Third parties have always been the key to Amazon's smart home domination plans

For Amazon, hardware has always been a means to an end. From the Kindle e-reader to the Fire tablets to its TV offerings, the company has always treated the space as something of a loss leader – even with its most popular offerings. Amazon has found success in pricing devices much closer to cost than the competition – something a company can only really get away with if it plans to make up for things somewhere down the road, like, say if you're in the content selling business. The Echo line is no different, of course. The goal of the hardware hub is simple: to seed living rooms with its smart assistant and become an essential part of the connected home.