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The best Amazon devices you can buy right now!
As long as you’re okay with its privacy policies, Amazon makes some awesome tech. In fact, some of their products are among the most influential of their kind, and can easily change your day-to-day habits. Here are some of the best Amazon devices available at the moment, though by no means the only good ones.
The best Amazon devices:
1. Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen
The Echo Dot is a popular introduction to the smart home experience. It’s Amazon’s most affordable dedicated speaker, and remains useful even if you upgrade to something more powerful. It’s also pretty cool on its own.
The 4th-gen Echo Dot sports a more stylish look than its predecessors, as well as improved audio, so you’ll legitimately enjoy listening to it. As with any Echo it’s hooked into Amazon Alexa for voice commands, including music, weather, alarms, timers, and news. If you decide to step deeper into the smart home world, you can also control smart lights, robot vacuums, security cameras, and much more.
If music fidelity is important, you should consider stepping up to the 4th-gen standard Echo. It has the same design, but it’s larger and sounds significantly better. If you’re okay with the Dot but want a bit more functionality, check out the Echo Dot with Clock.
2. Amazon Echo Show 10
Amazon offers multiple smart displays, but the Echo Show 10 may be the most unique. Its screen rotates, for instance following you around the room during video calls, or scanning like a security camera when you’re away from home. You can limit rotation or disable it entirely if this bothers you.
The Show 10 supports the same features as most Echo devices, plus Show-specific features like watching videos, checking other security cameras, and viewing recipes. It’s a great gadget, if a little pricey. You can save a good deal of cash if you go with the Echo Show 8. There’s also the Echo Show 5, but we feel like its screen is too small for some purposes, and you don’t save enough money over the 8-inch version.
3. Amazon Echo Buds (2nd gen)
Amazon couldn’t be left behind in the world of true wireless headphones, and their original Echo Buds were among the most popular in the market. Now it’s time for the second-generation Echo Buds to shine, and they come with nice upgrades.
Other options: Here are our favorite Amazon Alexa headphones
The newer headphones come with active noise-cancelling, a smaller design, and faster charging capabilities. You also get the option of a wireless charging case for an extra fee. Other features include an IPX4 rating for liquid resistance, Alexa support, five-hour battery life (an extra 10 with the case), and more.
4. Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet
Amazon devices have dominated the budget tablet market for some years, and this one costs less than $100. The Fire 7 is even cheaper, but it’s slow and outdated. We believe the Fire HD 8 offers the best bang for your buck.
The base version of the Fire HD 8 comes with an 8-inch HD display, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage (expandable with a microSD card), a 2GHz quad-core processor, and an estimated 12-hour battery life. This might not sound like much in 2022, but somehow the tablet manages to take advantage of its resources pretty well. It’s handy for casual activities like reading, watching video, or listening to music.
It can also double as an Echo Show, albeit with worse-sounding speakers. This is enabled via Show Mode, which overlays the Show UI and makes it works just like any other Amazon smart display.
5. Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite or 4K
Maybe you’re not happy with your TV’s current OS, or you want your TV to be more Alexa-friendly. Whatever the case, the easiest and most affordable way to get Amazon’s Fire TV interface running on your TV is by buying an Fire TV Stick Lite. It plugs into your TV via HDMI, and comes with an Alexa voice remote, so you don’t need an Echo nearby for voice commands.
Next: Here are some great media streaming devices for your TV
The main drawback to the Fire TV Stick Lite is that it can only stream at 1080p resolution. Those who want 4K compatibility will need to upgrade to the Fire TV Stick 4K or 4K Max, which also add features like Dolby Atmos (for sound) and Dolby Vision (for HDR).
Another option to consider is the Fire TV Cube, which operates as its own Alexa speaker and improves speed and storage.
6. Amazon Smart Plug
The Amazon Smart Plug can make any appliance smart, so long as it benefits from a simple on/off toggle. That includes things like lamps, fans, coffee makers, and dehumidifiers. Once hooked into Alexa you can use the plug in routines, say by having lamps turn on when you unlock the door at night.
Also read: The best smart plugs you can buy right now
It’s not the cheapest Alexa-compatible smart plug, and it works only with that platform, but the tradeoff is extremely simple setup — your phone should detect it the moment you open the Alexa app to the Devices tab. If you re-label the plug as a “light,” you can monitor energy consumption.
7. Kindle
Tablet screens can be bright and uncomfortable for long reading sessions. If you’re serious about books, your best bet is to get a Kindle, which relies on e-ink instead of an LCD or OLED panel. This isn’t just one of the best Amazon devices, but also one of the most popular e-readers in existence.
It can hold thousands of books at a time with just 8GB of storage. Battery life runs for weeks, which means you can finish multiple books on a single charge. It even comes with an integrated light for nighttime reading, and if you prefer audiobooks, those can be played by connecting Bluetooth headphones. There are more powerful Kindle models, but for most people, the basic model should suffice.
8. Ring Stick Up Cam Battery
Amazon has not one but two security camera brands, Blink and Ring. The Ring Stick Up Cam Battery isn’t the cheapest camera, but it blends good features at a reasonable price. It’s weatherproof, doesn’t require a bridge or hub, and can run up to six months on a single battery charge. As you might expect it’s tightly integrated with Alexa, and offers common features like 1080p video and two-way talk.
If there’s a downside, it’s that you need a Ring Protect subscription to record video — you’re otherwise limited to live streaming and motion alerts. Protect does offer some additional reasons to upgrade however, including person detection and a 60-day event history.
9. Amazon Basics Microwave
A smart microwave? Yes, that’s a thing. This Amazon Basics model connects to your Echo speakers and includes a built-in Ask Alexa button. It understands presets for foods like coffee, rice, and popcorn, or if you like, you can ask to cook at specific time and power settings. It’s not terribly expensive, so you should at least consider it if you’re an Alexa fan in the market for a new microwave.
10. Eero 6 System
Amazon’s Eero mesh Wi-Fi routers are user-friendly and relatively well-priced. The standard Eero 6 bundle features one router and two extenders, which can be strategically placed to create a seamless home network. The system covers up to 5,000 square feet, with individual connection speeds around 500Mbps.
The Eero 6 may particularly useful in the context of a smart home, since it supports Wi-Fi 6, which dramatically increases the number of simultaneous connections versus Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac). There’s even an integrated Zigbee hub, so you can control some smart home accessories without burdening your Wi-Fi in the first place. Alexa support means you can use voice to manage access for individual devices and users.
If you’re into activities like gaming or VR, we’d strongly suggest choosing the Eero Pro 6 if you can afford it. That model adds a dedicated backhaul connection that helps push connection speeds up to a gigabit, and coverage up to 6,000 square feet.