Amazon's AI Gambit: Alexa+ and New Devices Aim to Revitalize Smart Home Market

Alexa's survival hinges on you buying more expensive Amazon devices

Amazon's voice assistant is hanging on by a thread. And that thread is generative AI -- or, in Amazon's case, Alexa+. Amazon hasn't had a problem getting people to buy cheap, Alexa-powered gadgets. However, the Alexa in millions of homes today doesn't make Amazon money. It's largely used for simple tasks unrelated to commerce, like setting timers and checking the weather. As a result, Amazon's Devices business has reportedly been siphoning money, and the clock is ticking for Alexa to prove its worth. Alexa+, a subscription-based generative AI service ($20 per month or included with Prime, which starts at $15/month), is supposed to solve Amazon's woes with Alexa. More conversational and powerful than the original Alexa, Alexa+ is designed to play a more central role in user transactions, enabling, in theory, Amazon to finally make money from voice assistants after 11 years. Today, at its Devices event in New York City, Amazon unveiled new gadgets built to usher in what Amazon hopes is a new era of chatting, shopping, watching TV, and controlling smart homes with Alexa+. These devices are supposed to have the power to make Alexa+ as successful and reliable as possible. But can Amazon convince people to pay more for new devices after establishing a reputation for cheap gadgets? Amazon's new devices are more expensive Amazon announced a lot of new hardware at its Devices event (including for devices without Alexa+, like Ring and Blink cameras and Kindles). The most relevant for Alexa+ are the new Echo smart speakers and smart displays, the majority of which are more expensive than prior or similar releases. In the speaker category is a new Echo Studio for $220. That's 10 percent more than what Amazon charged when it launched a white and software-updated version of 2019's Echo Show ($200). There's also a new type of Echo speaker, the Echo Dot Max. It will be $100, compared to the $50 launch price of the Echo Dot in 2022. Among the new displays is the $180 Echo Show 8. It's 20 percent more than its predecessor from 2021 ($150). Additionally, Amazon is releasing a new 11-inch smart display, the Echo Show 11. At $220, it's cheaper than the 10-inch Echo Show 10 that Amazon released in 2021 ($250), marking an exception to the Alexa+ price bumps. Similarly, Amazon's new Fire TVs with Alexa+ have higher starting prices than the regular Alexa-based models that preceded them. The updated Fire TV Omni QLED Series ranges from $350 to $1,200 for 50- to 75-inch models. The preceding series launched in 2023 for $350 to $1,100. The new Fire TV 2-Series has a higher entry point too ($160 versus $200), though Amazon's new Fire TV Stick Select with Alexa+ is cheaper than its other 4K sticks at $40. Numerous factors could impact pricing, including inflation, tariffs, and production costs. Ars Technica asked Amazon about the higher prices, and a company spokesperson shared a statement saying: The new devices reflect significant investments in better sound quality, more responsive performance, and innovative features that customers have requested. Pricier components seem to be a driving force behind the bigger price tags. The new speakers, for instance, feature AZ3 and AZ23 Pro processors that include a new "AI Accelerator designed to run AI edge models," according to Amazon's announcement. The processors are supposed to enable "better conversation detection" alongside improved mics for blocking out background noise "and improving Alexa's ability to detect the wake-word by over 50 percent." The AZ23 Pro also adds support for vision transformers, which can process images and more advanced language models. Both chips use a new proprietary sensor platform. Amazon says Omnisense leverages various sensors and signals, including those from Echo Show smart displays' cameras, as well as "audio, ultrasound, Wi-Fi radar, accelerometer, and Wi-Fi CSI." Amazon's announcement further explains: This technology allows Alexa to intelligently act on various events happening in and around your home, enabling more personalized, proactive, and helpful experiences, such as delivering a reminder when a specific person walks in the room, or a proactive alert that your garage door is unlocked and it's after 10 pm. There are other upgrades, too. The Echo Dot Max, for example, has two speakers instead of one and claims triple the bass capability of the Echo Dot (5th Gen). And the Echo Studio is in a smaller chassis than its predecessor, which points to higher costs in delivering the same sound quality. Amazon wants you to own multiple Alexa+ gadgets There are reasons why the devices built for running Alexa+ generally cost more. It's a gamble for a new technology that requires a subscription, has its share of privacy concerns, and has not yet proven to be as remarkable as Amazon has claimed since 2023. For years, Amazon devices' main draws have been affordability and simplicity. Echos gained popularity by being cheap and easy to set up around the home and use for frequently performed tasks. Fire TV devices took off as cheaper alternatives to other streaming hardware, especially to the large audience of people who care about little more than 4K, the ability to stream, and the price. Alexa's more devoted users have been happy to fill their houses with Amazon's cheap gadgets. But asking people to fill their homes with more expensive devices is a bigger ask, especially for the millions of people with functioning Amazon devices (Alexa+ will work on many devices that launched with regular Alexa but should run better on the new products.) And with Alexa+ still in early access, it's sensible for customers to be skeptical about how helpful the service will be. Amazon would ideally like people to use multiple Alexa+ devices in their homes for a more robust experience. Its announcement today, for example, encouraged people to build Echo-centric home theaters and highlighted the ability to connect up to five Echo Studio or Echo Dot Maxes with Fire TV sticks. Amazon will eventually sell its new devices in "Alexa Home Theater bundles" as it attempts to extend Alexa's reach in homes. People who buy the Alexa+ devices announced today will have early access to Alexa+ out of the box. Amazon still hasn't said when Alexa+ will be finalized, leaving a huge question mark around the more intriguing abilities that Amazon has previously demoed, like agentic AI features, and Alexa+'s effectiveness across devices. Alexa+ is a tipping point for Amazon's devices, its voice assistant, and voice assistants in general. Today's event revealed more about the changes Alexa+ will bring.

I've Been Using Alexa+ for Months, and These Are My 7 Favorite Features. How to Try It on Your Echo Device

