Amazon Echo

Having recently upgraded its Echo Show 10 to add a rotating screen, now Amazon has refreshed its smaller Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 5 devices too. A special Kids Edition of the smallest model has also been introduced.

For many of us, cuckoo clocks are something quaint that we remember from our grandparents' homes. Nonetheless, Amazon is now looking at giving the device a 21st Century makeover with its Smart Cuckoo Clock.

Voice-activated smart speakers can be handy around the house, but they come with a privacy trade-off. Appropriately named start-up Paranoid has unveiled a set of devices that can make sure smart speakers are only listening when you want them to.

​According to some folks, smart speakers such as Google Home and Amazon Echo simply make us lazy while needlessly adding electronic complexity to our lives. Thanks to new research, however, the things may someday prevent people from dying of cardiac arrest while sleeping.

If you went anywhere near a rec room or a gift shop in the early 2000s, you probably remember Big Mouth Billy Bass, that motion-sensing, singing, rubber fish. Now, to reel in those customers that got away, there’s a new version of the iconic gag gift that baits the hook with Alexa integration.

In an announcement-packed press show that seems to be becoming an annual event for Amazon, the company has unveiled a host of different Echo-branded and Alexa-powered devices for 2018, including redesigned speakers and a smart microwave. We've got the details on everything that's new.

​As Amazon targets children with the release of its Echo Dot Kids Edition, concerns are being raised over the effects voice assistants could be having on children. Is teaching kids how to politely command Alexa enough, or are there long-term developmental consequences to children using such devices?

​If video of Alexa returning some slightly age-inappropriate results to toddlers' queries has prevented you from welcoming the virtual assistant into your home, then a custom version designed for little ones, along with the new Echo Dot Kids Edition, might address your reservations.

'Tis the season to be buying smart speakers, with both Amazon and Google revamping their line-ups before the holidays, and Apple promising to join the market with its own entry in 2018. But with an increasing number of models available, how do you choose between them? We've got all you need to know.

If you haven't joined the Internet of Things (IoT) train yet, now's the perfect time to get on board. Smarts have been crammed into pretty much every household appliance, with more options than ever. New Atlas rounds up some of the best IoT gadgets to smarten up your home this holiday season.

​The Alexa voice assistant seems to be pretty much everywhere these days – in Amazon's own Bluetooth speakers, living inside fancy lamps, or helping smartphone users cope with their busy lives. Now the company's business arm has unveiled plans to get Alexa into the workplace.​

Sonos has unveiled an Alexa speaker. Along with the ability to access Amazon's voice assistant, the speaker will be compatible with Google Assistant and Apple AirPlay from next year, making it one of the first devices to pull together the disparate digital assistants from various companies.