Amazon Hardware: Echo Show 16 Launches December 16

Amazon's newest smart display, the Echo Show 16, will not ship until December 16, making it the sole device in the company's October Echo lineup that customers cannot buy immediately. The device costs $499.99 with a wall mount, or $569.99 for a Nanomatte display option. Preorders opened with a $100 discount ahead of release. Amazon's other new Echo hardware, including the Echo Dot, Echo Studio with Home Camera, Echo Time, and Alexa Photo Frame, went on sale the day of the announcement.

Amazon shifted its hardware rollout strategy this October. The company replaced its usual single fall hardware showcase with a series of smaller launches spread across the month. New Fire TV devices, Kindles, the Alexa Tablet Pro 12, Ring's first smart lock, hardware from AI-wearable startup Bee, and Blink 4K cameras all shipped earlier in October. This week, Amazon hosted journalists at a small event in New York City's financial district to cover the Echo products.

The Echo Show 16 runs on a new software experience that includes smart home controls, a redesigned calendar interface, and a photo frame option. The device carries eight woofers and can run the Fire TV experience by touch. Amazon devices chief Panos Panay also introduced the Alexa Photo Frame, which he described as "the world's smartest photo frame." The frame costs $199.99 in black or $229 for birch or walnut wood frames, pulls images from Amazon Photos, and does not require a subscription. It displays no ads.

The Echo Time, a smart alarm clock with a 3.2-inch touchscreen, is priced at $199.99 and available now. It includes a sleep-sensing feature and lets users set alarms by touch rather than voice. The Echo Studio with Home Camera, an update to last year's revised Echo Studio, adds a built-in camera for room monitoring and upcoming video calls on Fire TV devices. Amazon said the speaker's new Advanced Room Adaptation feature continuously tunes sound to a room, while Adaptive Volume adjusts output based on a listener's position.

Amazon also overhauled its Alexa Home Map. The new version renders an interactive 3D view of a property's interior and exterior, using compatible Ring cameras to show a 360-degree view with animated cars and people moving nearby. The prior 2D map launched in the Alexa app in 2023. Alexa Plus became available to all users in the United States in February, and the new Echo devices support its capabilities.

Amazon's fall hardware event in New York City covered the Echo lineup. The Echo Show 16 remains available for preorder with the $100 discount ahead of its December 16 release date.