Let’s face it — no one ever says, “Hey Echo.” We say Alexa. We’ve always said Alexa. So when I heard that Amazon might actually rebrand its Echo Show as the Alexa Show, I couldn’t help but think: Finally, someone’s catching up to reality.
After all, Amazon’s been playing this game for over a decade now. You’d think by this point, they’d realize we don’t care that it’s technically an Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo Studio, or Echo Pop. To us, they’re all just Alexas — the disembodied assistant who tells us the weather, plays our lo-fi playlists, and answers our weird midnight questions.
And here’s the kicker: Amazon might be inching toward acknowledging that.
The Verge recently got a tip (shoutout to eagle-eyed readers) that some listings on Amazon.com are showing Alexa Show instead of Echo Show — part of a quiet test they’re running. I tried to replicate the search myself, no dice. But oh, how I hope it’s real. Because let’s be honest — “Echo Show”? It sounds like a ghost with stage presence. “Alexa Show,” on the other hand? Now we’re talking. It says exactly what it is: smarts you can see.
Think about it.
The name “Echo” was never a great fit. By definition, it’s just a reflected sound — a mindless bounce back. But these devices aren’t parroting us. They’re listening, processing, responding. They’re engaging with context. They’re, dare I say, conversational. So why stick with a label that sounds passive and hollow?
And what’s worse, the combo names — Echo Show, Echo Dot — are clunky. They carry no real cognitive load. Nothing in them screams intelligence or personality. But rename them? Alexa Dot. Alexa Pop. Alexa Studio. Suddenly, it all fits. They’re part of the same family — the Alexa family. Familiar, intuitive, and immediately recognizable.
Sure, Amazon just launched Alexa+, a smarter, AI-juiced version of the assistant we already know. But even if I don’t want every product name to get a shiny “+” glued to it, putting Alexa front and center feels like a branding no-brainer. It aligns with how we talk, how we search, how we use these devices.
Picture it:
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Alexa Dot
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Alexa Spot
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Alexa Frames
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Alexa Fire Stick
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Alexa Fire Tablet
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Heck, maybe even an Alexa Kindle (okay, that’s a stretch — no one’s talking to their Kindle mid-book).
I asked Amazon about all this, and their response? A classic corporate bucket of cold water.
“I wouldn’t read too much into this… We’re running an experiment to better understand product discovery.”
Translation? We’re not saying no.
It’s the same energy as someone saying, “I probably won’t win the lottery,” and you immediately reply, “So you’re saying there’s a chance!”
In all seriousness, dropping “Echo” and going all-in on “Alexa” might not just be logical — it might be inevitable. We’ve already made the mental shift. All Amazon has to do now… is catch up.
Would you call your device an Echo if it weren’t printed on the box? Didn’t think so. Let me know what you’d rename it in the comments below.
