Amazon hikes Echo, Fire TV and Kindle prices by up to 60 percent

Amazon has increased prices across a wide range of its hardware, including Echo speakers, Kindle e-readers, Fire TV streaming devices and Eero routers. The change was first reported by Fortune and later confirmed to The Verge.

The company attributes the price hikes to a broader industry-wide surge in memory and storage component costs. Amazon spokesperson Kristy Schmidt said the company had absorbed these rising costs for as long as possible before recently adjusting pricing across its product lines, adding that its commitment to offering accessible products remains unchanged.

Budget products hit hardest

The steepest increases landed on Amazon's cheapest devices. The Echo Dot smart speaker rose from $49.99 to $79.99, a 60 percent jump. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max increased by more than 40 percent to $84.99, while the entry-level Kindle rose nearly 37 percent to $149.99.

Amazon's flagship Echo Dot Max, launched last year, also rose in price, from $99.99 to $119.99. Apple made a similar move this summer, raising the price of its comparable HomePod Mini from $99.99 to $129, also citing rising costs. Google's Home Speaker remains priced at $99.99 for now.

Some Amazon products were unaffected by the increases, including its Ring camera and video doorbell lineup and the higher-end $219.99 Echo Studio speaker. In total, at least 13 different products saw price increases, including the eero 7 and eero Pro 7 router bundles and several Echo Show display models.