Amazon’s latest Echo smart displays and speakers reinforce Google Home’s lost lead

Amazon just launched a new lineup of Echo smart speakers and a new smart display, all while Google Home’s lineup remains pretty quiet.

Amazon has five new devices launching – two smart displays, a “Photo Frame,” and two speakers.

Starting with the speakers, the latest Echo Dot has “a built-in smart home hub” and upgraded audio and starts shipping today for $100. Meanwhile, Echo Studio builds on that foundation with even-better audio and, optionally, a built-in camera. Those start at $220.

• Echo Dot at Amazon (shipping now)
• Echo Studio at Amazon (shipping now)

On the smart display side, there’s the Echo Time, which is like an Echo Dot but with a small circular display built-in. Amazon touts “hundreds of clock faces” and “Omnisense” which can track your sleep just like Google’s second-gen Nest Hub, and it starts at $200.

Echo Show 16, meanwhile, is a big 16-inch smart display meant to live on your wall with support for smart home controls, the ability to show a family calendar, and full Fire TV built-in as well. It starts at $500 and, like everything else mentioned so far, is built around Amazon’s AI-enhanced Alexa.

• Echo Time at Amazon (shipping now)
• Echo Show 16 at Amazon (pre-order for $100 off, shipping December 16)

Rounding out the lineup is the Alexa Photo Frame, a simpler smart display that has Alexa built-in but focuses on showing photos from your Amazon Photos library. It has a 10-inch anti-glare display and a design that looks like a normal photo frame and starts at $200.

• Alexa Photo Frame at Amazon (shipping now)

9to5Google’s Take

Google Home really is just so wildly behind isn’t it.

In looking at Amazon’s lineup, I can’t help but feel like Google is just wasting potential here. A smart speaker that doubles as a Nest Cam would be awesome. The same goes for a giant Nest Hub that doubles as a Google TV.

And, seriously, how does Google not sell (or at least partner with someone) a Google Photos digital photo frame. Google Photos is a wildly successful platform and that would sell like hotcakes. Big “how am I not in that movie” energy.

I’ve said it before, but Google Home had such a lead in the smart speaker and smart display market, especially with Google’s ecosystem tie-ins, but Amazon is currently running laps around it with products that Google should be selling. Throw in that even Apple has a smart display now where Google hasn’t even teased a new Nest Hub, and it just feels all kinds of bad to be in Google’s camp right now.

What do you think?

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