Hardwareamazonalexasmart-homepricesspeakers
Amazon's New $99.99 Echo Dot Adds a Smart Home Hub and Costs Twice What a Dot Listed for Before August
Amazon's next-generation Echo Dot ships at $99.99 with a built-in Zigbee, Matter and Thread hub, an eero Wi-Fi extender and an AZ3 chip, two months after Amazon raised the old Dot from $49.99 to $79.99 and blamed memory costs.
“The new Echo Dot ships today for $99.99,” Amazon’s launch post says. It doesn’t say what the Dot cost before.
Fortune reported that in August, Amazon was “raising the cost of its base Echo Dot from $49.99 to $79.99.” The Fire TV Stick 4K Max went from $59.99 to $84.99, the 16GB Kindle from $109.99 to $149.99, and the eero 7 from $349.99 to $399.99. A spokesperson told Fortune the industry is “facing significant increases in memory and storage component costs,” and said, “After absorbing these increases for as long as we could, we recently adjusted pricing across our product lines.”
What the extra money buys is mostly the hub. “For the first time, it includes a built-in smart home hub, so Alexa connects to thousands of compatible devices such as lights, locks, and thermostats right out of the box,” Amazon says. Digital Trends lists the radios as “Zigbee, Matter, and Thread.”
Inside is “Amazon’s custom AZ3 silicon, with a new AI Accelerator for on-device AI,” which Amazon says sharpens conversation detection and filters background noise. Digital Trends adds “a fourth microphone.” The Kids version is $109.99 with a year of Amazon Kids+.
Amazon also says “a built-in eero Wi-Fi extender adds up to 1,000 square feet of coverage to your existing network.” The Dot has done that before. When the fifth-generation model launched in 2022, TechCrunch wrote that “The latest Dot will automatically connect to your Eero network and extend its range.” And it only works, Digital Trends notes, “provided you already use an eero network.”
| New Echo Dot (2026) | Echo Dot (5th gen) | Apple HomePod mini 2 | Google Home Speaker | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $99.99 | $49.99, then $79.99 since August | $149 | $99.99 |
| Smart home hub | Yes: Zigbee, Matter, Thread | Not claimed | Yes, for Apple Home | Not in Google’s launch post |
| Wi-Fi extender | eero, up to 1,000 sq ft, needs an eero network | eero, needs an eero network | No | No |
| New assistant | Alexa+, “included with a Prime membership” | Alexa+ | Siri AI “via a future software update” | Gemini; some features need Google Home Premium |
Apple’s HomePod mini 2, announced October 13, “is available for $149 (U.S.)” and works as a home hub, but “Siri AI will be available in English on HomePod mini 2 via a future software update.” Google’s Home Speaker was priced at $99.99, with some Gemini features behind a “Google Home Premium subscription.”
What Amazon didn’t say. The post never mentions the August hike or whether the previous Dot stays on sale, and the fine print reads, “Certain features require Alexa+, which is included with a Prime membership.” It gives no price for Alexa+ without Prime.
What it means for anyone setting up a home. A house already on eero and still running a separate Zigbee bridge gets the most from the new Dot. Anyone who only wants a timer and music in another room is paying for radios they won’t use.
Why now. Apple put a new HomePod mini on sale two weeks ago. “Coming just weeks after Apple unveiled the HomePod mini 2 and HomeView, it certainly looks like Amazon is stepping up its efforts to compete for control of your smart home,” Digital Trends wrote.
Amazon priced the new Dot right at the old ceiling. Until August, $49.99 was the list price of trying Alexa. Now the entry Echo costs what a midrange speaker did, and the pitch has moved from “talk to Alexa” to “replace your hubs.” That works if Alexa+ is the reason people buy, and Amazon has tied Alexa+ to Prime without saying what it costs anyone who isn’t a member.
Amazon’s post calls the Dot “designed for everywhere you can imagine.” It doesn’t say whether the $79.99 fifth-generation Dot is still one of those places on its own store.