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. At its press event last month, Amazon announced a bevy of new devices, including a new range of Echo devices focused on supporting Alexa+. While its next-generation AI assistant is still in Early Access, I've been testing it for months and found it to be very capable, with more promising features on the way. Here's how you can get your hands on it, what it can do for you, and if it's worth investing in one of Amazon's shiny new devices to try it out. How to Get Alexa+ If you buy one of Amazon's new Echo devices, you get access to Alexa+ right out of the box, though you'll have to wait for these products to officially launch. The Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio arrive on Oct. 29, while the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 will be out on Nov. 12. If you can't wait, Alexa+ Early Access is available now in the US. To get started, you can enroll in Alexa+ during the setup process of a compatible device. Alternatively, visit the company's Alexa+ store page and select Notify me. Or, say "Notify me when Alexa+ is available" to one of your Echo devices or type "set up Alexa+" in the Alexa app. When Alexa+ is available, you'll receive a notification on your mobile device and a welcome email at the address registered to your Amazon account. Alexa+ will then take you through an introductory process to learn about your preferences and create a profile. You'll also be able to personalize Alexa+, including choosing one of its four masculine or four feminine voices. You can opt out of Alexa+ early access at any time by visiting your Memberships & Subscriptions page and clicking End Early Access next to the service name. When it exits beta, Alexa+ will be available for free to Prime members and $19.99 per month for everyone else. What Alexa+ Can Do For You Alexa's glow-up is more than just marketing. In my testing, I've found that it really has become a more capable service. This is all part of what Amazon is calling its "ambient AI" push. The idea is that Amazon wants its services, devices, and AI model to be accessible wherever you are, as long as you're within range of one of its smart speakers or displays, or your mobile device. While I was initially skeptical of this "upgrade," I must admit that I've found it genuinely useful to have easy access to AI. Amazon has largely delivered on the promise of a smarter, more conversational assistant. It's not so much that Alexa+ is adding revolutionary new features that other AI models don't offer, but rather that it's combining a multitude of functions in a ubiquitous service that's incorporated into a variety of devices I already own. Better Querying The main role Alexa+ plays in my life is informational. I have an Echo Dot on my desk that I'm constantly querying while working, writing, or watching movies and TV. Even my previous-generation Dot seems better at picking up my voice than Google or Apple's phone-based smart assistants, and it's a lot easier to ask AI a question with my voice rather than interrupt my workflow by opening a new tab and punching a question into ChatGPT or Gemini. Alexa+ is also more responsive and better at maintaining a conversational flow of questions, commands, and answers than Siri or other assistants. Contextual Reminders It's also great at alarms and reminders. Beyond the standard notifications you can program in for a specific time and date, Alexa+ can provide recurring notifications. For instance, to ensure I didn't forget to watch the Ryder Cup last weekend, I told Alexa to set a recurring notification to be broadcast from the Echo Dot on my desk every two hours, and to only stop notifying me when I'd indicated that I'd received the message. You can leverage AI to set context-specific reminders ("remind me every time there's an upcoming Buffalo Bills game"), or import reminders from your existing calendar. You can even have Alexa+ help you build new reminders based on emails, and it can generate a color-coded calendar of its own to help manage your family's activities. Playlist Creation New Spotify integration means that Alexa+ can also provide a soothing (or inspiring) background to your workday. You can ask it to help create a playlist for you by providing the titles of specific songs or artists, or even get some AI assistance in building a playlist around a theme or mood. I asked Alexa+ to build me a playlist with a Fall theme and was generally impressed with the results (though there were some strange inclusions, like "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac). News Briefings Alexa+ is also pretty good at parsing and delivering news. Amazon has partnered with more than 200 outlets, including Reuters, the Associated Press, and The Washington Post, and can tailor a news package for you based on your preferences. You can get a customized Daily Briefing with everything from political headlines to sports results to news about your favorite entertainment properties. Enhanced Memory It's also much better at remembering and incorporating previous interactions you've had with it into current conversations. For instance, Alexa remembered my negative feedback about a restaurant I'd gotten dinner from and mentioned it in a conversation about local Chinese places. It can also recall family recipes, as well as the fact that you or a family member has a gluten allergy or is a vegetarian. Improved Recommendations There's also improved Fire TV integration now. You can ask Alexa for general movie recommendations, and it will learn your taste over time. You can also ask more abstract questions for a specific scenario ("Alexa, recommend some movies to watch with my dad"). There's even improved awareness of live content, like sports scores. Wellness Integration Amazon is also trying to find a foothold in the wellness space, with Alexa+ at the vanguard. It can nudge you to work out when it recognizes there's some free time in your schedule, or gently prod you to start winding down when it gets late. The company plans to expand its wellness offering in the near future through partnerships with Wyze and Withings, which offer smart home devices and medical-grade wellness devices, such as air purifiers and smart scales. Everything Still to Come There's much more on the way, including some fairly basic deployments, such as Alexa+ on browsers. Beyond that, many of the upcoming features are tied to Amazon's new devices. Omnisense For instance, the new Echo devices will include the ominously named Omnisense sensors. These combine technologies like Wi-Fi radar and ultrasound to detect when a specific user enters a room, and can provide contextual updates, reminders, or content suggestions. They'll also include improved noise filtering, making it easier for the device to detect the wake word even in noisy environments. Home Hub The smart displays will include access to the Alexa+ Home hub, part of Amazon's push into broader smart home integration. From Home, you can view Ring camera feeds (or receive an AI summary of activity the cameras have recorded) and control any smart devices connected to your network, which can now include thousands of compatible devices from partners such as Zigbee, Matter, and Thread. Alexa+ Store There's also the forthcoming Alexa+ Store, which expands on the traditional Amazon digital storefront by including access to apps like DoorDash, TaskRabbit, Uber, Fandango, and much more. It will allow you to shop directly on any of those services, as well as perform tasks like having the AI model book a restaurant reservation or purchase your movie tickets. Whether you need one of Amazon's new devices for Alexa+ will depend entirely on your use case, but personally, I don't see a pressing need to upgrade quite yet. The Omnisense functionality doesn't thrill me, and my current-gen Echo Dot is perfectly serviceable for my smart speaker and "ambient AI" needs. That said, if you intend to use Alexa+ as the core for a smart home network (especially one that includes Ring or Blink cameras, or a dedicated Fire TV), one of the new displays is a compelling hub, and fairly reasonably priced compared with competing devices.

Amazon refreshes device lineup for Alexa+ AI, home security

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab on Tuesday unveiled a refreshed lineup of devices optimized for home security and its new artificial intelligence-infused Alexa+ voice assistant. At an event in New York, Amazon showed off Echo speakers, Fire TV streaming devices, a new Kindle reader and improved Ring and Blink cameras. Amazon is trying to drive interest in the new Alexa, which it spent years updating with AI for better personalization and a more conversational tone. The Seattle firm said its new Echos, including smaller Dots and Show devices with screens that range from $99 to $219, will be enabled to work with Alexa+ and feature new silicon chips for faster processing. Amazon also rolled out improved cameras for its Ring devices for better home security, including facial recognition to help ward off unwanted visitors. Reporting by Greg Bensinger Editing by Marguerita Choy Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Technology Greg Bensinger Thomson Reuters Greg Bensinger joined Reuters as a technology correspondent in 2022 focusing on the world's largest technology companies. He was previously a member of The New York Times editorial board and a technology beat reporter for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. He also worked for Bloomberg News writing about the auto and telecommunications industries. He studied English literature at The University of Virginia and graduate journalism at Columbia University. Greg lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children. Arriana McLymore Thomson Reuters Arriana McLymore is a New York-based reporter covering e-commerce, online marketplaces, alternative revenue streams for retailers and in-store innovation. She previously reported on telecoms and the business of law.

I've Been Using Alexa+ for Months: Here's How to Get It and What It Can Do for You

