The $40 Echo Pop is Amazon's Cheapest Smart Speaker Yet

Amazon isn’t waiting till the fall to update its Echo speakers. Today it’s introducing the Echo Pop as an even cheaper and more colorful alternative to the $49 Echo Dot and updating the Echo Show 5 with better bass and faster performance.

With multiple methods for accessing Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant, it’s admittedly hard to find one of the company’s smart displays or speakers that isn’t at least satisfactory. But offering cheaper options and introducing the same on-device processing that worked so well on the Echo Dot means the Echo Pop and Echo Show 5 will be even better impulse buys.

Echo Pop

The Echo Pop basically looks like an Echo Dot cut in half. It’s a “semi-sphere” that sits on its side, with a front-facing directional speaker, and a small curved light to indicate when Alexa is listening. Amazon is selling the smart speaker in black, white, purple (“lavender bloom”), and grayish green (“midnight teal”) and only charging $39.99 for it, $10 less than the previous Echo Dot.

For the price, you’re getting Amazon’s AZ2 Neural Edge Processor for handling on-device requests like setting timers and Eero Built-in if you want to use the Pop to extend an existing Eero Wi-Fi mesh network. Amazon says the Echo Pop has “full sound that’s great for bedrooms, dorm rooms, apartments, or any small space,” but the real question is if it's better or worse than the Echo Dot and if Amazon intends to replace its smallest speaker with the Pop.

Echo Show 5

The new Echo Show 5 looks like its predecessor, but should sound and work a lot better. Amazon says it’s “20 percent faster than the previous generation” and features a redesigned speaker system that doubles the bass and offers clearer sound overall.

To go with that improved sound, the Echo Show 5 also has a new microphone array, and AZ2 Neural Edge Processor. Both speakers also support Matter, which means they can control any smart home appliance that supports the new standard. Alongside the regular Echo Show 5, Amazon is updating the Echo Show 5 Kids with a new space-themed design and the expected kid-friendly content, Alexa responses, and parental controls. The Echo Show 5 costs $89.99 and the Echo Show 5 Kids $99.99.

Price and Release Date

All of the new Echo devices are available to order today and ship on May 31. The Echo Pop sells for $39.99, the Echo Show 5 for $89.99, and the Echo Show 5 Kids for $99.99.

This brings Amazon’s Echo speaker lineup to look like this, from lowest to highest price (new ones bolded):

• Echo Pop ($39.99)
• Echo Dot ($49.99)
• Echo Show 5 ($89.99)
• Echo Show 5 Kids ($99.99)
• Echo Show 8 ($129.99)
• Echo Show 10 ($249.99)
• Echo Show 15 ($279.99)

That’s a lot of Echo speakers that fill a lot of price points.