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Echo Loop hands-on: Alexa on your knuckles and at your fingertips
Aside from a pair of glasses, Amazon also announced another interesting Alexa-powered wearable: a smart ring. The Echo Loop is a chunky piece of smart jewelry made out of titanium, with a tiny discreet button. In order to activate it, you have to press the button with your thumb, after which you can say the usual Alexa commands. It has a built-in microphone and speakers.
Echo Frames hands-on: Amazon's glasses bring Alexa everywhere
Amazon is entering into the eyewear business. At the company's annual event today, it announced its first-ever pair of smart glasses, called the Echo Frames. There's no AR here, so don't expect floating images; they're not anything like the North Focals. Instead, think of them as an Alexa-powered speaker that you put on your face. They're designed to look and feel like a regular pair of glasses, and based on the brief time I had with them, I think they nailed it. It really does look like a normal pair of frames.
These are all of the Alexa devices Amazon unveiled today
Today, Amazon held its second-annual hardware deluge. Like last year, the company had a lot to unveil. It revealed a slew of Echo devices, Alexa-powered wearables, Ring's first indoor security cam and a smart oven. The company also shared Alexa updates -- like the voice assistant's ability to impersonate celebrities.
Echo Buds hands-on: Bose quality in an Amazon package
Amazon released not just smart speakers at today's big event, but also a pair of wireless earbuds. The Echo Buds are Alexa-powered of course, but that's not the only thing unique about them. Thanks to a Bose partnership, they also have active noise reduction (ANR) on board. And, based on my brief experience with them, that noise-reduction really works.
Food Network's cooking instruction service lets you ask Alexa for help
Discovery wants to be your one-stop shop for cooking classes, and it's enlisting Amazon's help to make that happen. The broadcaster has unveiled a Food Network Kitchen service that offers a mix of live classes from celebrity chefs, on-demand classes, TV shows and recipes. It'll be available on a raft of Amazon devices (including Echo Show and Fire TV gear) in addition to the virtually obligatory Android and iOS apps, but the real attraction may be the deep tie-ins with Alexa -- Food Network Kitchen may effectively become the go-to option for cooking on Alexa-equipped devices.
Echo Studio hands-on: Amazon's biggest speaker sounds amazing
One of the biggest announcements at today's Amazon event is also big in size. The Echo Studio is Amazon's first-ever play at high-end audio, promising immersive 3D sound, Dolby Atmos capabilities and support for lossless audio streaming. It looks and feels like a premium product, with a sound that fills the whole room, and a design that's not too shabby either.
Amazon Sidewalk aims to connect outdoor tech beyond your WiFi range
As IoT technology spreads across our homes, keeping devices on our WiFi networks becomes more of an issue. Amazon thinks it has a solution with Sidewalk, which aims to keep low-power, low-bandwidth devices connected despite being far away from your router using, a 900 MHz spectrum.
Amazon's new Alexa-enabled smart oven doubles as an air fryer
Move over June, there's a new smart oven in town. On Wednesday, Amazon announced a new smart oven at its fall hardware event. Not to be confused with the AmazonBasics Microwave the company unveiled last year, the Amazon Smart Oven functions as a combination microwave, convection oven, air fryer and food warmer.
Amazon's Echo Frames put Alexa on your face
Soon, it'll be impossible to avoid Alexa. Amazon unveiled a slew of new Echo devices today, but it also launched an array of unexpected products that also feature the digital assistant, like a new microwave (ahem, smart oven) and earbuds. Most surprising perhaps, are the Echo Frames and Echo Loop -- glasses and a ring respectively. These are the first of Amazon's new "Day One" edition products, where the company puts out new devices in limited volume to get feedback and will double down to mass-produce them if people respond well.
Ring's new home security gear includes its first indoor camera
Amazon's deluge of hardware launches isn't limited to Echo devices -- it's showing Ring some attention as well. To start, it's introducing its first indoor-focused camera, the (aptly-named) Ring Indoor Cam. As you can see above, it's considerably more compact than Ring's existing options and can tuck into just about any place in the home. It's also the most affordable Ring camera to date, going on sale today at a not-too-unreasonable $60.