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. At its press event this week, Amazon announced a bevy of new devices, including a new range of Echo devices focused on supporting Alexa+. While its next-generation AI assistant is still in Early Access, I've been testing it for months and found it to be very capable, with more promising features on the way. Here's how you can get your hands on it, what it can do for you, and if it's worth investing in one of Amazon's shiny new devices to try it out. How to Get Alexa+ If you buy one of Amazon's new Echo devices, you get access to Alexa+ right out of the box, though you'll have to wait for these products to officially launch. The Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio launch on Oct. 29, while the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 will be out on Nov. 12. If you can't wait, Alexa+ Early Access is available now in the US. To get started, you can enroll in Alexa+ during the setup process of a compatible device. Alternatively, visit the company's Alexa+ store page and select Notify me. Or, say "Notify me when Alexa+ is available" to one of your Echo devices or type "set up Alexa+" in the Alexa app. When Alexa+ is available, you'll receive a notification on your mobile device and a welcome email at the address registered to your Amazon account. Alexa+ will then take you through an introductory process to learn about your preferences and create a profile. You'll also be able to personalize Alexa+, including choosing one of its four masculine or four feminine voices. You can opt out of Alexa+ early access at any time by visiting your Memberships & Subscriptions page and clicking End Early Access next to the service name. When it exits beta, Alexa+ will be available for free to Prime members and $19.99 per month for everyone else. What Alexa+ Can Do For You Alexa's glow-up is more than just marketing. In my testing, I've found that it really has become a more capable service. This is all part of what Amazon is calling its "ambient AI" push. The idea is that Amazon wants its services, devices, and AI model to be accessible wherever you are, as long as you're within range of one of its smart speakers or displays, or your mobile device. While I was initially skeptical of this "upgrade," I must admit that I've found it genuinely useful to have easy access to AI. Amazon has largely delivered on the promise of a smarter, more conversational assistant. It's not so much that Alexa+ is adding revolutionary new features that other AI models don't offer, but rather that it's combining a multitude of functions in a ubiquitous service that's incorporated into a variety of devices I already own. Better Querying The main role Alexa+ plays in my life is informational. I have an Echo Dot on my desk that I'm constantly querying while working, writing, or watching movies and TV. Even my previous-generation Dot seems better at picking up my voice than Google or Apple's phone-based smart assistants, and it's a lot easier to ask AI a question with my voice rather than interrupt my workflow by opening a new tab and punching a question into ChatGPT or Gemini. Alexa+ is also more responsive and better at maintaining a conversational flow of questions, commands, and answers than Siri or other assistants. Contextual Reminders It's also great at alarms and reminders. Beyond the standard notifications you can program in for a specific time and date, Alexa+ can provide recurring notifications. For instance, to ensure I didn't forget to watch the Ryder Cup last weekend, I told Alexa to set a recurring notification to be broadcast from the Echo Dot on my desk every two hours, and to only stop notifying me when I'd indicated that I'd received the message. You can leverage AI to set context-specific reminders ("remind me every time there's an upcoming Buffalo Bills game"), or import reminders from your existing calendar. You can even have Alexa+ help you build new reminders based on emails, and it can generate a color-coded calendar of its own to help manage your family's activities. Playlist Creation New Spotify integration means that Alexa+ can also provide a soothing (or inspiring) background to your workday. You can ask it to help create a playlist for you by providing the titles of specific songs or artists, or even get some AI assistance in building a playlist around a theme or mood. I asked Alexa+ to build me a playlist with a Fall theme and was generally impressed with the results (though there were some strange inclusions, like "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac). News Briefings Alexa+ is also pretty good at parsing and delivering news. Amazon has partnered with more than 200 outlets, including Reuters, the Associated Press, and The Washington Post, and can tailor a news package for you based on your preferences. You can get a customized Daily Briefing with everything from political headlines to sports results to news about your favorite entertainment properties. Enhanced Memory It's also much better at remembering and incorporating previous interactions you've had with it into current conversations. For instance, Alexa remembered my negative feedback about a restaurant I'd gotten dinner from and mentioned it in a conversation about local Chinese places. It can also recall family recipes, as well as the fact that you or a family member has a gluten allergy or is a vegetarian. Improved Recommendations There's also improved Fire TV integration now. You can ask Alexa for general movie recommendations, and it will learn your taste over time. You can also ask more abstract questions for a specific scenario ("Alexa, recommend some movies to watch with my dad"). There's even improved awareness of live content, like sports scores. Wellness Integration Amazon is also trying to find a foothold in the wellness space, with Alexa+ at the vanguard. It can nudge you to work out when it recognizes there's some free time in your schedule, or gently prod you to start winding down when it gets late. The company plans to expand its wellness offering in the near future through partnerships with Wyze and Withings, which offer smart home devices and medical-grade wellness devices, such as air purifiers and smart scales. Everything Still to Come There's much more on the way, including some fairly basic deployments, such as Alexa+ on browsers. Beyond that, many of the upcoming features are tied to Amazon's new devices. Omnisense For instance, the new Echo devices will include the ominously named Omnisense sensors. These combine technologies like Wi-Fi radar and ultrasound to detect when a specific user enters a room, and can provide contextual updates, reminders, or content suggestions. They'll also include improved noise filtering, making it easier for the device to detect the wake word even in noisy environments. Home Hub The smart displays will include access to the Alexa+ Home hub, part of Amazon's push into broader smart home integration. From Home, you can view Ring camera feeds (or receive an AI summary of activity the cameras have recorded) and control any smart devices connected to your network, which can now include thousands of compatible devices from partners such as Zigbee, Matter, and Thread. Alexa+ Store There's also the forthcoming Alexa+ Store, which expands on the traditional Amazon digital storefront by including access to apps like DoorDash, TaskRabbit, Uber, Fandango, and much more. It will allow you to shop directly on any of those services, as well as perform tasks like having the AI model book a restaurant reservation or purchase your movie tickets. Whether you need one of Amazon's new devices for Alexa+ will depend entirely on your use case, but personally, I don't see a pressing need to upgrade quite yet. The Omnisense functionality doesn't thrill me, and my current-gen Echo Dot is perfectly serviceable for my smart speaker and "ambient AI" needs. That said, if you intend to use Alexa+ as the core for a smart home network (especially one that includes Ring or Blink cameras, or a dedicated Fire TV), one of the new displays is a compelling hub, and fairly reasonably priced compared with competing devices.

Amazon's unveils new generation of devices all powered by AI

NEW YORK (AP) -- Online juggernaut Amazon Inc. unveiled its next generation of Kindle, Ring and Echo devices, among other gadgets, that are all powered by artificial intelligence and connected to Alexa+, its AI-infused personal assistant, which made its debut in February. The lineup, announced at a presentation and showcase in New York, includes new cameras for its Ring video monitoring device with a new AI facial recognition feature that allows users to register friends and family and notify them who is at the front door. Amazon unveiled four new Echo devices revamped with Alexa+ that serve up personalized insights like whether the user left the front door unlocked after midnight. The Seattle-based company also announced a series of Alexa+-infused Fire TVs that allow for more personalized searches like finding a specific scene in a movie or getting commentary about last night's football game. The presentation Tuesday was the first big product event for Panos Panay, who joined Amazon in 2023 to head up the company's devices and services teams after a 19-year career at Microsoft where he served as chief product officer. Panay told the audience of several hundred journalists and bloggers that Alexa+ and artificial intelligence are allowing technology to work "in the background when you don't." "Products creating subtle shifts in all our behavior, driven by AI, integrated into the hardware," Panay said. "And flowing natural through the products themselves. Whether it's a camera catching what you missed. Or your Fire TV updating you on a game. Or your Kindle remembering exactly where you left off."

Amazon's new Alexa and AI features will play doorman, recap Kindle books, and find lost dogs

Amazon unveiled an updated slate of Echo, Kindle, Ring, Fire TV and Blink devices at an event Tuesday morning in New York City -- reviving its past tradition of unleashing a dizzying array of new hardware and services in advance of the holiday shopping season. If there was a common thread, beyond Amazon devices chief Panos Panay's well-known obsession with hardware design, it was artificial intelligence. The company showed AI upgrades across the lineup, many of them integrating its Alexa+ voice assistant -- its latest bid to close the gap with ChatGPT and other AI chatbots. Echo and Alexa+: Amazon introduced four new and upgraded Echo models -- Echo Dot Max, Echo Studio, Echo Show 8, and Echo Show 11 -- designed to work with Alexa+, the revamped voice assistant, which has been rolling out through an early access program this year. The company said the new devices use custom AI silicon and a new sensor platform called Omnisense to enable more natural conversations, proactive reminders, personalized wellness suggestions, and responses that are more aware of the user's context. Amazon also announced a new Alexa+ Store -- a marketplace for third-party services and add-ons designed to expand its capabilities. Kindle: A new "Story So Far" feature will give readers spoiler-free recaps, while "Ask this Book" lets them highlight passages and get AI-generated context about characters or scenes. Amazon's redesigned Kindle Scribe e-ink tablet can search handwritten notes and generate summaries. Amazon previewed a feature to send documents to Alexa+ for follow-up conversations. It also comes in a new color version, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. Amazon said the next generation of Kindle Scribe will roll out later this year in the U.S., starting at $499.99, with the new color version, Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, starting at $629.99. A lower-priced black-and-white model without a front light is slated for early next year at $429.99. Ring: An AI-powered "Search Party" feature is designed to help reunite lost dogs with their families. When a neighbor reports a missing pet in the Ring app, people with nearby outdoor Ring cameras can participate in the search, with AI flagging possible matches and notifying them if the dog appears. Amazon says Ring users will remain in control of their privacy, with the choice to ignore alerts or share information with neighbors. Separately, a new "Familiar Faces" feature reduces unnecessary alerts by recognizing people you know. According to Amazon, it's designed to cut down on routine notifications while adding context to events captured in the Ring app A new "Alexa+ Greetings" feature on Ring cameras turns Alexa into a virtual doorman, handling deliveries, greeting visitors, or turning away solicitors. Fire TV: Amazon also introduced new and updated Fire TV Sticks and televisions. The company says the devices are faster and more efficient, with slimmer designs and improved picture quality, and run on a new operating system called Vega. Alexa+ is built into the new models, enabling more conversational searches, personalized recommendations, and features such as finding specific scenes or surfacing live sports stats Blink: New 2K+ cameras add AI-powered person and vehicle detection, along with stitched panoramic views through a new "Blink Arc" system.

