Tuesday was Amazon ‘s fall hardware event. Amazon announced a dizzying assortment of new products and updates to existing ones today to kick off Techtober. We’ve already mentioned the stylus-equipped Kindle Scribe and the new Echo Dots as Wi-Fi range extenders, but that’s only the beginning. Let’s look at the remainder of Amazon’s announcements, including new robots and Fire TVs.
Amazon Astro
Amazon Astro gets smarter. When a medication cabinet is opened, caregivers will be notified. Customers can add a room without mapping their whole home. Astro can learn an object’s location and state in your home to inform you if a door was left open. Astro can distinguish dogs and cats and send you photos and videos of them.
Amazon Halo Rise
Amazon, like most smart home or wearable companies, is big on sleep tracking. Google’s Nest Hub is a non-invasive solution for those who don’t want to wear a tracker to bed. Amazon’s Halo Rise smart nightstand gear tracks sleep.
Like the Nest Hub, Halo Rise detects movement and measures respiration to track sleep cycles. Rise uses environmental sensors to identify why you’re not sleeping well (and recommend paths for improvement). It has a progressive wake-up light and connects to other Alexa devices. Amazon will offer the Halo Rise for $140 when it arrives later this year. Full functioning may require a $4/month Halo subscription (six months are free).
Echo Dot with Echo Auto
Echo Dot and Echo Dot with Clock have improved audio and bass. 50% less distortion. The Echo Dot with Clock’s display is better. View artist names, titles, and calendar events. An accelerometer stops music, timers, and calls. Echo devices can extend Eero Wi-Fi. The Echo Dot with Clock costs $59 (AU$99). Pre-order both today.
Amazon has a new and improved Echo Auto with a slimmer design and an adhesive mount. Five microphones separate your voice from road noise and connect by Bluetooth or jack. Amazon hasn’t published a release date or presale information for the 2nd-gen Echo Auto, but you may sign up to get those details.
Eero
Turning Echo Dots into Wi-Fi repeaters is today’s greatest networking news, but Amazon also announced new Eero devices.
New Eero Wi-Fi 6 solutions use Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) for quick deployment. This new hardware, an access point and a gateway, sounds capable, but it’s aimed for professional installers and enterprises, so you won’t be buying it directly.
Eero’s new internet backup function lets you connect a mobile hotspot as a fallback when your wired internet goes down.
Amazon Latest Fire TV with Omni QLED
Amazon’s new Fire TV Omni series features a QLED panel with Dolby Vision IQ and HDR 10+ adaptive. It’s also adaptable. The TV’s motion sensor turns it off when you leave and on when you return. The Fire TV Omni may be used as an art frame when not viewing TV, competing with Samsung’s The Frame TV. Family photographs are also displayed. Sticky notes, weather, news, and more are Amazon widgets. Pre-order the new Fire TV for $799 in the US today. Australia has not yet received the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED.
Everything Else. . .
Amazon made other car-related announcements. First, there’s a smaller Echo Auto with a better adhesive grip. BMW joined Amazon on stage to announce it will construct its next in-car voice assistant using Alexa. The manufacturer predicted the idea would “allow a more natural conversation between driver and vehicle.”
Amazon Event End’s but there is still more for you guys. Be ready for the pixel launch next week.
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