The Echo Dot has been hugely successful for Amazon, allowing Alexa to get into many homes affordably, offering a wide range of voice-controlled smart features. But its reign might be about to come to an end with the announcement of the new Echo Pop.

The Echo Pop takes the compact form factor of the spherical Echo Dot and pretty much slices it in half, resulting in a cute but discreet speaker that you'll be able to place anywhere around your home. It comes in three colours - black, white, teal and lavender - to suit your décor, giving a fresh new look to Amazon's smart speakers.

echo pop-purple
Amazon Echo Pop

The Amazon Echo Pop is the latest smart speaker to join the Echo family, offering a compact but fun design perfect for any room.

The Echo Pop is powered by the same AZ2 Neural Edge processor that's found in the Echo Show 15, meaning it's packed with power to deliver snappy responses. As this is an Alexa device, you'll be able to ask for music, news, podcasts and books, as well as use the smart assistant to control your smart home.

The Amazon Echo Dot was last updated in 2022, but it was really the 2018 third-gen Dot that found a place in buyers' hearts. The 2018 flat Dot model is so popular, it has remained available from Amazon far beyond its sibling devices - but the Echo Pop might be able to knock it from its pedestal.

The Echo Pop is said to have a custom-designed front-firing speaker and we know that Amazon has been effective in taking small-format speakers and putting them to good use. Because this is a front-firing speaker, the audio is likely to be more direction than some of the previous Echo devices, which boasted 360 audio. It is a 1.95-inch speaker which we've not seen in an Echo before, even if the design of this reminds us of the old Echo Spot.

Amazon will also be offering sleeves for the Echo Pop, meaning you'll be able to change the colour, with blue, red, orange, lilac, purple, grey and a luminescent option all available. No doubt there will be third-party options in the future too. The sleeves will be available for £19.99.

new echo devices
Amazon

Amazon has refreshed a number of devices, launching a new 2023 Echo Show 5 too, which is now 20 per cent faster than the 2021 model, with a new speaker system that's designed to deliver more bass for a richer sound experience.

Both the new devices also support Matter, so they'll slip into your smart home and play nice with your other devices. The new Echo Pop is available for $39.99 or £44.99 in the UK, while the new Echo Show 5 will cost you $89.99 or £89.99 in the UK. The Echo Show 5 now also comes in a Kids edition, for $99.99 or £99.99 in the UK.

All the new devices are available to order today.