'The vision for these products is really that they are purpose-built for Alexa+', Amazon exec on the new hardware and unlocking Alexa's superpowers

Daniel Rausch, Amazon's Vice President, Alexa & Echo (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future) Six months ago, Daniel Rausch, Amazon's Vice President, Alexa & Echo, told me the company was ready for millions of customers to suddenly start tapping into Alexa's new large-language-model-infused intelligence - and this was before the company really had any hardware that was truly purpose-built to support Alexa+. That changed this week as Amazon unleashed a slew of new Echo smart speakers, intelligent Show screens, clever Fire TVs, and pen-friendly (and even color-capable) Kindles. When I sat down with Rausch again to take measure of the company's accomplishments, he was ready to celebrate the win. "I was remembering that you and I were sitting in this exact same room about six months ago when we unveiled Alexa+, and it's been awesome," he noted. "I feel like this is definitely the culmination of a ton of hard work in the team, but also just a lot of inspiration and great feedback from customers." It's not just that Alexa+ will arrive pre-baked with these products, and ready to run as soon as users turn on their new Echo Show, Echo Studio, or other device (assuming they're Prime Members); these are the first products designed to support the new and smarter digital assistant. "The vision for these products is really that they are purpose-built for Alexa+," Rausch told me. That purpose goes, in part, to the new chips, the AZ3 and AZ3 Pro embedded in the new Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio, respectively (the new Shows have the AZ3 Pro, too). "In addition to incredible performance, those chips are really built for AI. They can run incredible amounts of AI right on the edge," explained Rausch. It's not all about the chips though. Amazon's decision, for example, to separate the Echo Show speakers from the display (while keeping it a single device) is not just about delivering better audio quality (though that's a big part of it); it's to deliver a modern aesthetic that's more in line with the new Alexa+ ethos. Plus, there's the Echo Show's new 13MP camera. "Alexa, with her new camera, can see me at very oblique angles," said Rausch. That ability for us to hear and see Alexa's intentions, and for Alexa to see and hear us, points to another interesting feature of Alexa and this new hardware: Omnisense. As Rausch explained it to me, "Omnisense is that new sensor fusion technology platform that really brings together [...] a vast array of different signals." Omnisense is embedded in the new Echo and Echo Show devices and connects directly to what Rausch called Alexa's "senses", some of which we, as humans, do not share. "For example, [Alexa] can detect presence, if you like, with perturbations in the Wi-Fi spectrum in the background, and so you can use that [...] Wi-Fi radar capability or ultrasonic presence detection to say something like, 'Anyone comes into the kitchen, turn on the lights.'" On stage earlier that day, Rausch had the enviable task of walking everyone through Amazon's refashioned Echo Smart Speaker line. He was obviously still basking in that glow as he talked with evident pride to me about the audio engineering leaps his team had made to make the Echo Dot Max's relatively impressive audio quality possible. "What's unique about the Dot Max is that the entire assembly is the speaker," he explained. "Like, when I say that not a single cubic millimeter has been lost, the entire envelope of the enclosure is the speaker. So every bit of air inside that volume acts as back volume for the bass." For all the hardware and Alexa+ excitement Rausch and Device Services lead Pano Panay delivered, there were some significant gaps. There was, for instance, no mention of the Echo Spot, another ball-shaped smart speaker featuring a colorful screen. In recent years, though, Amazon has shifted its focus on that line. "We really wanted to build a purpose-built alarm clock for the bedside table and that is what Spot is, and we've sort of focused wholly and fully on that." I was more concerned, though, about the complete lack of wearables updates. Where were the new Echo Frames, Echo Buds, or even some new sport-friendly, Alexa+-equipped health band? Rausch told me Amazon customers love using Alexa+ on their Echo Frames and Echo Buds. "It makes the whole experience better [...] it lets customers take Alexa+ outside the home with them." That makes sense, but I still wondered about the roadmap. How does Amazon compete in the AI space when companies like Meta are preparing to deliver eyewear featuring generative AI and an integrated display? "While we don't have any new hardware or releases as part of this particular event, I can tell you that the team is eager and eagerly at work; let me just say it that way. Stay tuned," Rausch told me with a smile. In the near term, though, Amazon may be preparing to ingest a whole lot more telemetry from customers snapping up these new Alexa+-ready gadgets, and it's likely that these devices will learn more about what customers do and don't like about the new and smarter platform. When I asked Rausch to reflect on what they had learned so far and if anything surprised him, he pointed, somewhat unexpectedly, to Alexa+'s new voice. "It's engaging and more conversational," he said, but some customers prefer the original voice. Amazon's answer is to have Alexa speak in three different voices during initial setup. This teaches the customer that it's easy for them to switch. This accomplishes a couple of things, letting the "minority of customers that want to go back" know they can just do it, "but it teaches customers something super important, which is that you can just ask Alexa what she can do, and that is powerful because you don't have to go to any other source. This is an AI that understands completely what it's capable of." Rausch added that knowing that is like learning how to read, which, when you do, you know you can learn anything. "If you learn to ask Alexa what she can do, you can unlock all of her superpowers."

