Holiday Gift Guide For The One Who Wants to Upgrade Their Alexa Speakers and Displays
Do you have some well-deserving friends and family members on your holiday gift list who already own Amazon's Echo and its voice command system, Alexa? In that case, pile on more high-tech fun on top of what they already enjoy by helping them upgrade their existing Echo and/or Alexa-enabled devices. These new Amazon Alexa products are modern, made-to-last, and will make the holidays far more connected than most of the strands of yarn granny used to try to knit you a hokey reindeer sweater. Get ready to be impressed with what new technology Amazon Alexa has become, and ring in the New Year with irresistible IoT cheer!
Echo Pop Smart Speaker
The Amazon Echo Pop is a small, affordable smart speaker with Alexa built-in. It has a compact design that makes it perfect for bedrooms, dorm rooms, and other small spaces. The Echo Pop has a front-firing speaker that delivers full sound and can be used to play music, audiobooks, podcasts, and more. It can also be used to control compatible smart home devices, set timers, get news and weather updates, and more.
This new smart speaker with Alexa can be used to play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from your favorite streaming services. You can control compatible smart home devices with your voice and set timers and alarms. If you want to get news and weather updates, ask Alexa. You can even play games and trivia or make hands-free calls using your voice.
The Amazon Echo Pop is a great way to start with the world of smart speakers. And It's affordable, only $39.99, but we expect it will be on sale during the holidays.
Amazon Echo Show 15
The biggest and latest smart display by Amazon is their Echo Show 15. This new smart speaker display comes with a 15.6 inch Full HD (1080p) touchscreen 5MP camera, and Alexa and Amazon Fire TV built-in. This will allow you to use Alexa to help you browse and navigate Fire TV content on your smart display, which is now your kitchen smart TV. But what makes this smart display different is it can also function as a nice smart picture frame that displays your pictures, calendar, and anything else to help keep you organized throughout the day.
The Amazon Echo Show 15 lists for $279.98 but is on sale for $194.99, 30% off on Amazon.
Buy on Amazon
Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen)
The latest member of the Amazon Echo family is the Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen), a 10-inch touchscreen smart display with Alexa, smart home control, good audio quality, and the ability to show recipes, streaming video, video calls, and more. This is the perfect Amazon Alexa-enabled device for your kitchen. It has all of the Alexa intelligence we're used to, with great sound for music playback, access to (some) video streaming apps, and a camera that handles video calls and home surveillance. It costs $249.99 and is available on Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart.
Read GearBrain's review of Echo Show 10 here.
New Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen)
If you want your smart display to be compact but with a good sound, the 3rd Gen is the choice. However, you might think differently after seeing the cost of these Echo Show smart displays. The Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen) costs $89.99 but is on sale for $49.99, 44% discount. The Echo Show 5 (2nd Gen) list price is $84.99 but was on sale for $42.99 on Best Buy. It is no longer available on Amazon.
Echo Show 8 (3nd Gen)
One of the new smart displays by Amazon is the Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen). This new HD smart display with Amazon Alexa comes with a 13 MP camera, an 8-inch touchscreen, stereo speakers, a microphone, and the smarts to control all our compatible devices. It is also has a built-in smart home hub for seamless compatibility, and you can use this smart display to watch TV shows and movies, stream music, display your favorite photos, or make video calls to friends and family members. What's the difference between the 3rd Gen and 2nd Gen Echo Show 8? Besides having a built-in smart home hub, it has an improved processor with even faster display responses, an updated design with edge-to-edge glass and centered camera, and Improved audio with spatial audio, room acoustic sensing, and noise reduction technology compared to the 2nd Gen smart display.
The Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen) costs $149.99, and the 2nd Gen is $129.99 but is currently on sale for only $69.99. Both are available on Amazon and other consumer electronic retailers.
The Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen) is a perfect addition to your kitchen, bedroom, den, or even your home office.
Amazon Echo (4th Gen)
Amazon Echo (4th Gen) is the latest version of the popular Echo smart speaker. But this smart speaker is more than a smart speaker. It's a smart hub with Zigbee built-in to help manage your compatible smart home devices. You can use it to stream music, as an intercom, or even make calls to friends or family members who also have an Echo device. It comes in three colors, Glacier White, Charcoal, and Twilight, and lists for $99.99. For the holidays, be on the look out for sales with deep discounts on the Echo smart speaker, 4th Gen. You will be able to pick one up on Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart or any consumer electronics retailer for a lot less than the list price. Last year we saw prices drop for the Echo to $60.
Read GearBrain's review of Echo 4th Gen here.
All-New Echo Dot (5th Gen)
The most recent Echo Dot is the 5th generation smart speaker. This new Echo smart speaker features a sleek design and improved audio for vibrant sound anywhere in your home. Just like the previous Echo Dot (4th Gen), this little speaker will help you stay on track with help from Alexa, control compatible smart home devices, and start routines with your motion.
What's the difference between the 5th Gen and 4th Gen Echo Dots? The Echo Dot (5th Gen) features improved speaker quality, delivers clearer vocals, and comes with a deeper bass for a more vibrant sound as compared to the 4th Gen.
The list price for the Echo Dot 5th Gen, which is available in Charcoal, Deep Sea Blue, and Glacier White, is $49.99. But since it is the holiday shopping season, you will be able to pick one of these smart speakers up for a lot less.
Buy Echo Dot (5th Gen) on Amazon
Amazon Fire TV Stick
The most powerful streaming media with the fastest Wi-Fi and most accurate voice search is now fitted with the Alexa Voice Remote. Amazon Fire TV Stick is a great gadget to add to your shopping list for the entertainment-loving recipient on this year's gift list. The Amazon Fire offers over 90 channels, 7,000 apps and games, and over 250,000 TV episodes for streaming at any time, no matter where you are. The slim device is fitted with a powerful dual-core processor and 1 GB of memory. And this is the gift that keeps on giving with unlimited access to Amazon Video with an Amazon Prime membership. Amazon Fire costs about $40, but we expect deep discounts during the holiday shopping season. So, it will make for a reasonably priced yet well-received gift. Check out some additional streaming media sticks that are perfect for the holidays, too.
All-New Echo Auto (2nd Gen, 2022 release)
If you are looking for ways to bring Alexa along for a ride in your car, you need to get the All-New Echo Auto (2nd Gen). This new version of Echo Auto is slimmer than the first-gen model and comes with 5 speakers. It's the perfect hands-free device for Alexa lovers who like to use voice commands to play their favorite music, call or message friends, and control your smart home from the road. You can also get Alexa to call for roadside assistance if needed and Quick Charge 3.0 certification for fast charging.
The Echo Auto (2nd Gen) is an ideal gift for someone who loves Alexa devices and needs either an upgrade or a new addition to their Echo family of devices. The list price for Echo Auto (2nd Gen) is $54.99 and is available on Amazon.
Check out The GearBrain, our smart home compatibility find engine, to see the other compatible products that work with Amazon Alexa-enabled devices.
