New Amazon Echo with spherical design launched, Alexa gets a makeover

Amazon on Thursday concluded its virtual event that saw the launch of an all-new Echo Dot, Echo Show 10, Fire TV, a smarter Alexa, and other home devices including the Ring and Eero. The launch event was an invite-only affair and was not live-streamed on YouTube. So here are all the products that were launched at Amazon's hardware event.

Echo Dot

Amazon announced an all-new Echo Dot and Echo Dot with clock and Echo Dot kids edition in its launch event. The device is not only a new edition to the Echo series but it also brings along a never-seen-before spherical design, which looks a tennis ball albeit with a fabric finish.

The new Echo device comes in three different variants such as the Echo Dot, Echo Dot with clock, and Echo Dot Kid's edition. The new Echo is powered by Amazon's first-generation AZ1 Neural Edge processer. "With AZ1, powerful inference engines can run quickly on the edge—starting with an all-neural speech recognition model that will process speech faster, making Alexa even more responsive," Amazon says in its blog. Along with the Echo Dot Kids Edition, Amazon is providing a free one-year Amazon Kids+ subscription.

In terms of sound output, the Echo dot houses a powerful 1.6-inch, front-firing speaker, that produces crisp vocals and balanced bass. The device has been launched in three colors including Charcoal, Glacier White, and Twilight Blue.

Echo Dot will be available for pre-order today in the United States for $49.99 and will ship later this year. The Echo Dot with clock option will cost $59.99.

All-new Alexa

Amazon also announced an enhanced Alexa. The company says that it has made interacting with Alexa as simple as speaking to another person. Alexa has been equipped with new technology that would help her correct her mistakes by learning from customer feedback signals. For instance, if a person says, ""Alexa, that's wrong". Alexa understands that a particular action was wrong and she automatically corrects herself. "We're taking this self-learning a step further by enabling customers to directly teach Alexa, which will help Alexa get smarter by asking questions to fill gaps in her understanding. This new capability helps Alexa get smarter by asking questions to fill gaps in her understanding—just like we do," Amazon said in a blog. In the comping days, Alexa will detect alarming sounds like the crying of a baby and turn on the lights accordingly.

Alexa Guard Plus has also been rolled out, the new feature makes it easier for users to keep their home and family safe. "With Guard Plus, Alexa can help customers detect potential emergencies, deter intruders and, give customers always available, hands-free access to an emergency helpline," the blog said.