Amazon will let parents control who kids chat with on their Echo
Amazon is under pressure to make its Alexa products safer for kids. With that in mind, the company is introducing Alexa Communications for Kids, which allows parents to whitelist contacts that their kids are allowed to talk to viia Echo devices. Theoretically, the parental controls will allow kids to talk to people through their Echo with reduced risk. That could appeal to parents and grandparents alike.
Echo Flex is an inexpensive way to put Alexa in any outlet
Not content with the rather larger number of Alexa devices already on the market, Amazon just announced the Echo Flex that plugs directly into the wall. Sort of like a Glade Plugin. But instead of a pine fresh smell, it integrates into the growing Alexa universe.
Amazon's new Eero mesh WiFi system is all about ease of use
You'd be forgiven for not knowing Amazon acquired the mesh-networking outfit Eero earlier this year; routers are less than thrilling by nature, and the deal's potential was less exciting than the problems it caused for existing employees. Amazon was keen to move on, though, so it announced a new version of those Eero routers at its press conference in Seattle today.
The Echo Glow is a $30 voice-controlled nightlight
Amazon continued its quest to stuff Alexa into every device imaginable today, announcing a slew of Echo products at its Seattle launch event. In addition to a new Echo, a high-end Echo Studio and Echo Dot with a digital clock built in, the company also showed off something called the Echo Glow. It's a ball of light that's about the size of an Echo Spot, and it can change colors based on your preferences or pulse in rhythm with the music.
Alexa is coming to newer GM vehicles in 2020
The US's largest automaker is about to add Alexa to its vehicles. Starting in the first half of 2020, General Motors plans to update 2018 and newer Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadilac model cars, trucks and crossovers to feature the digital assistant. The automaker says the rollout marks the biggest auto-related expansion of Alexa to date.
Amazon adds the Echo Show 8 to its line of smart displays
Amazon is expanding the Echo Show family. Starting today, consumers in the US can pre-order a new 8-inch model of the company's popular smart display speaker. The $129.99 variant joins the $89.99 Echo Show 5 and the $229.99 second-generation Echo Show, giving you the choice between a 5.5-inch, 8-inch or 10-inch screen. The Echo Show 8 combines the best of Amazon's past smart displays. It features the same screen and sound capabilities of the Echo Show, as well as as the camera shutter and form factor of the Echo Show 5.
Alexa will soon switch between languages for multilingual homes
It's not uncommon for family members under one roof to speak more than one language. To accommodate this, Amazon is adding Multilingual Mode to Alexa. Next month, households in the US will be able to set their Alexa devices to English and Spanish mode. Canadians will get a Canadian English and French mode while families in India will get an Indian English and Hindi mode. Amazon will continue to add languages and locations in the coming months and thanks to its neural text-to-speech technology, programming new modes is now a quick process.
Amazon’s latest Echo has better sound at the same price
Amazon's new $99 mainline Echo is all about improving the music listening experience. It's basically an Echo Plus in new clothes. Under the hood are the same core audio features, including neodymium drivers and a 3-inch woofer. It should have better frequency response, especially on the low end, but Amazon also claims the mids and highs are clearer. We'll have to wait to test it outside the chaos of a press event though, to know for sure.
Amazon's Echo Studio promises immersive audio for $200
Just as earlier reports suggested, Amazon revealed yet another updated version of its Echo smart speaker at its press conference in Seattle today. The big difference? Its focus on high-quality audio. Unlike earlier Echo models, which largely prioritized smarts over sound quality, Amazon's new Echo Studio aims to deliver immersive, 3D audio (with help from Dolby Atmos), all meant to help it compete more capably with competitors like Sonos.
Alexa can mimic celebrities, starting with Samuel L. Jackson
During its hardware extravaganza today, Amazon announced that its neural text-to-speech technology (Neural TTS) that powers Alexa has advanced enough that it can mimic celebrity voices. The first out of the gate will be Samuel L. Jackson.