4 reasons why you should really pay attention to Amazon's Alexa+

Alexa+ is the biggest leap in how we interact with virtual assistants, both in terms of smarts and sheer scale. We are moving into a new era of virtual assistants. Within a span of two days, two of the biggest players in the segment -- Google and Amazon -- have shifted their smart home devices to next-gen AI-powered assistants, which do a lot more than your average chatbot. Amazon's ecosystem is now powered by Alexa+ going forward, while Google Assistant is paving the way for Gemini. Amazon has a critical advantage here. It has hundreds of millions of devices out there that are ready to receive the Alexa+ upgrade, either natively or indirectly. But as I recently highlighted, the real star of the show is not the hardware, but the conveniences that they bring to the table. And most of them are tied to the Alexa+ assistant. Recommended Videos Here are the four standout capabilities of Alexa+ that I am most excited about, and you should pay attention to them, as well. It doesn't feel like talking to a robot Alright, let's start with the fundamentals. Alexa+ is a lot more chatty, and you don't have to say the wake word (like "hey Alexa" or "hey echo") for each query. Once you summon it, the assistant will stay with you. That feels a lot more natural and removes a persistent awareness that you're talking to a robot with hard-coded linguistic capabilities. Alexa+ is built atop the same foundations aka Large Language Models (LLMs) as your average chatbot such as Google Gemini or ChatGPT. In a nutshell, it will engage in a free-flowing conversation with you, and it will only get more natural over time as it learns about your preferences, habits, and daily life patterns. But you don't always chat with an AI assistant as a friend. It's there to get work done for you. And that's where the conversational capabilities come in handy. Instead of pulling up your routines or saying some repetitive command, you can just ask Alexa+ and it will follow. For example, you can just say something like "turn on the lights in the garage when I enter the driveway and reduce the thermostat temperature," and it will oblige. No more rules or obscure automation shortcuts. You can just say things, and wherever it needs more clarity, Alexa+ will ask for it, instead of returning an error message. It's smarter in the true sense Alexa+ is not just an assistant. It's a living encyclopedia of knowledge, which has been trained using a vast cache of training material across different domains, from maths to history. You can ask it about virtually any topic, and it will most likely offer the answers in a deeply conversational tone. Or, you can ask it to feed you information like a physics teacher at the highest level, or have it broken down to you in a way fitting for a fifth-grader. This instantaneous vibe shift is important and convenient, especially if you have people of different age groups living under the same roof, but with varied interests. Another crucial benefit is that it now has real-time awareness of the events happening in the world. And more importantly, it won't feed you wrong information, a problem commonly known as "hallucination" in the context of AI chatbots. That's because Amazon has partnered with some of the most reliable sources of information out there, such as Associated Press, Reuters, The Washington Post, TIME, Forbes, Business Insider, Politico, USA TODAY, Conde Nast, Hearst, Vox, and 200 additional outlets. But Alexa+ is not just more reliable, it will also learn from your interests. "With Alexa+ Daily Briefings, you can get a breakdown of the latest trending news stories based on your interests -- from updates on your favorite sports team to the latest in pop culture," says Amazon. It's everywhere One of the most underrated conveniences of Alexa+ is that it's available everywhere. From your smart display, speaker, and TV to the smartphone in your pocket and the web browser on your laptop. Additionally, it integrates across your work-related services, so whether it's your email or calendar, it seamlessly co-exists, learns, and offers help whenever you need it. The best part is that irrespective of the device you are using to access Alexa+, the memory and context of that context (or action) is shared across the board. "You can start a conversation with Alexa+ on your Echo device, continue on the go with your phone or in the car, and pick it up on your computer," says Amazon. In a nutshell, it's seamlessly available everywhere. Memory and context are two of the biggest perks of this approach. For example, you can ask it to remember not only your preferences, but also nuggets of information about other people for future reference. You can also add documents, meeting details, calendar events, and more with Alexa+, and take appropriate action. You can get a quick rundown of your meetings, check the progress of an email chain, turn boring stuff into interactive learning material for kids, and do a lot more. It can skip to a particular scene in a film on Prime Video, keep an eye on a music artist' album release, offer a rundown of activities tracked by smart home cameras, and do more. All of it can happen without worrying about the surface you have Alexa+ access to. It's agentic beyond hype The most futuristic use case of Alexa+ is performing multi-step chores on your behalf, with full awareness of your preferences. For example, it can learn from your dietary preferences and based on what it sees through the camera, it can re-order items in your pantry. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. It can also surf the Internet and take action on your behalf, thanks to integration with hundreds of services across different categories, ranging from OpenTable and Grubhub to Ticketmaster. For example, you can tell it to schedule a service appointment for fixing a broken tap. Alexa+, armed with the knowledge (name, address, email, credit card) will open a service like Thumbtack, pick the appropriate service person in the desired appointment slot, make a booking, and send over the details to your phone, calendar, and email inbox. Likewise, it can handle restaurant bookings via services like OpenTable, track and book event tickets via TicketMaster, set up a spa date on Vagaro, and do a lot more. All of it is done autonomously, and thanks to Amazon's expansive partnerships, the number of services you can get work done across -- with a simple voice command -- is only going to go up in the coming months. The agentic side of Alexa+ covers smart home chores, too. You can create multi-step routines and commands by simply describing them, and Alexa+ will navigate the entire device network and do the job for you. The only caveat is that you must be an Amazon loyalist (read: Prime subscriber), or ready to cough up $20 per months to exploit all the next-gen AI assistant chops of Alexa+ in your life.

Amazon adds AI muscle to connected home lineup

Amazon on Tuesday unveiled the latest generation of connected products, featuring enhanced artificial intelligence capabilities designed to make interactions with AI more frequent and natural. Nearly 20 years after the launch of the Kindle e-reader, the Seattle-based online retail giant now offers a family of connected devices, from the Echo smart speaker to the Ring doorbell and Fire TV. Amazon now aims to multiply their capabilities through AI, but wants to use it "without getting in the way," said Panos Panay, head of devices and services, during a New York presentation. The company had already made a major move into AI enhancements with the February launch of Alexa+, an upgraded version of the Alexa voice assistant. Amazon's ambition, like that of competitors Google, LG and Samsung, is to become the connected home nerve center. But the sector has struggled to deliver on the promise of a fully connected home, with consumers forced to choose from competing ecosystems or left struggling with technology that fails to deliver on expectations. "Alexa, what happened around the house today?" a user asks in a demonstration video. The smart assistant explains that the children walked the dog, a package was delivered and raccoons rummaged through the trash -- using images captured by Ring or Blink cameras. Has your dog run away? After the escape is reported on the Ring app, other Amazon doorbells in the neighborhood can detect if the animal passes by and alert you. With the Kindle Scribe, readers can ask generative AI for a book summary to refresh their memory or ask questions about a character. As for connected television, viewers can verbally request to see a scene from their favorite movie or receive a summary of a football game they missed. Amazon believes in "ambient" AI, in Panay's words, which "lives naturally in the products themselves." The generative AI revolution is playing out on both software and physical interfaces, with major tech players seeking to determine which product will prevail -- smartphone, smart glasses, earbuds or speakers. OpenAI is working on a new kind of device, while Meta is betting on glasses and Apple on earbuds.

Pet-saving doorbell, Kindle Scribe, and AI: The latest Amazon gadgets

Amazon's devices are getting an AI upgrade, including its Kindle, which gives book summaries and can answer questions about characters Amazon's Kindle e-reader launched almost 20 years ago - and it is now getting an artificial intelligence (AI) upgrade, like many of the company's other devices. At a presentation in New York on Tuesday, Amazon unveiled its next generation of Kindle, Ring and Echo devices, and other gadgets. They are all powered by AI and connected to Alexa+, an AI-infused personal assistant that made its debut in February. Amazon unveiled four new Echo devices revamped with Alexa+ that serve up personalised insights, such as whether the user left the front door unlocked after midnight. The Seattle-based company also announced a series of Alexa+-infused Fire TVs that offer more personalised searches, for example, finding a specific scene in a movie or getting commentary about last night's football game. It is a "much-needed refresh to the lineup, as it was starting to look a bit dated. With all devices that dovetail nicely with the all-singing and dancing Alexa+ AI-powered service," PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore told Euronews Next. "Alexa+ is clearly the glue that holds the stack together, driving engagement and retention across a plethora of devices and partners. This helps facilitate the relationship underpinned by ambient AI, providing users with greater control -- a significant differentiator for Amazon," he added. Here is all we know about the latest devices and upgrades. One of the major updates to Kindle is a new version of the Kindle Scribe that the company touts as lighter and faster. It features an AI-powered notebook and search, and one includes a colour screen. With the Kindle Scribe, readers can ask generative AI for a book summary to refresh their memory or ask questions about a character. The new Scribes feature larger 11-inch (28 centimetres), glare-free E Ink screens -- up from 10.2 inches (26 centimetres) previously. They now weigh 400 grams compared to 433 grams for last year's version, the company said. Executives noted that at 5.4 millimetres thick, these new versions are thinner than the iPhone Air, which measures 5.6 millimetres. The new versions of Scribe will allow users to access documents stored on Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, the company said. Amazon said that later this year in the United States, Kindle Scribe will be available starting at $499.99 and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft will be offered starting at $629.99. The company did not say when it may roll out in Europe. Amazon has been expanding its home security features since the company bought Wi-Fi-connected cameras and doorbell maker Ring in 2018. Amazon said Tuesday that it's infusing the device with more technology and upgraded cameras that will transform it into a doorbell attendant and community tool for pet owners, among other new uses. Amazon said the Ring cameras with retinal vision now come with 2K resolution for sharper detail and 4K resolution video. Amazon's new AI facial recognition feature, called "Familiar Faces," allows the user to register friends and family. The smart doorbell, infused with Alexa+, will also be able to manage deliveries and provide instructions for delivery workers, among other tasks. For pet owners, Amazon has a new feature that helps owners reunite lost dogs with their families. It works like this: A neighbour reports a lost dog in the Ring app, which would notify people nearby with a Ring camera. If the neighbours agree, their cameras would then use AI to look for a possible match with the lost dog. Ring's "Search Party" for dogs will begin rolling out in November, followed by cats and other pets. And Alexa+ Greetings and Familiar Faces will be offered in December, the company said. Ring Wired Doorbell Pro, priced at $249.99 and Wired Doorbell Plus, priced at $179.99, among other Ring cameras, are available for pre-order, Amazon said. Amazon, like Samsung, LG, and Google, aims to link home devices in a bid to create a connected home where devices interact with each other. However, the idea is still in its early stages, and far from seamless execution. In a demonstration video, a user asks Alexa what happened at home. The smart assistant tells them that the children walked the dog, a package was delivered, and raccoons rummaged through the bins, using images captured by Ring or Blink cameras. Panos Panay, who heads Amazon's devices and services teams, told the New York audience that Alexa+ and AI allow home technology to work "in the background when you don't". The goal is "products creating subtle shifts in all our behaviour, driven by AI, integrated into the hardware ... and flowing natural[ly] through the products themselves," Panay said. "Whether it's a camera catching what you missed or your Fire TV updating you on a game, or your Kindle remembering exactly where you left off," Panay added.

