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Amazon has unveiled the latest versions in its voice-activated Alexa smarts Echo speaker and video line - Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo Plus and Echo Sub - which the online retail giant says includes improved sound, additional functions and newer designs.

The latest Echo items will arrive on the market on Thursday, October 11 but you can pre-order from now.

Credited with shepherding Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa into millions of homes across the world, the compact Echo Dot first arrived onto the scene in 2016. Apart from offering better sound quality as well as softer edges and fabric covers, the latest version is also described as being 70 percent louder.

Unlike the seven-microphone array of its predecessor, the new Echo Dot can function with only four microphones despite having the same four-button control layout. Tech pundits have described Echo Dot as resembling the Google Home Mini.

Echo Dot is available for £49.99.

Designed to be a smart home hub to communicate with household devices, the latest Echo Plus features include a similar softer design similar to its sister Echo Dot speaker as well as improved audio components.

Other features include a new temperature sensor meaning that you can simply pop the question of room temperature to Alexa. You can even set preset it to automatically trigger devices to cool down rooms when it gets too hot.

Available for £139.99, Echo Plus comes in three shades – charcoal, heather grey and sandstone.

Accompanying the Echo speakers is Echo Sub which is priced at £119.99.

Echo Sub is a subwoofer (a loudspeaker component designed to reproduce very low bass frequencies) introduced to supply the bass for a home audio setup and, specifically, to enhance the audio of the existing Echo and Echo Plus speakers.

Turning to video, the latest Echo Show boasts a revamped design and improved audio quality with an eight-microphone array and a larger 10-inch display - twice as large as its predecessor - that can be seen from across the room and will look much nicer in areas like the kitchen!

It is available for £219.99.

Finally, the Amazon Smart Plug is a new gadget that can turn almost any household item into a “smart” device.

It can plug into an outlet and then, in turn, plug into other devices that you can simply control with your voice. With the £24.99 Amazon Smart Plug, you can schedule lights, coffee machine, and appliances to turn on and off automatically, or control them remotely when you’re away.

It will also become available on Thursday, October 11.

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