Review: Amazon Echo Studio (2nd Gen) and Echo Dot Max

Amazon’s speakers have a new look—and new leaders—with the newest lineup of the brand’s Echo devices. Amazon’s fall hardware event in September announced the next frontier of the Alexa-powered speakers, but strangely enough, none of them was a fifth-generation Echo. Instead, Amazon has leaned in to two specific speakers: the Echo Dot, now named the Echo Dot Max and costing what the main, full-size Echo used to, and the immersive speaker powerhouse that is the Echo Studio, now in its second generation.

Perhaps Amazon is finally planning on cutting down its lineup to focus on the best of the best. We’ve long recommended the Echo Dot and Echo Studio as some of the best of Amazon’s overcrowded Echo lineup, and no other smart speaker maker offers as many options. Several Echo models have also had limited to zero availability this year, including the screen-equipped Echo Show 10 (which the new-generation Echo Show 8 and 11, due out in November, seem primed to replace) and the once-flagship Echo. There’s still a wide range, though, and perhaps Amazon’s new strategy is to cash in on the popular Echo Dot model’s getting a higher price tag, and letting speakers like the Echo Pop take the role of the cheap option.

Will it pay off? Will Amazon’s lineup finally become a little more focused? We’ll have to wait and see. For now, it’s safe to say that the new Echo Dot Max and 2nd Gen Echo Studio are both fantastic in sound performance and at doing what a smart speaker does best: answering questions, especially with Amazon’s newest assistant, Alexa+, included right out of the box. But they cost much more than the flagship Echo and Echo Dot used to.

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The Echo speakers have a new design with these two models: a circular body with an indented center, reminiscent of a speaker dust cap. In that indent is now where you’ll find the volume buttons and mute button. On the top there’s now a touch control, which you can tap to instantly pause or resume music. (There are options in the app to turn the touch controls off if they’re not up your alley.) The light-up ring that tells you when Alexa is listening is now around that indent, and both models have a smart home hub built into them, which the Studio previously had but older Echo Dots did not.