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.

The brand's best smart speakers get a new look and more power behind the sound and smarts. Updated design with easier buttons and tap controls. Has Alexa+ right away, no waiting list required. Smart-home hub built into both. Buttons can show oil stains from skin contact.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. The Echo Studio is back, along with the revamped Echo Dot Max and two gorgeous Echo Show displays. Yes, round is still in when it comes to Amazon's refreshed Echo smart speakers, with the high-end Echo Studio and the smaller Echo Dot both getting big Alexa+ makeovers at Amazon's big fall hardware event in New York City. Also on tap were new versions of Amazon's Echo Show 8 and 11 displays, which chopped the chunky design of previous-generation Echo Shows in favor of slimmed-down screens mounted in front of oval-shaped rear speaker components. Available for pre-order now, the new Echo devices pack Amazon's new AZ3 and AZ3 Pro chips allowing for "on the edge" Alexa+ processing, ideal for getting speedier replies while enabling advanced sensors that allow the new Alexa to sense what's going on in the immediate area.