Amazon adds AI muscle to connected home lineup

New York (AFP) - Amazon on Tuesday unveiled the latest generation of connected products, featuring enhanced artificial intelligence capabilities designed to make interactions with AI more frequent and natural. Nearly 20 years after the launch of the Kindle e-reader, the Seattle-based online retail giant now offers a family of connected devices, from the Echo smart speaker to the Ring doorbell and Fire TV. Amazon now aims to multiply their capabilities through AI, but wants to use it "without getting in the way," said Panos Panay, head of devices and services, during a New York presentation. The company had already made a major move into AI enhancements with the February launch of Alexa+, an upgraded version of the Alexa voice assistant. Amazon's ambition, like that of competitors Google, LG and Samsung, is to become the connected home nerve center. But the sector has struggled to deliver on the promise of a fully connected home, with consumers forced to choose from competing ecosystems or left struggling with technology that fails to deliver on expectations. "Alexa, what happened around the house today?" a user asks in a demonstration video. The smart assistant explains that the children walked the dog, a package was delivered and raccoons rummaged through the trash -- using images captured by Ring or Blink cameras. Has your dog run away? After the escape is reported on the Ring app, other Amazon doorbells in the neighborhood can detect if the animal passes by and alert you. With the Kindle Scribe, readers can ask generative AI for a book summary to refresh their memory or ask questions about a character. As for connected television, viewers can verbally request to see a scene from their favorite movie or receive a summary of a football game they missed. Amazon believes in "ambient" AI, in Panay's words, which "lives naturally in the products themselves." The generative AI revolution is playing out on both software and physical interfaces, with major tech players seeking to determine which product will prevail -- smartphone, smart glasses, earbuds or speakers. OpenAI is working on a new kind of device, while Meta is betting on glasses and Apple on earbuds.

Amazon unveils new generation of AI-powered Kindle and other devices

NEW YORK -- Online juggernaut Amazon Inc. unveiled its next generation of Kindle, Ring and Echo devices, among other gadgets, that are all powered by artificial intelligence and connected to Alexa+, its AI-infused personal assistant, which made its debut in February. The lineup, announced at a presentation and showcase in New York, includes new cameras for its Ring video monitoring device with a new AI facial recognition feature that allows users to register friends and family and notify them who is at the front door. Amazon unveiled four new Echo devices revamped with Alexa+ that serve up personalized insights like whether the user left the front door unlocked after midnight. The Seattle-based company also announced a series of Alexa+-infused Fire TVs that offer more personalized searches like finding a specific scene in a movie or getting commentary about last night's football game. The presentation Tuesday was the first big product event for Panos Panay, who joined Amazon in 2023 to head up the company's devices and services teams after a 19-year career at Microsoft where he served as chief product officer. Panay told the audience of several hundred journalists and bloggers that Alexa+ and artificial intelligence are allowing technology to work "in the background when you don't." "Products creating subtle shifts in all our behavior, driven by AI, integrated into the hardware," Panay said. "And flowing natural through the products themselves. Whether it's a camera catching what you missed. Or your Fire TV updating you on a game. Or your Kindle remembering exactly where you left off." The new lineup comes as Amazon has faced pressure from investors to cater to the new AI era. PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore wrote in a note Tuesday that the offerings were "a much needed refresh to the lineup, as it was starting to look a bit dated." "Attention to detail may not grab headlines, but it should not be overlooked, especially how the products look and feel, " he wrote."The latest generation of devices is designed to blend into users' lives without them realizing they exist ... Alexa+ is clearly the glue that holds the stack together..." Here are some highlights: Amazon has been expanding its home security features since the company bought Wi-Fi-connected cameras and doorbell maker Ring in 2018. Amazon said Tuesday that it's infusing the device with more technology and upgraded cameras that will transform the device into a doorbell attendant and community tool for pet owners among other new uses. Amazon said the ring cameras with retinal vision now come with 2K resolution for sharper detail and 4K resolution video. Amazon's new AI facial recognition feature called "Familiar Faces," allows the user to register friends and family. The smart doorbell, infused with Alexa+, will also be able to manage deliveries and provide instructions for delivery workers among other tasks. For pet owners, Amazon has a new feature that helps owners reunite lost dogs with their families. It works like this: a neighbor reports a lost dog in the Ring app, which would notify people nearby with a Ring camera The cameras would then use AI to look for a possible match with the lost dog Ring Wired Doorbell Pro, priced at $249.99 and wired doorbell plus, priced at $179.99, among other Ring cameras, will be available for pre-order on Tuesday, Amazon said. Ring's "Search Party" for dogs will begin rolling out in November, followed by cats and other pets. And Alexa+ Greetings and Familiar Faces will be offered in December. Amazon unveiled new versions of the Kindle Scribe that the company touts as lighter and faster and features an AI-powered notebook search. One of them includes a color screen. The new Scribes feature larger 11-inch, glare-free E Ink screens -- up from 10.2 inches previously. They now weigh 400 grams compared to 433 grams for last year's version, the company said. Executives noted that at 5.4 millimeters thick, these new versions are thinner than the iPhone Air, which measure 5.6 millimeters. The new versions of Scribes will allow users to access documents stored on Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, the company said. Amazon said that later this year in the U.S., Kindle Scribe will be available starting at $499.99 and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft will be offered starting at $629.99. Amazon unveiled four new Echo loud speaker devices -- the Echo Dot Max, Echo Studio, Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 -- that are specifically for Alexa+ and allow for more personalized experiences. The new offering, which starts at $99.99, comes as Amazon reports that those customers with early Alexa+ are engaging with the personal assistant twice as much and relying on it to do tasks like booking reservations and controlling smart home devices. The new features recognize users and churns out personalized insights such as an analysis of how they slept last night. The company said that all four new Echo devices are available for pre-order starting Tuesday.

Amazon's unveils new generation of devices all powered by AI

NEW YORK (AP) -- Online juggernaut Amazon Inc. unveiled its next generation of Kindle, Ring and Echo devices, among other gadgets, that are all powered by artificial intelligence and connected to Alexa+, its AI-infused personal assistant, which made its debut in February. The lineup, announced at a presentation and showcase in New York, includes new cameras for its Ring video monitoring device with a new AI facial recognition feature that allows users to register friends and family and notify them who is at the front door. Amazon unveiled four new Echo devices revamped with Alexa+ that serve up personalized insights like whether the user left the front door unlocked after midnight. The Seattle-based company also announced a series of Alexa+-infused Fire TVs that allow for more personalized searches like finding a specific scene in a movie or getting commentary about last night's football game. The presentation Tuesday was the first big product event for Panos Panay, who joined Amazon in 2023 to head up the company's devices and services teams after a 19-year career at Microsoft where he served as chief product officer. Panay told the audience of several hundred journalists and bloggers that Alexa+ and artificial intelligence are allowing technology to work "in the background when you don't." "Products creating subtle shifts in all our behavior, driven by AI, integrated into the hardware," Panay said. "And flowing natural through the products themselves. Whether it's a camera catching what you missed. Or your Fire TV updating you on a game. Or your Kindle remembering exactly where you left off."

