The cheaper Echo Dot speaker Amazon inadvertently unveiled on Monday is now official. The "all-new version" of the small speaker is just $49.99, or $40 less than the original model, which just launched in March.
The device is available for pre-order today in either black or white and is expected to start shipping next month, through Amazon did not provide an exact release date. Unlike the original Echo Dot, anyone can purchase the new model, not just Prime members.
Just like its taller sibling Echo, the Echo Dot gives you access to Amazon's voice-powered personal assistant Alexa, which can answer questions, play music, turn on the lights, set times, give sports updates, check the weather, and do about 3,000 more things (not exaggerating).
With its new cheap price and bundle discounts, Amazon is positioning this as a device you can put in every room of your home and summon Alexa wherever you are. If you think that's a swell idea, you can get a six pack for the price of five or a 12 pack for the price of 10, depending on the size of your abode.
Among the changes in the new model is a "more powerful speech processor," Amazon said, which can better understand what you're saying from far away.
"With the same high-quality array of seven microphones found in Echo, the all-new Echo Dot can hear you from across the room, even when it's noisy or music is playing," Amazon.com Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement. It also features a "new sleek and compact design," meant to "disappear into any room in a house."
"With its built-in speaker, you can place Dot in the bedroom and use it as a smart alarm clock that can also turn off your lights," Amazon said in its news release. "Or use Dot in the kitchen to easily set timers, ask for measurement conversions and recipes, and shop for tens of millions of Amazon products using just your voice."
The device also now has ESP. No, not extrasensory perception but something Amazon calls "Echo Spatial Perception." Basically, when you have several Echo or Echo Dot speakers dotted throughout your home, the new ESP technology analyzes your voice and determines which Echo should respond, so two different devices don't answer you at the same time, as they may have in the past. Amazon is rolling out this feature as a free update for all Echo devices, including the first-generation Echo Dot, in the coming weeks.
News of the cheaper Echo Dot isn't too much of a surprise. Amazon on Monday inadvertently posted about the device on Twitter before quickly deleting the tweet.
Meanwhile, Amazon also today announced that Alexa, Echo, and the all-new Echo Dot are now available for customers in the UK and Germany.