Amazon is spreading its fall hardware announcements across October instead of holding a single showcase, and this week it brought journalists to a small event in New York City’s financial district to present its new Echo devices. The company has already introduced new Fire TV devices, colorful new Kindles, the Alexa Tablet Pro 12, Ring’s first smart lock, new hardware from AI-wearable startup Bee, and new Blink 4K cameras this month.
Panos Panay, senior vice president of devices, Alexa, and Leo at Amazon, opened the event by describing the reasoning behind the staggered schedule. He said the company has many meaningful products launching, but that releasing everything at once means not all of them get enough attention. The longer rollout, he said, allows more focus on each launch. He also teased two upcoming launches, one from Ring and news involving “Echo on the Go,” before saying the day’s focus was the home.
Panay then spent about 45 minutes presenting five new Echo smart speakers and displays: the Echo Show 16, Echo Time, Alexa Photo Frame, Echo Studio with Home Camera, and a new Echo Dot. Each product sat on a plinth in the warehouse-like space. He demonstrated several new software features for the Echo Show smart displays, which will debut on the Show 16 and later reach existing Show products. These include dedicated home screens, an interactive 3D map view for controlling smart home devices, and a meal planning feature.
Panay also said Amazon has opened up Alexa Plus’s capabilities further, unlocking a new layer of understanding in the generative-AI-powered assistant. He noted that AI in the home is still relatively new and that while it is widespread on computers and phones, the home has been harder to unlock. Amazon is aiming to change that with what it describes as Alexa’s new brain, an updated version of Alexa Plus that adds abilities such as deeper research alongside its existing uses, including controlling lights, setting timers, and playing music.
To manage these longer conversations, a new Card interface on Show devices collects each chat. Cards also appear in the Alexa app and on Alexa.com, allowing users to continue conversations with the assistant wherever they are. The event continued in a selection of small rooms designed to resemble home spaces, where product engineers and designers demonstrated the new devices and explained their features.
More gadget news from TechManNews.
