Amazon began taking pre-orders from U.K. customers for its Alexa-powered Echo Spot speaker on Tuesday. Announced along with all-new Echo models in September 2017, the compact display-and-speaker unit has only been available in the U.S. before now.
The Spot is capable of standard Amazon Echo functions like controlling smart home devices and streaming music, but can also show users additional information like song lyrics, weather forecasts, and the time on its 2.5-inch display.
The circular unit can also play content from Amazon Video and YouTube, just like its bigger brother, the Echo Show.
The Echo Spot costs £120, although Amazon is currently offering a discount of £20 per unit when two are bought together (£200). Pre-orders are expected to ship on January 24, which means the entire Echo family will be available to U.K. customers from then on.
The Echo dot was the top-selling Amazon device over the 2017 holiday season, as well as "the best-selling product from any manufacturer in any category across all of Amazon," according to the e-commerce company.
As Amazon's Alexa devices continue to dominate the smart speaker market, Apple has plans to release its own music-focused smart speaker device, called HomePod, early this year.
HomePod will be controlled mainly through the user's voice using Siri, and include access to Apple Music and other expected smart speaker functionalities, like asking about the weather, traffic, setting reminders, timers, and more.
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Top Rated Comments
I don't need one, or want one. But I think Amazon at leading the way here, and are rapidly creating an ecosystem that the users will want to stay in. They've learned how to do that from Apple.. ;)
I carry my phone wherever I am, so just use that piece of hardware if I feel the need to talk to a digital assistant.
More boxes all over the place is a needless waste.
Yes i have Applekit which can also run my home automation devices but I can't justify the price and cost of putting homepods all over the home. At £99 a time for three Dots on Amazon, it's less than the price of taking the girlfriend out for the evening.