Amazon Echo Studio (2025) Review: A Smaller Studio That Trades Volume for Clarity
Dolby Atmos, a built-in Zigbee, Matter and Thread hub, and presence and temperature sensing in a sphere 40 percent smaller than the original, with sound that divides owners.
The redesigned Echo Studio packs Dolby Atmos, spatial audio, a full Zigbee plus Matter plus Thread border router hub, presence and temperature sensing and eero mesh extension into a compact sphere. Owners consistently praise the build, the effortless setup and how well it works in multi-room groups or Fire TV home theater, and several describe it as transformative once paired in stereo. The recurring criticism is that a single unit plays quieter and with less low-end weight than the larger original Echo Studio, which makes the price a harder sell for anyone buying just one. Buy it as a smart home hub and a pair of speakers rather than as a single room-shaking box.
- Alexa households wanting a hub and speaker in one
- Stereo pairs and multi-room audio setups
- Fire TV home theater with Dolby Atmos
- Small and medium rooms
Pros
- Built-in Zigbee, Matter and Thread border router hub, no separate bridge needed
- Dolby Atmos and spatial audio with automatic room adaptation
- Presence detection and ambient temperature sensor via Omnisense
- Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, plus eero mesh extension on compatible networks
- Compact spherical design owners consistently call attractive and well built
- Very simple setup and strong multi-room and Fire TV home theater support
- Physical microphone disable button
Cons
- Quieter with less deep bass than the larger original Echo Studio, by many owners' accounts
- Most convincing only when bought as a stereo pair, which doubles the cost
- Alexa+ behavior with specific albums and third-party music services frustrates owners
- No ethernet port and no 3.5mm line-in
- Built-in Zigbee hub exposes limited device data and can struggle at scale
- Glass-break and smoke alarm listening require a subscription
- No Google Home, Apple Home or SmartThings integration
Who is the Amazon Echo Studio (2025) for?
This generation is aimed at Alexa users who want one device to run the smart home and carry the room's audio. Inside the sphere are a 3.75 inch woofer and three full-range drivers in a 3.1.1 playback layout with Dolby Atmos and automatic room adaptation, alongside Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 and a built-in hub that speaks Zigbee, Matter and Thread as a border router, so lights, locks and sensors pair directly without a separate bridge. Omnisense adds presence detection, an ambient temperature sensor and tap gestures for pausing playback, and eero Built-in lets it extend a compatible eero mesh network. It suits small to medium rooms, and it is designed to be bought in pairs for stereo or as Fire TV surrounds.
What buyers love
The industrial design draws consistent compliments: owners describe it as gorgeous, well built and reassuringly heavy for its size, with a flat bottom that sits neatly on a desk or shelf. Setup is repeatedly called plug-and-play, with the Alexa app walking through Wi-Fi and multi-room grouping in minutes. The strongest praise goes to pairing: owners who run two units in stereo describe the difference from a single speaker as night and day, and several use them as Fire TV home theater speakers with Dolby Atmos and report room-filling, theater-like sound. Microphone pickup and response speed are called a clear step up over older Echo devices, jazz and vocal detail come in for specific praise, and the temperature sensor and tap-to-pause gesture are both singled out as genuinely useful.
What to know before you buy
Sound is the divisive point. A meaningful group of owners, including several who also own the original Echo Studio, report that this smaller unit does not play as loud and has less deep bass than its predecessor, and buyers expecting a large step up for the price are frequently disappointed. Multiple reviewers conclude it only makes sense as a pair. On the software side, owners describe Alexa+ as inconsistent, with recurring complaints about playing specific albums and playlists, especially through third-party music services. One advanced user reports the built-in Zigbee hub is limited in what device data it exposes and drops connections at larger device counts. There is no ethernet port and no 3.5mm input, some TVs need a Fire TV device to use the speakers for home theater, and the speaker can vibrate the surface it sits on at higher volumes. Some smart home alerts, such as glass-break and smoke alarm detection, require a subscription.
Is the Amazon Echo Studio (2025) worth it?
As a single speaker at full price, owner feedback is mixed and several buyers say plainly that it did not justify the cost for them. As a stereo pair, as Fire TV surrounds, or as the one device that also replaces a Zigbee and Thread hub, the picture is much more positive and buyers who use it that way rate it highly. Waiting for a sale is the recurring advice from owners themselves. If the smart home hub, the sensors and the Atmos support matter to you as much as raw loudness, it earns its place; if you want the loudest single speaker for the money, the feedback suggests looking elsewhere.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Echo Studio (2025) work as a smart home hub?
Yes. It has a built-in hub with Zigbee, Matter support and a Thread border router, so compatible lights, locks, plugs and sensors can be paired directly to the speaker without a separate bridge.
Is the new Echo Studio louder than the original?
No. Owners who have used both consistently report the redesigned unit plays quieter and with less low bass than the larger first-generation Echo Studio, though many find the clarity better.
Can two Echo Studio speakers be paired for stereo or home theater?
Yes. Two units can be paired as a stereo pair, and they can be grouped with a compatible Fire TV device for Dolby Atmos home theater. Owners describe the stereo pair as a large improvement over a single unit.
Does it have temperature and presence sensors?
Yes. Omnisense provides presence detection, an ambient temperature sensor, an ambient light sensor and an accelerometer for tap gestures, and routines can be triggered by presence or temperature.
Does the Echo Studio work with Apple Home or Google Home?
No. It is an Alexa device and does not integrate with Apple Home, Google Home or SmartThings, though it can act as a Matter controller for other devices in the Alexa app.
Can the Echo Studio be wall mounted?
There is a 1/4-20 threaded socket on the base that accepts standard camera-style mounts, and owners report using third-party wall mounts with it. No mount is included.
