Some parents see bedtime as a real hurdle. While many enjoy the tradition of reading stories and tucking children in, they could still use a hand with the evening wind‑down. On Wednesday, Amazon rolled out Sleep Studio, a new feature for its Echo smart speakers that focuses on bedtime routines for both parents and kids.
Sleep Studio offers bedtime stories, soothing sounds, and guided meditations drawn from services like Headspace, Moshi and Calm. Parents can also build custom playlists and manage sleep schedules via the parent dashboard in the Amazon Kids mobile app or on the website.
After a sleep schedule is set, the Echo will issue a 30‑minute wind‑down reminder to get things moving. Users can also launch the feature manually by asking Alexa to «play Sleep Studio.»
If a child uses an Echo Glow speaker with the night‑light function, Sleep Studio can be configured with color‑coded lighting to indicate when it’s time to sleep and when it’s time to wake up.
«Healthy sleep habits are essential for kids, but bedtime can be tough,» said Eric Kuhn, general manager of Amazon Kids, in a statement. «We created Sleep Studio to make bedtime a bit simpler for everyone: easy scheduling, stories and sounds kids love, all on a device families already have. When kids sleep better, parents sleep better, too.»
Sleep Studio isn’t sold as a separate Echo add‑on; it’s bundled with an Amazon Kids Plus subscription, which provides child‑friendly entertainment and parental controls across Amazon devices for $6 per month.
New customers can try Amazon Kids Plus free for one month on any compatible device, and certain Echo Kids models include a complimentary six‑ or twelve‑month subscription. Echo Pop Kids ships with six months of Amazon Kids Plus, while Echo Dot Kids and Echo Show 5 Kids come with a full year.