The age of the new echoes is over; Age of accessories Echo begins

Amazon has just launched its big Echo event, and while the company announced a huge amount of material that touches almost every aspect of our connected lives, the most interesting part was was not there – new Alexa material. Instead (with a few exceptions, which we will enter), most of Amazon's events focused on improving existing Echo products or extending echo into new domains or domains.

And that's largely because at the moment, there are not a lot of form factors or devices to which you can really add Alexa and still be useful. Or, to put it another way: the era of the new Echoes is over. But the age of Echo accessories is just beginning.

Amazon is already echoing your show (the "standard" echo), a bigger echo to serve as a center for your smart home (more echo), an echo for your kitchen (echo show), an echo for your bedside table (the Echo spot), an echo for your TV (the Fire TV cube) and a smaller echo that fits virtually all areas that do not already fit the above categories ( the point of echo).

Photo: Dan Seifert / The Verge

Add the new echo entry (to add Alexa to all the speakers in your home that do not already have it) and the Echo Auto (for your car), and Amazon's dominance on your home is complete . Unless you have an Alexa-equipped couch – which, honestly, I put equal chances for next year's event – it's hard to see what other form factors or what Amazon devices could do for that his intelligent assistant comes into play.

And it's a problem for Amazon too. Because it can dominate the arena of any smart home with an echo to fit all the cracks in your home, there is also no same drive to upgrade existing hardware. Once you have created Alexa for your entire home, there is not much reason to switch to new material, as each new year's models are largely cosmetic updates. The speakers also do not look like a smartphone or laptop, because you probably use your Echo for a few minutes a day, not hours.

But with this year's Echo ad, Amazon essentially assumes you already have at least one Echo or two. And so, the focus is on what comes next: make the Echo experience better, while bringing you even closer to the Alexa ecosystem through your digital lives.

Photo: Dan Seifert / The Verge

Therefore, we have products such as the Echo Sub, which does not replace your Echo or Echo Plus by a more powerful speaker. It partners with them to improve the sound you already have. There is the Echo wall clock, which synchronizes with your Echo over Bluetooth to provide a visual overview of your timers. Echo Link and Echo Link Amp, allowing you to connect your entire audio system to Amazon's Echo-based multi-room audio (instead of a competitor like Sonos). The Echo smart plug, to plug everything that is electrically powered into your Echo jug. It is important to note that despite the name "Echo", none of these products have microphones or Alexa – they are only intended to expand your existing hardware.

Then there is the AmazonBasics microwave, which also connects via Bluetooth to your Alexa devices to control it directly (there is no microphone or speakers either, to be clear). going – not because smart microwaves will suddenly take precedence in the market, but because it's essentially a proof of concept for Amazon's Alexa Connect kit, "which includes a Wi-Fi module and Bluetooth LE containing software – written and managed by Amazon – that automatically and securely connects to cloud services managed by Amazon.

Photo: Dieter Bohn / The Verge

And Amazon makes this kit available to third-party device manufacturers, and you can bet that he will encourage them to use it. Combine that with the recently announced Alexa Gadgets toolkits, which will also help device makers create their own Alexa-enabled accessories such as the Echo button or Echo clock that integrate with Alexa hardware. in our homes.

Amazon does not really need to advertise new types of Echo devices because it has already succeeded – Alexa is everywhere. At this point, no matter where you are in our house (or soon, even your car), Alexa can hear you. And now, Amazon aims to ensure that the house of the future is filled with things that respond to what you say.