Today's Amazon Echo event could bring biggest smart speaker upgrades in years

Amazon Echo fans are in for a real treat today as the online retail company is set to announce a swathe of new products.

The online retailer is hosting a major launch event at its Seattle headquarters with many rumours pointing to an all-new Echo as the main attraction.

The smart speaker hasn’t been updated in almost two years, so it’s definitely ready for a full refresh and radical reboot.

To back up the rumours that a major change is coming, the Echo is also currently unavailable on Amazon’s own website which suggests the old device has been cleared from stock ready for something new.

Although nothing has yet been confirmed by Amazon, the new Echo could get a slick new look, better sound quality and maybe the option of making it more portable via a battery. That would certainly fit with the recent addition of a lossless streaming option on Amazon’s music service, which can’t be appreciated using the small speaker inside the current Echo.

Amazon’s big event will begin at around 6pm BST and Express.co.uk has made the trip to Seattle for a front-row seat. We’ll be updating this story throughout the proceedings, so check back for all the news.

Along with a new Echo, there’s also been reports that Amazon is planning to take on Apple with the release of some new AirPod-style headphones.

According to CNBC, these new Alexa-powered earbuds will offer similar functionality to Apple’s music makers with tunes beamed to ears wirelessly.

They’ll purportedly ship with a charging case designed to keep them topped-up with battery when they’re not in use and connect to your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth.

As well as playing music, it’s also thought that these new headphones might have the capability to track your daily fitness regime.

Using a built-in accelerometer, Amazon will supposedly monitor how much exercise you are getting with outdoor runs, walks and bike rides all being traced.

Fitness tracking would certainly help Amazon’s earbuds differentiate themselves from Apple’s true wireless offering – which currently have a 60 per cent share of the wireless earbud market – and other AirPod alternatives.

One final thing that might help boost their popularity is the price.

CNBC claims the Amazon wireless earbuds will cost less than $100, roughly £80, which makes them much more affordable than their closest rivals.

• Check back from 6pm for the all the latest Amazon news and gossip from this major launch event.

source: express.co.uk