bedroom or a shared space.
  • Find the privacy button before you set it up. Amazon’s US announcement says it turns off the microphones and the camera together.
  • Watch for the camera light. Amazon’s US announcement says a light comes on whenever the Studio streams images or video to the cloud.
  • Check you have eero before counting on the Wi-Fi boost. Amazon’s US announcement says the Echo Dot’s extender adds coverage to an existing eero network.
  • Leave sleep sensing off unless you want it. Echo Time lets you turn it on or off in the Alexa app, or cut the microphone with the mute button.
  • Work out what Alexa+ will cost you. It’s free during Early Access, then included with Prime, or A$29.99 a month without Prime.
Download checklist PDF
ShareShare this checklist on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)Share this checklist on Facebook (opens in a new tab)Share this checklist on X (opens in a new tab)Share this checklist on WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)Share this checklist by Email
More in Technology