Is Amazon Working on a New Echo?

Welcome to MEGATech News, where it’s all smart speakers, all the time. Not really, but it certainly feels that way lately, because that particular arena is jumping, with so many companies taking to to Amazon and the Echo. Let’s count the ways:

Google is working on a miniature version of their Google Home Smart Speaker, eyeing the Amazon Echo Dot. Google wants to be king of the smart speakers for ants.

DJ Koh, the President of Samsung’s mobile division, confirmed that Samsung is unleashing a dog into the smart speaker fight.

And Facebook, not to be outdone, is working on the Facebook Aloha, a smart speaker-esque device that also has a screen, allowing for video calling (and maybe spying).

This all brings us right back to Amazon, where things might be brewing. After months of endless Amazon Echo sales, the device is suddenly out of stock. But Dylan, you say, the demand has finally overtaken the supply, that is how supply and demand works. Yes, I sort of understand how supply and demand work, but chances are this isn’t that simple. Amazon has been far too on top of things to simply let supplies right out. There’s likely something else at work.

One possibility is that the supply chain is chugging a bit as Amazon looks to fill the shelves of their newly-acquired Whole Foods stores with the device. The other, more possible possibility, is that Amazon is gearing up for an updated Echo model, something that hasn’t happened since its initial release in 2015. The holiday season is coming, and this would give Amazon a fresh device to take on all the would-be usurpers that have it out for them.

In case you’ve forgotten, Apple’s HomePod is still coming. I guarantee Amazon hasn’t forgotten.