Amazon today introduced a new product it’s calling the Echo Input. This is a very thin, tiny version of the Echo Dot – and the first Alexa device without a speaker. The idea here is to offer a device that allows you to connect to the speaker you already own. The device connects to a speaker over a 3.5mm audio cable or Bluetooth, and sports a four-microphone array so you can talk to Alexa. But unlike with the Echo Dot, the audio will play over the connected speaker, not the device itself.
The small form factor – it’s just 12.5mm tall – allows the device to fit in almost anywhere. You can drop them throughout the house, for example.
When a speaker is connected to an Echo Input, it can then be added to new or existing multi-room music groups.
Amazon says the product is designed also to be shipped in bundles with other speakers that people like – such as Bose, which is a first partner for this device.
The Echo Input comes in both black and white, and will be available later this year for $34.99 in the U.S., U.K. and Germany.