Amazon Unveils New Generation of AI-Powered Kindle and Other Devices

NEW YORK (AP) -- Online juggernaut Amazon Inc. unveiled its next generation of Kindle, Ring and Echo devices, among other gadgets, that are all powered by artificial intelligence and connected to Alexa+, its AI-infused personal assistant, which made its debut in February. The lineup, announced at a presentation and showcase in New York, includes new cameras for its Ring video monitoring device with a new AI facial recognition feature that allows users to register friends and family and notify them who is at the front door. Amazon unveiled four new Echo devices revamped with Alexa+ that serve up personalized insights like whether the user left the front door unlocked after midnight. The Seattle-based company also announced a series of Alexa+-infused Fire TVs that offer more personalized searches like finding a specific scene in a movie or getting commentary about last night's football game. The presentation Tuesday was the first big product event for Panos Panay, who joined Amazon in 2023 to head up the company's devices and services teams after a 19-year career at Microsoft where he served as chief product officer. Panay told the audience of several hundred journalists and bloggers that Alexa+ and artificial intelligence are allowing technology to work "in the background when you don't." "Products creating subtle shifts in all our behavior, driven by AI, integrated into the hardware," Panay said. "And flowing natural through the products themselves. Whether it's a camera catching what you missed. Or your Fire TV updating you on a game. Or your Kindle remembering exactly where you left off." The new lineup comes as Amazon has faced pressure from investors to cater to the new AI era. PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore wrote in a note Tuesday that the offerings were "a much needed refresh to the lineup, as it was starting to look a bit dated." "Attention to detail may not grab headlines, but it should not be overlooked, especially how the products look and feel, " he wrote."The latest generation of devices is designed to blend into users' lives without them realizing they exist ... Alexa+ is clearly the glue that holds the stack together..." Here are some highlights: A more powerful doorbell: Amazon has been expanding its home security features since the company bought Wi-Fi-connected cameras and doorbell maker Ring in 2018. Amazon said Tuesday that it's infusing the device with more technology and upgraded cameras that will transform the device into a doorbell attendant and community tool for pet owners among other new uses. Amazon said the ring cameras with retinal vision now come with 2K resolution for sharper detail and 4K resolution video. Amazon's new AI facial recognition feature called "Familiar Faces," allows the user to register friends and family. The smart doorbell, infused with Alexa+, will also be able to manage deliveries and provide instructions for delivery workers among other tasks. For pet owners, Amazon has a new feature that helps owners reunite lost dogs with their families. It works like this: a neighbor reports a lost dog in the Ring app, which would notify people nearby with a Ring camera The cameras would then use AI to look for a possible match with the lost dog Ring Wired Doorbell Pro, priced at $249.99 and wired doorbell plus, priced at $179.99, among other Ring cameras, will be available for pre-order on Tuesday, Amazon said. Ring's "Search Party" for dogs will begin rolling out in November, followed by cats and other pets. And Alexa+ Greetings and Familiar Faces will be offered in December. An updated lineup of Kindle Scribes: Amazon unveiled new versions of the Kindle Scribe that the company touts as lighter and faster and features an AI-powered notebook search. One of them includes a color screen. The new Scribes feature larger 11-inch, glare-free E Ink screens -- up from 10.2 inches previously. They now weigh 400 grams compared to 433 grams for last year's version, the company said. Executives noted that at 5.4 millimeters thick, these new versions are thinner than the iPhone Air, which measure 5.6 millimeters. The new versions of Scribes will allow users to access documents stored on Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, the company said. Amazon said that later this year in the U.S., Kindle Scribe will be available starting at $499.99 and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft will be offered starting at $629.99. New Alexa +Empowered Echo Devices: Amazon unveiled four new Echo loud speaker devices -- the Echo Dot Max, Echo Studio, Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 -- that are specifically for Alexa+ and allow for more personalized experiences. The new offering, which starts at $99.99, comes as Amazon reports that those customers with early Alexa+ are engaging with the personal assistant twice as much and relying on it to do tasks like booking reservations and controlling smart home devices. The new features recognize users and churns out personalized insights such as an analysis of how they slept last night. The company said that all four new Echo devices are available for pre-order starting Tuesday.

Amazon adds AI muscle to connected home lineup - The Economic Times

Amazon on Tuesday unveiled the latest generation of connected products, featuring enhanced artificial intelligence capabilities designed to make interactions with AI more frequent and natural. Amazon believes in "ambient" AI, in Panay's words, which "lives naturally in the products themselves."Amazon on Tuesday unveiled the latest generation of connected products, featuring enhanced artificial intelligence capabilities designed to make interactions with AI more frequent and natural. Nearly 20 years after the launch of the Kindle e-reader, the Seattle-based online retail giant now offers a family of connected devices, from the Echo smart speaker to the Ring doorbell and Fire TV. Amazon now aims to multiply their capabilities through AI, but wants to use it "without getting in the way," said Panos Panay, head of devices and services, during a New York presentation. The company had already made a major move into AI enhancements with the February launch of Alexa+, an upgraded version of the Alexa voice assistant. Amazon's ambition, like that of competitors Google, LG and Samsung, is to become the connected home nerve center. But the sector has struggled to deliver on the promise of a fully connected home, with consumers forced to choose from competing ecosystems or left struggling with technology that fails to deliver on expectations. "Alexa, what happened around the house today?" a user asks in a demonstration video. The smart assistant explains that the children walked the dog, a package was delivered and raccoons rummaged through the trash -- using images captured by Ring or Blink cameras. Has your dog run away? After the escape is reported on the Ring app, other Amazon doorbells in the neighborhood can detect if the animal passes by and alert you. With the Kindle Scribe, readers can ask generative AI for a book summary to refresh their memory or ask questions about a character. As for connected television, viewers can verbally request to see a scene from their favorite movie or receive a summary of a football game they missed. Amazon believes in "ambient" AI, in Panay's words, which "lives naturally in the products themselves." The generative AI revolution is playing out on both software and physical interfaces, with major tech players seeking to determine which product will prevail - smartphone, smart glasses, earbuds or speakers. OpenAI is working on a new kind of device, while Meta is betting on glasses and Apple on earbuds.

Amazon unveils new generation of devices all powered by AI - The Economic Times

The lineup, announced at a presentation and showcase in New York, includes new cameras for its Ring video monitoring device with a new AI facial recognition feature that allows users to register friends and family and notify them who is at the front door.Online juggernaut Amazon unveiled its next generation of Kindle, Ring and Echo devices, among other gadgets, that are all powered by artificial intelligence and connected to Alexa+, its AI-infused personal assistant, which made its debut in February. The lineup, announced at a presentation and showcase in New York, includes new cameras for its Ring video monitoring device with a new AI facial recognition feature that allows users to register friends and family and notify them who is at the front door. Amazon unveiled four new Echo devices revamped with Alexa+ that serve up personalized insights like whether the user left the front door unlocked after midnight. The Seattle-based company also announced a series of Alexa+-infused Fire TVs that allow for more personalized searches like finding a specific scene in a movie or getting commentary about last night's football game. The presentation Tuesday was the first big product event for Panos Panay, who joined Amazon in 2023 to head up the company's devices and services teams after a 19-year career at Microsoft where he served as chief product officer. Panay told the audience of several hundred journalists and bloggers that Alexa+ and artificial intelligence are allowing technology to work "in the background when you don't." "Products creating subtle shifts in all our behavior, driven by AI, integrated into the hardware," Panay said. "And flowing natural through the products themselves. Whether it's a camera catching what you missed. Or your Fire TV updating you on a game. Or your Kindle remembering exactly where you left off."

