Like the Echo but don't like its speaker quality? Bring your own!
That's the promise of the Amazon Echo Input, a new $35 (£35) device that's designed to connect to whatever speakers you want.
Coming later this year to the US, UK, Australia and Germany, the little pancake-looking device lacks the built-in speaker found on the $50 Dot. (Australian pricing is yet to be announced.)
Just like the Dot it uses Bluetooth and a 3.5mm analog audio connection to mate with speakers. And just like the Dot those speakers need to be powered themselves, or connected to another powered device like an AV receiver.
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The Input stands just 12.5mm so it can easily hide in the room, and Amazon touts its four-microphone array "so you can talk to Alexa from across the room."
To go with its new audio gear Amazon is improving its own Echo multiroom audio system. You can set up speakers as stereo pairs and designate one speaker to be the "preferred" speaker, device or group. This fall, it's also expanding multiroom music to be available on third-party devices like the Polk Command Bar.
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