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Amazon confirmed its Prime Big Deal Days sale will run for two days starting at 3:01am ET on October 6, spanning more than 35 product categories including electronics, kitchenware, fashion and beauty. Brands like Shark, Anker, Sony and Lego are expected to participate, alongside discounts on Amazon's own Kindle and Echo devices, plus a dedicated Halloween deals section.
Amazon now offers five distinct personality styles for Alexa—Brief, Chill, Sweet, Sassy and Original—that change the tone of responses without altering Alexa's functionality. Users can switch styles by voice command or through the Alexa app's device settings menu, with the Sassy option requiring an age confirmation due to its cheekier, more colorful responses. Each Echo device must be configured separately, since the personality setting is not shared across a household's devices.
A review roundup names four top Alexa-enabled smart speakers for 2026: the Echo Dot Max, Echo Dot (5th Gen), Echo Show 11 and Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen). The Echo Studio (2nd Gen) and Echo Spot (2nd Gen) also earn honorable mentions for their audio quality and compact design respectively, with the Studio singled out for its powerful, clear sound from three 1.5-inch drivers and a 3.75-inch woofer.
Amazon has increased prices by $20 to $100 across several of its hardware lines, including Kindle e-readers, Echo speakers, Eero routers and Fire TV devices, with the steepest hikes hitting its cheaper, best-selling models. An Amazon spokesperson told CNET the increases stem from rising memory and storage component costs, though Amazon would not comment directly to WIRED. Notably, the pricier Kindle Scribe lineup was left untouched despite using similar components.
Amazon has discounted its 15.6-inch 2nd-generation Echo Show 15 smart display by $80, bringing the price down from $349.99 to $269.99, a 23% reduction. The deal matches the best pricing seen since Amazon's June Prime Day event.
Amazon has increased prices across its device lineup—including Echo, Fire TV, Kindle, and Eero products—by as much as 60%, citing rising memory and storage component costs. The Echo Dot, for instance, jumped overnight from $49.99 to $79.99, a spike confirmed by price-tracking tools like CamelCamelCamel. Amazon says it absorbed these cost increases as long as possible before passing them on to customers, though it plans occasional promotions going forward.
Amazon has raised prices across many of its budget electronics, including the Echo Dot, Kindle and Fire TV Stick HD, with the Echo Dot jumping from $50 to $80. A company spokesperson attributed the increases to sharply higher memory and storage component costs, saying Amazon had absorbed the added expense as long as it could before passing it on. Ring doorbell cameras and the pricier Echo Studio speaker were notably left untouched.
Amazon quietly increased prices on its hardware lineup over the weekend, with some products like the Echo Dot jumping from $49.99 to $79.99. The company confirmed the hikes to TechCrunch, attributing them to rising memory and storage component costs it can no longer absorb, while promising occasional promotions in the coming year.
Amazon has increased prices across much of its hardware lineup, including Echo speakers, Kindle e-readers, Fire TV Stick devices, and eero mesh routers, with some products jumping by $30-50. Ring devices were reportedly excluded from the increases. An Amazon spokesperson attributed the changes to rising memory and storage component costs that the company said it could no longer absorb.
Amazon quietly increased prices across several hardware lines last week, including Echo speakers, Kindle e-readers, Fire TV Stick streaming devices, and eero routers. The steepest jump hit the 5th-generation Echo Dot, which climbed from $49.99 to $79.99, a 60% increase, while other products saw hikes ranging roughly from 11% to 42%. Amazon attributed the changes to rising costs for memory and storage components used in the devices.
Amazon has raised prices across its hardware lineup, citing the ongoing memory chip crunch. The Echo Dot jumped 60% to $79.99, while Kindle e-readers, Fire TV streaming devices, and eero mesh routers all saw increases ranging from roughly 13% to nearly 43%. Notably, Amazon's Ring security products were left untouched by the price adjustments.