Amazon’s brand new redesigned Echo Dot doesn’t hit shelves until October 22, but you can already reserve one of the new spherical smart speakers for $50. But today Amazon’s running a special: Preorder two Echo Dots and save $20 when you use the checkout code DOT2PACK, bringing the total cost to $80.
The new Echo Dot is quite a departure from the prior puck-shaped model. The new speaker looks like a small ball sitting inside a cradle. It features control buttons at the top that include a microphone “off” button that electronically disconnects the microphones. As with the older Dots it offers the usual Alexa-filled features including smart home control, the ability to set timers, retrieve answers from the web, and play music from a wide variety of services including Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
The new speaker is also compatible with Guard Plus, Amazon’s new subscription security service. In addition to the free Guard service, which monitors your home for the sounds of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, as well as breaking glass and delivers alerts to your phone, you can also get access to an Emergency Helpline, Smart Alerts about activity, and other potential emergencies in your home while you’re away, and new features to deter potential intruders. The service costs $5 a month or $50 a year.
So if you’ve had your eye on one of Amazon’s new speaker, now’s the change to preorder.
[Today’s deal: Buy two fourth-generation Echo Dots for $80 at Amazon]