--- description: Amazon's Amazon Echo voice-activated, connected home command center is now available for anybody to purchase. title: You Can Now Buy Amazon's Siri-For-Your-Home image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt90f5ed40ac2f400c/698765433c1639689944f910/deviceheroimg.png?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # You Can Now Buy Amazon's Siri-For-Your-Home by [Robert Hackett / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Robert Hackett / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2015 6:07 PM CUT  Amazon Echo Amazon EchoAmazon by [Robert Hackett / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Robert Hackett / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2015 6:07 PM CUT Amazon’s Amazon Echo voice-activated, connected home command center is now available for anybody to purchase. The Siri-like device will start shipping July 14. The cylindrical Echo, which responds to voice commands and allows a user to learn the weather, set alarms, and listen to music, had a limited launch in fall 2014\. Since then, Amazon has added many new features to the Echo, including compatibility with the music streaming service Pandora, the audiobook service Audible, and more. “We are grateful to our early customers for their incredible engagement and for providing us with invaluable feedback to help shape Echo as it evolves—with their help, we’ve been able to add features like Audible, Pandora, home automation, sports scores, calendar, and more,” [said Amazon Echo vice president Greg Hart](http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2061798 "undefined") in a statement. “We’re excited to get Echo into the hands of even more customers and continue to invent new features and experiences.” At the end of last year, current _Fortune_ senior editor Stacey Higginbotham [wrote that her family liked Echo’s linguistic prowess, but disliked](http://We dislike the Echo’s Amazon-centric worldview. My family spends plenty of cash on Amazon each month, but our lives are managed via Google calendars and our entertainment is on Netflix, Spotify %28mostly consumed over a Sonos%29 and Hulu. Our home automation runs the gamut from Philips Hue bulbs to a Nest and Chamberlain garage door opener integrated with SmartThings and IFTTT. I’d like to bring those devices and services into the Echo. "undefined") its limited compatibility with many of the services and smart home devices her family uses, such as Google Calendars, “If This Then That,” and Philips Hue bulbs. As Hart’s comment indicates, Amazon has been listening. All those capabilities are newly added features to the Amazon Echo. Amazon Echo works by triggering when summoned by the name “Alexa.” That’s the name of the Amazon Web Services-powered “brains behind Echo,” a natural language processing tool similar to Apple’s Siri. Since the gadget is always listening for that so-called wake word (which can also be changed to “Amazon”), some watchdogs have [pointed out potential privacy concerns](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/11/11/how-closely-is-amazons-echo-listening/ "undefined"). The device costs $179.99 and can be ordered on [Amazon’s website](http://www.amazon.com/echo "undefined"). Customers can expect more functionality and skills to roll out later this year, the company says. ### See the Factories Where Amazon Can Move 426 Items a Second  Employees collect merchandise ordered by customers for shipment from the Amazon.com distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 26, 2012. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images  A worker collects order items at the Fulfilment Centre for online retail giant Amazon in Peterborough, central England, on Nov. 28, 2013. Andrew Yates—AFP/Getty Images  Merchandise sits on shelves before shipment at the Amazon.com Inc. distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 26, 2012. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images  An employee packs merchandise for shipment at the Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment center in Phoenix, Arizona, Dec. 2, 2013. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images  A picture shows the Fulfilment Centre for online retail giant Amazon in Peterborough, central England, on November 28, 2013, ahead of Cyber Monday on December 2nd, expected to be one of the busiest online shopping days of the year. Andrew Yates—AFP/Getty Images  An employee packs orders in the Fulfilment Centre for online retail giant Amazon in Peterborough, central England, on November 28, 2013, ahead of Cyber Monday on December 2nd, expected to be one of the busiest online shopping days of the year. Andrew Yates—AFP/Getty Images  Employee Maria Miller loads boxes onto a conveyer belt for shipping at the Amazon.com Inc. distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. on Monday, Nov. 26, 2012. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images  Interior view of the hall of a logistics center of the online shopping company Amazon, taken on March 26, 2014 in Leipzig, eastern Germany. Peter Ending—AFP/Getty Images  Packages sit in regional delivery dividers ahead of distribution at the Amazon.co.uk Marston Gate 'Fulfillment Center,' the U.K. site of Amazon.com Inc. in Ridgmont, United Kingdom, Dec. 3, 2012. Simon Dawson—Bloomberg/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3932566/amazon-echo-buy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3932566/amazon-echo-buy/"},"headline":"You Can Now Buy Amazon's Siri-For-Your-Home","datePublished":"2015-06-23T18:07:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:44:40.506Z","description":"The Amazon Echo is now available to all shoppers","url":"https://time.com/3932566/amazon-echo-buy/","keywords":["Tech","Amazon","Pandora","Siri","amazon echo","pubdesk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt90f5ed40ac2f400c/698765433c1639689944f910/deviceheroimg.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Robert Hackett / Fortune"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt90f5ed40ac2f400c/698765433c1639689944f910/deviceheroimg.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Amazon Echo","caption":"Amazon Echo","creditText":"Amazon","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3932566/amazon-echo-buy/","name":"You Can Now Buy Amazon's Siri-For-Your-Home"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See The Unique Way Amazon Ships This Teddy Bear","description":"Go Behind the Scenes at Amazon to see how the products you buy make it to the shipping truck","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/IY8KG0y3/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-12-01T04:19:45.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IY8KG0y3.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3932566/amazon-echo-buy/","duration":"PT2M54S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3932566/amazon-echo-buy/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```