When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. I spent two months with the Echo Dot Max after many years with the Echo Dot. Here's who should trade up, and who should stand pat. Built for Alexa+ and packed with smart features, the Amazon Echo Dot Max makes for a solid smart-home foundation, but that doesn't mean every Echo Dot owner should automatically move up to it. The first wave of "made for Alexa+" devices has arrived, and among them is Amazon's flagship Echo speaker--the Echo Dot Max, the successor to the earlier, fourth-generation Amazon Echo speaker.

Alexa Home Theater: Everything you need to know about Amazon's newest Echo feature Testing the spatial surround sound feature with the company's latest smart speakers. Amazon's new Echo Studio is one of two speakers that allow you to use Alexa Home Theater to its full potential. When Amazon's latest Echo speakers arrived in October, a feature the company spent time hyping during its fall devices event was missing. Alexa Home Theater arrived in late November, allowing owners of a recent Fire TV device and either of the new Echo speakers the ability to use up to five units and an Echo Sub as a surround sound setup. The main selling point is that the underlying tech allows you to put the speakers wherever you want and Alexa Home Theater will handle the rest.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Here are the existing Echo smart speakers and displays most in need of a refresh. After skipping last year, Amazon is back with a big fall hardware event slated for next week, and we're expecting plenty of new Echo smart speakers and displays that make the most of Alexa+, Amazon's AI revamp of the Alexa voice assistant. Plenty of other hardware will also be unwrapped during Amazon's September 30 event in New York City; for example, we're sure to see new Kindle tablets, as well as Fire TV models and perhaps even some Ring cameras. For now, though, we're concentrating on new Echo devices, and there are a few popular Echo speakers and displays that are ripe for an upgrade.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Amazon's next-gen Echo and Kindle devices are almost here New Echo devices powered by Alexa+ are on the menu, including revamped Kindle hardware. Get ready for a parade of new Amazon devices--including Echo speakers powered by the new AI Alexa--at showcase in New York City later this month. The event is slated for September 30, and the timing puts Amazon back on track for its usual fall preview of its latest wares. Amazon skipped its typical fall event last year in favor of a smaller Kindle-only unveiling.

The sale event of the summer is here, and the Amazon Prime Day Kindle deals (and other Amazon device deals!) are ones you can count on being great to shop. As someone who tests Amazon gear for a living--Echo speakers, Kindles, Amazon's smart plugs, you name it--I'm always tracking what in Amazon's lineup is worth buying. I have a ton of favorites, from the best of the best, like the Kindle Paperwhite and Echo Show 8, to the Kindle Scribe and Echo Spot. It's the perfect time to shop all of those and more. Not only is everything in this guide WIRED-tested and WIRED-approved, but it's on sale right now.

The sale event of the summer is here, and the Amazon Prime Day Kindle deals (and other Amazon device deals!) are ones you can count on being great to shop. As someone who tests Amazon gear for a living--Echo speakers, Kindles, Amazon's smart plugs, you name it--I'm always tracking what in Amazon's lineup is worth buying. I have a ton of favorites, from the best of the best, like the Kindle Paperwhite and Echo Show 8, to the Kindle Scribe and Echo Spot. It's the perfect time to shop all of those and more. Not only is everything in this guide WIRED-tested and WIRED-approved, but it's on sale right now.

The sale event of the summer is here, and the Amazon Prime Day Kindle deals (and other Amazon device deals!) are ones you can count on being great to shop. As someone who tests Amazon gear for a living--Echo speakers, Kindles, Amazon's smart plugs, you name it--I'm always tracking what in Amazon's lineup is worth buying. I have a ton of favorites, from the best of the best, like the Kindle Paperwhite and Echo Show 8, to the Kindle Scribe and Echo Spot. It's the perfect time to shop all of those and more. Not only is everything in this guide WIRED-tested and WIRED-approved, but it's on sale right now.

The sale event of the summer is here, and the Amazon Prime Day Kindle deals (and other Amazon device deals!) are ones you can count on being great to shop. As someone who tests Amazon gear for a living--Echo speakers, Kindles, Amazon's smart plugs, you name it--I'm always tracking what in Amazon's lineup is worth buying. I have a ton of favorites, from the best of the best, like the Kindle Paperwhite and Echo Show 8, to the Kindle Scribe and Echo Spot. It's the perfect time to shop all of those and more. Not only is everything in this guide WIRED-tested and WIRED-approved, but it's on sale right now. Try our Absolute Best Amazon Prime Day Deals roundup and Prime Day liveblog.

One of the most confounding moments after I got my first Amazon Echo Dot was when its light ring began pulsing yellow, signaling… well, what exactly? Indeed, Echo devices such as the standard Echo, the Echo Dot, the Echo Pop, and the Echo Show can display flashing indicator lights in a range of different colors, and they can be pretty confusing–even aggravating–if you don't know what they mean, or how to make them stop. Luckily, deciphering the flashing lights on your Echo device is simple, and once you know the code, the lights can warn you when something's amiss with your Echo, let you know when you have incoming messages, alert you when Alexa is listening, and more. Let's start with the light that confused me the most when I got my first Echo (the ever-popular Echo Dot). Generally accompanied by a cheerful "bum, bum!" alert tone, the flashing yellow light lets you know when Alexa has a notification for you, or if you missed a reminder.

Writing about smart home technology, smart devices, and voice assistants is my job. Yet, I don't remember the last time I actually spoke with Alexa. Just to be clear, I don't mean to pick on Alexa per se. I rarely speak to Google Assistant or Apple's Siri, either. It's way easier to haul out my phone and use an app than it is to get a supposedly "smart" voice assistant to do what I want.