(Bloomberg)—Amazon.com Inc., girding for a stronger fight from Apple Inc. and Google, unveiled a slew of consumer devices including an improved Alexa-powered smart-home hub, a smaller Echo speaker and a version of its compact Echo with a screen called Spot.

Though hardware products aren’t key to Amazon’s bottom line, they serve as important conduits for popularizing and expanding the Alexa voice-based digital assistant, which is integrated into the latest devices. Amazon is No. 1 in the Internet Retailer 2017 Top 500.

The products with screens also provide a platform for customers to view content like movies and books from Amazon Prime, the $99-a-year membership that does contribute to profits. As an e-commerce giant, Amazon aims to give consumers the ability to buy items on its website from any of their devices, and Alexa drives that effort.

It’s especially critical for the company to keep pushing Alexa as Apple (No. 2 in the Top 500)) and Alphabet Inc.’s Google begin to market more devices with their own voice-based services—Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant. Earlier this month, Apple debuted the iPhone 8 line and iPhone X, which are expected be in high demand this holiday season. Apple also is scheduled to release its HomePod speaker in December. For its part, Google is expected to debut a new Home speaker and a pair of upgraded Pixel smartphones on Oct. 4.

Amazon’s upgraded smart home device, called the Echo Plus, has better sound than the current Echo speaker and costs $150, down from the current $180, the company said at an event at its headquarters in Seattle on Wednesday. The smart home hub lets user more easily connect and control other accessories including lights, thermostats, and locks. This was possible before, but the set up was more complicated.

The new, smaller Echo also has better sound and an improved ability to hear users, said Dave Limp, who runs Amazon’s Alexa and Echo lines. The $99 speaker has a dedicated woofer and tweeter for sharper music playback and new microphones to let the device understand users at a greater distance, Limp said.

Echo Buttons come in colors and allow users to play games with friends and family using Alexa.

The version of the mini Dot, which Amazon dubbed Echo Spot, will come with a 2.5-inch color screen. It can show information like the time, weather, news, web videos and has a built-in video camera for video calling over Alexa. The device, which costs $130, also can serve as a video intercom.

The revamped Fire TV set-top box will support higher-resolution 4K video, which matches the capabilities of Apple’s recently updated device. Amazon’s new box is smaller than the previous Fire TV and can plug into the back of a TV via its HDMI port. The device continues to integrate with Alexa, allowing users to shout commands into their remote control or to their Echo speakers. Netflix and Hulu will begin to support Alexa voice control within their respective Fire TV applications, Amazon said.

The smart speaker phone, called Echo Connect, plugs into existing home landline telephone jacks. The other end of the $35 device connects to an Echo speaker so people can use their voice to make calls and chat hands-free. The device will be released in the U.S. in the fourth quarter and next year in the U.K.

Amazon also announced that its voice-calling and messaging service on Alexa would expand to the U.K. as well as to infotainment systems in some BMW cars by mid-2018. Amazon already has deals for Alexa with Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG.

The items introduced Wednesday follow a procession of new Amazon products in 2017. The retail giant launched the Echo Show, a version of its speaker with a tablet-sized touchscreen; the Echo Look device, with a camera for giving users wardrobe advice; cheaper tablets; and a third-party television set with built-in Fire TV streaming capability. The company doesn’t disclose how many of each device it sells, nor does it break out revenue or profit from hardware.