Searching for smart, safe news you can TRUST?
Support safe, smart, REAL journalism. Sign up for our Axios AM & PM newsletters and get smarter, faster.
Searching for smart, safe news you can TRUST?
Support safe, smart, REAL journalism. Sign up for our Axios AM & PM newsletters and get smarter, faster.
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Minneapolis-St. Paul
Tampa-St. Petersburg news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa-St. Petersburg
Amazon's new spherical Echo smart speaker. Screenshot: Axios
Amazon debuted a range of new Ring, Fire TV and Echo hardware on Thursday, including more environmentally sustainable versions of its audio and video gear. Among the products introduced are a cloud gaming service, a home monitoring drone and new spherical designs for its Echo and Echo dot smart speakers.
Why it matters: Amazon, like rivals Google and Apple, typically gives its consumer hardware a launch ahead of the holidays. Apple has already introduced new iPads, while Google has scheduled a Sept. 30 event, where it is expected to debut new audio and video gear, alongside updated Pixel phones.
So far, Amazon has introduced:
Audio
- A $99 spherical Amazon Echo that includes an Amazon-designed machine learning chip.
- The new Echo Dot ($49) and Echo Dot with clock ($59) also features a spherical design.
- A new $59 Echo Dot Kids Edition speaker, which comes in tiger and panda designs, and includes audio content from Audible.
Video
- A re-designed $249 Echo Show 10 smart display with a brighter display that automatically rotates to keep the screen in front of the user.
- New Fire TV sticks, including a lower cost "lite" version for $29 with a simplified remote.
Wi-Fi
- New Eero 6 routers that support Wi-Fi 6 and also act as a smart home hub using a protocol known as Zigbee.
Ring security
- Three new Ring car alarms and cameras coming in early 2021 that can alert to a break-in, summon emergency responders in a crash and record video and alert friends if you are pulled over for a traffic stop. The products will range from $59 to $199.
- A $249 camera drone called Ring Always Home coming in 2021 that can autonomously fly around the house and record video.
Miscellaneous
- A new gaming service called Luna that has a controller that connects directly to the cloud, reducing latency and eliminating the need to pair the controller to each set-top box.
The big picture: Amazon also played up improved privacy controls and the work it is doing to lessen the environmental impact of its new products.
- Amazon is adding a low-power mode for its new devices and offering an update for some existing ones.
- It is also using recycled fabric and aluminum in the new products.
- The company also pledged to create enough clean energy to counterbalance the energy consumed through use of the new products.