Amazon Echo Studio (2025) Review: A Bold Rebirth Built for the AI-Powered Future

Six years is an eternity in the tech world. When Amazon launched the original Echo Studio in 2019, it represented the company's most ambitious attempt at premium audio—a tower-shaped powerhouse designed to compete with Apple's HomePod and serious audiophile speakers. Now, in 2025, Amazon has torn up the blueprint entirely, delivering a comprehensive redesign that's smaller, smarter, and built from the ground up for its next-generation AI assistant, Alexa+. The question isn't whether the new Echo Studio looks better—it objectively does. The real question is whether Amazon can deliver the same room-filling sound from a speaker that's 40 percent smaller, while simultaneously making it the showcase device for an AI revolution that could redefine how we interact with smart home technology. The Death Star Has Landed: Design That Finally Makes Sense The original Echo Studio looked like Tony Stark's Mk I Iron Man helmet—imposing, cylindrical, and decidedly utilitarian. The 2025 model has completely abandoned that aesthetic in favor of a spherical design that multiple reviewers have affectionately dubbed the "Death Star." At just six inches across, it's dramatically more compact and actually looks like something you'd want to display in your home rather than hide behind furniture. Amazon wrapped the sphere in a 3D-knit fabric designed for "ultimate acoustic transparency," maintaining the premium feel while ensuring sound can escape unimpeded. The signature Alexa light ring has been relocated to the front of the device, making it easier to see when you're actually facing the speaker. The ring now displays different colors for various functions—white for volume adjustments, red when microphones are muted, blue for Bluetooth pairing, and green when someone uses the Drop In intercom feature. The control scheme has been radically simplified. Gone are the multiple buttons scattered across the top surface. Instead, you get just three buttons on an angled front panel: volume up, volume down, and microphone mute. Amazon wants you to use voice commands or your smartphone for everything else, which feels like a natural evolution for a device built around conversational AI. Alexa+ Takes Center Stage: The AI Revolution You've Been Waiting For While the physical redesign grabs attention, the real story is what's happening inside. The Echo Studio ships with early access to Alexa+, Amazon's completely overhauled AI assistant that promises to be "deeply conversational and engaging, personalized, and gets things done." This isn't just marketing speak—Amazon reports that customers with early access are talking to Alexa over twice as much as before. Powering this experience is Amazon's new AZ3 Pro processor, purpose-built to handle AI processing on the edge without awkward pauses or delays. During testing, the improvements are immediately noticeable. Multi-turn conversations flow naturally without the robotic stop-and-start pattern that plagued earlier iterations. Ask Alexa+ to remind you about making pizza dough, then immediately inquire about your mood, and it responds without missing a beat—even analyzing your voice to determine you're feeling "chill" with good "Monday vibes." The assistant can now handle complex, contextual conversations that feel genuinely helpful rather than frustratingly limited. It's the kind of advancement that makes you actually want to use voice control for more than setting timers and checking the weather—which is precisely what Amazon needs to justify keeping these devices in people's homes. Sound Quality: Impressive Immersion With Some Caveats Here's where things get complicated. Amazon managed to pack three 1.5-inch full-range drivers and a 3.75-inch high-excursion woofer into a dramatically smaller package. The company claims this delivers immersive, room-filling sound with support for Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio. In practice, the results are mixed but generally impressive. The soundstage is notably wide and immersive, especially with properly mastered spatial audio tracks. Testing with Gregory Porter's "Mona Lisa" cover reveals impressive height and separation in orchestral sections, with good dynamics and an impressive sense of scale. The speaker goes loud—very loud—and can easily fill large rooms with sound, making it excellent for entertaining or background music during gatherings. However, the bass response reveals the compromises inherent in the smaller design. While the woofer delivers power and presence, it lacks the control and subtlety of the original Studio. Some tracks, particularly those with prominent basslines, can feel overpowered in the low end. The bass feels tighter than the original's somewhat loose presentation, but it doesn't dig as deep or maintain the same level of detail. The quality of spatial audio experiences varies considerably depending on the source material. Well-mixed Dolby Atmos tracks showcase the speaker's capabilities beautifully, but Amazon's "Stereo Spatial Enhancement" upmixing feature is hit or miss. With some tracks, it sucks out drive and momentum, creating an unbalanced, over-processed sound that's worse than standard stereo presentation. Compared to competitors, the Echo Studio holds its own. It outperforms the Sonos Era 100 in sheer volume and immersive effects, though Sonos maintains an edge in detail and tonal accuracy. Against Apple's HomePod, the Studio delivers more balanced bass presentation and wider compatibility with streaming services, though the HomePod digs deeper into sub-bass territory. Smart Home Integration and Future Features Beyond audio and AI, Amazon loaded the 2025 Echo Studio with smart home features that expand its utility. The device can function as an eero Wi-Fi satellite extender, helping blanket your home in wireless coverage. Built-in temperature and presence sensors enable automation routines based on environmental conditions and occupancy. Coming soon, you'll be able to connect up to five Echo Studio or Echo Dot Max speakers with compatible Fire TV devices for an automatic surround sound system. Amazon's Alexa Home Theater promises plug-and-play simplicity—just connect the speakers and Alexa handles room tuning automatically. For households invested in the Amazon ecosystem, this could be a game-changer for home entertainment. The Verdict: Unfulfilled Potential That's Still Worth Considering The 2025 Echo Studio represents Amazon's most significant smart speaker upgrade in years, combining superior design, AI capabilities that actually feel transformative, and sound quality that punches well above its $220 price point. The compact spherical form factor is infinitely more livable than the imposing tower it replaces, and Alexa+ demonstrates real potential to make voice assistants genuinely useful again. However, there's considerable unfulfilled potential here. The tap controls need refinement, some audio features remain "coming soon," and the sound quality—while impressive—doesn't match the comprehensive sonic oomph of the original Studio. The bass lacks detail despite a pleasingly immersive soundstage, and the spatial audio upmixing produces inconsistent results. For households deeply invested in the Alexa ecosystem, particularly those excited about AI-powered voice assistants, the new Echo Studio is an easy recommendation at $220. It's the best way to experience Alexa+ and delivers enough audio quality to satisfy most users. Audiophiles focused purely on sound quality might still prefer the Sonos Era 100, but they'll miss out on the AI revolution happening inside this Death Star-inspired sphere. Amazon has created a cozy, attractive home for its most ambitious AI assistant yet. Once the company fine-tunes the remaining rough edges, this could be the smart speaker that finally delivers on the promise of truly intelligent home audio.