Amazon's Echo voice assistants have gone from expensive parlor trick of a gadget to the perfect stocking stuffer, so you probably weren't surprised to see one of these smart home speakers wrapped up with your name on it. Well, maybe be a little surprised. The Echo is a perfect first step or addition to a smart home, and taking advantage of some of its lesser-known features could take you from smart home skeptic to convert faster than you think. Thankfully if you have a friend or family member with a name that sounds anything like "Alexa," you can change the "wake word" that activates your new voice assistant. Download the Alexa app to your smartphone, then navigate to the Devices tab.

Amazon has revealed a whole host of new Echo devices, as well as products that you can control by talking to the Alexa assistant that lives inside them. In all, it announced more than 70 updates – which touched on almost every part of its Alexa line-up. The very short version is this: Amazon updated just about every Echo to give it a better-looking grey mesh on the outside and to make it louder and better sounding on the inside. If you want the slightly less short version of each of the updates, then read on. Here's what happened to each of those products in slightly more detail.

From shopping to travel to connecting other smart devices, Kim Komando shows you the best commands for Alexa. The Echo dot is a smaller Alexa-powered Amazon speaker. No matter how many Amazon Echo commercials you see, it takes a little time to adjust to Alexa. Putting a virtual assistant in your home signals a change in lifestyle, sort of like adopting a puppy. There will be a lot of trial-and-error, but once you find your rhythm, you'll forget what life was like without it. The Amazon Echo listens for the wake word, Alexa.

Your message has been sent. There was an error emailing this page. Amazon has a discount of $20 active right now on their all new Echo smart speaker, which features a new speaker, new design, and is available in a range of styles including fabrics and wood veneers. Echo connects to Alexa to play music, make calls, set alarms and timers, ask questions, control smart home devices, and more -- instantly. Echo averages 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon from over 2,200 reviewers, and with the current discount you can grab it for yourself (or someone else) now for just $79.99.

The new Amazon Echo is cheaper, smaller and has a less imposing stature, but is it still the best smart speaker going? Amazon's voice assistant Alexa has improved greatly since the Echo's introduction to the UK at the end of last year, altered behind the scenes without users needing to do anything thanks the virtue of being a cloud-powered product. It has gained new skills, routines and other smart home control abilities. Its voice recognition and understanding has improved, and it is now a little more conversational, remembering certain topics that you're talking about the way a human would. But the outside of the speaker has not changed, until now.

In the land of smart home appliances, Amazon has been tops for years. And after spending time with the company's new Amazon Echo, I have no reason to believe that's changing anytime soon. Over the last couple of weeks, I've been using the new Amazon Echo (2nd generation), an update to the company's wildly popular smart home appliance. And after putting it through its paces, adding skills, testing its microphone, and seeing how well its speaker could blast music around the house, I'm more convinced than ever that Amazon AMZN knows how to build a smart home device. Get Data Sheet, Fortune's technology newsletter And when the second-generation Echo launches on Tuesday for an affordable $100, I think many shoppers will discover the same.

I love my old Amazon Echo. But when the new Amazon Echo arrived, I'll admit that I just wasn't that excited to test it. The new Echo is more customizable and more affordable--a pretty powerful one-two punch. Costing nearly half as much as its predecessor ($100, down from $180), don't be surprised if you start seeing it in more and more of your friends' kitchens and living rooms. But not everything improved, so it's worth taking a look at the details before clicking that "Buy Now" button.

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Amazon unveiled its new Echo Show Tuesday, an Alexa-powered device with a built-in screen. It was reported last year that Amazon was working on an Echo device with a built-in screen. Rumored features of the device were also reported before the gadget was announced. Last week leaked images showed the Amazon Echo Show in black and white -- and those pictures turned out to be real. "Echo Show brings you everything you love about Alexa, and now she can show you things," Amazon says on its site.

It was reported last year that Amazon was working on a new Amazon Echo, and a photo, leaked by AFTVnews, seems to show the upcoming device... with a built-in touchscreen. The low-resolution image was found on Amazon's servers and is codenamed "Knight." The device could be launched as soon as this month, according to a CNET report late last month. Read: Amazon Echo Look: An Alexa Powered Camera Device That Works As Your'Style Assistant' Amazon's upcoming device was first reported by The Wall Street Journal last year. The report said the company headed by Jeff Bezos was working on a device that resembled a tablet.