Amazon unveils new AI-powered Ring, Echo, Kindle devices for Alexa+

Amazon on Tuesday unveiled a refreshed lineup of devices optimized for home security and its new artificial intelligence-infused Alexa+ voice assistant. At an event in New York, Amazon showed off Echo speakers, Fire TV streaming devices, a new Kindle reader and improved Ring and Blink cameras. Amazon is trying to drive interest in the new Alexa, which it spent years updating with AI for better personalization and a more conversational tone. The Seattle firm said its new Echos, including smaller Dots and Show devices with screens that range from $99 to $219, will be enabled to work with Alexa+ and feature new silicon chips for faster processing. Amazon also rolled out improved cameras for its Ring devices for better home security, including facial recognition to help ward off unwanted visitors.

Amazon unveils new generation of AI-powered Kindle and other devices

Online juggernaut Amazon Inc. unveiled its next generation of Kindle, Ring and Echo devices, among other gadgets, that are all powered by artificial intelligence and connected to Alexa+, its AI-infused personal assistant, which made its debut in February. The lineup, announced at a presentation and showcase in New York, includes new cameras for its Ring video monitoring device with a new AI facial recognition feature that allows users to register friends and family and notify them who is at the front door. Amazon unveiled four new Echo devices revamped with Alexa+ that serve up personalized insights like whether the user left the front door unlocked after midnight. The Seattle-based company also announced a series of Alexa+-infused Fire TVs that offer more personalized searches like finding a specific scene in a movie or getting commentary about last night's football game. The presentation Tuesday was the first big product event for Panos Panay, who joined Amazon in 2023 to head up the company's devices and services teams after a 19-year career at Microsoft where he served as chief product officer. Panay told the audience of several hundred journalists and bloggers that Alexa+ and artificial intelligence are allowing technology to work "in the background when you don't." "Products creating subtle shifts in all our behavior, driven by AI, integrated into the hardware," Panay said. "And flowing natural through the products themselves. Whether it's a camera catching what you missed. Or your Fire TV updating you on a game. Or your Kindle remembering exactly where you left off." The new lineup comes as Amazon has faced pressure from investors to cater to the new AI era. PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore wrote in a note Tuesday that the offerings were "a much needed refresh to the lineup, as it was starting to look a bit dated." "Attention to detail may not grab headlines, but it should not be overlooked, especially how the products look and feel, " he wrote."The latest generation of devices is designed to blend into users' lives without them realizing they exist ... Alexa+ is clearly the glue that holds the stack together..." Amazon has been expanding its home security features since the company bought Wi-Fi-connected cameras and doorbell maker Ring in 2018. Amazon said Tuesday that it's infusing the device with more technology and upgraded cameras that will transform the device into a doorbell attendant and community tool for pet owners among other new uses. Amazon said the ring cameras with retinal vision now come with 2K resolution for sharper detail and 4K resolution video. Amazon's new AI facial recognition feature called "Familiar Faces," allows the user to register friends and family. The smart doorbell, infused with Alexa+, will also be able to manage deliveries and provide instructions for delivery workers among other tasks. For pet owners, Amazon has a new feature that helps owners reunite lost dogs with their families. It works like this: a neighbor reports a lost dog in the Ring app, which would notify people nearby with a Ring camera The cameras would then use AI to look for a possible match with the lost dog Ring Wired Doorbell Pro, priced at $249.99 and wired doorbell plus, priced at $179.99, among other Ring cameras, will be available for pre-order on Tuesday, Amazon said. Ring's "Search Party" for dogs will begin rolling out in November, followed by cats and other pets. And Alexa+ Greetings and Familiar Faces will be offered in December. An updated lineup of Kindle Scribes: Amazon unveiled new versions of the Kindle Scribe that the company touts as lighter and faster and features an AI-powered notebook search. One of them includes a color screen. The new Scribes feature larger 11-inch, glare-free E Ink screens -- up from 10.2 inches previously. They now weigh 400 grams compared to 433 grams for last year's version, the company said. Executives noted that at 5.4 millimeters thick, these new versions are thinner than the iPhone Air, which measure 5.6 millimeters. The new versions of Scribes will allow users to access documents stored on Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, the company said. Amazon said that later this year in the U.S., Kindle Scribe will be available starting at $499.99 and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft will be offered starting at $629.99. New Alexa +Empowered Echo Devices: Amazon unveiled four new Echo loud speaker devices -- the Echo Dot Max, Echo Studio, Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 -- that are specifically for Alexa+ and allow for more personalized experiences. The new offering, which starts at $99.99, comes as Amazon reports that those customers with early Alexa+ are engaging with the personal assistant twice as much and relying on it to do tasks like booking reservations and controlling smart home devices. The new features recognize users and churns out personalized insights such as an analysis of how they slept last night. The company said that all four new Echo devices are available for pre-order starting Tuesday.

Amazon reveals range of new Kindle, Ring and Echo devices powered by AI | BreakingNews

Online juggernaut Amazon has unveiled its next generation of Kindle, Ring and Echo devices, among other gadgets, that are all powered by artificial intelligence and connected to Alexa+, its AI-infused personal assistant, which made its debut in February. The line-up, announced at a presentation and showcase in New York on Tuesday, includes new cameras for its Ring video monitoring device with a new AI facial recognition feature that allows users to register friends and family and notify them who is at the front door. Amazon unveiled four new Echo devices revamped with Alexa+ that serve up personalised insights like whether the user left the front door unlocked after midnight. The Seattle-based company also announced a series of Alexa+ infused Fire TVs that allow for more personalised searches like finding a specific scene in a movie or getting commentary about the previous day's football game. The presentation was the first big product event for Panos Panay, who joined Amazon in 2023 to head up the company's devices and services teams after a 19-year career at Microsoft where he served as chief product officer. Mr Panay told the audience of several hundred journalists and bloggers that Alexa+ and artificial intelligence are allowing technology to work "in the background when you don't". "Products creating subtle shifts in all our behaviour, driven by AI, integrated into the hardware," Mr Panay said. "And flowing natural through the products themselves. "Whether it's a camera catching what you missed; or your Fire TV updating you on a game; or your Kindle remembering exactly where you left off."

Amazon places Alexa+ at the heart of its annual device event

On Tuesday,Amazon will hold its annual event dedicated to its connected products, where Panos Panay, head of the devices and services division, is set to unveil new versions of Echo speakers, Fire TVs, Ring doorbells, and Kindle e-readers. However, the focus is on Alexa+, the new generation of voice assistant enhanced by generative artificial intelligence, announced in February by Andy Jassy. Initial feedback on Alexa+ has been mixed. While some testers praise its more fluid conversation and natural voice, others point to frequent errors and approximate responses, which are sometimes less reliable than previous versions for certain practical tasks such as the weather. Available only on recent Echo Show models, the service is limited to over one million testers and offered via a $19.99 per month subscription, although is free for Prime subscribers. With over 600 million Alexa devices already sold, Amazon is seeking to modernize its ecosystem in the face of competition from ChatGPT, Gemini (Alphabet), and Meta devices. The group recently acquired Bee, a start-up specializing in wearable connected devices, and integrated its first generative AI features into its Ring products. After canceling its 2024 event, the e-commerce giant intends to make a splash this year by repositioning Alexa and its range of devices in the era of artificial intelligence.

Amazon refreshes device lineup for Alexa+ AI, home security

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Amazon on Tuesday unveiled a refreshed lineup of devices optimized for home security and its new artificial intelligence-infused Alexa+ voice assistant. At an event in New York, Amazon showed off Echo speakers, Fire TV streaming devices, a new Kindle reader and improved Ring and Blink cameras. Amazon is trying to drive interest in the new Alexa, which it spent years updating with AI for better personalization and a more conversational tone. The Seattle firm said its new Echos, including smaller Dots and Show devices with screens that range from $99 to $219, will be enabled to work with Alexa+ and feature new silicon chips for faster processing. Amazon also rolled out improved cameras for its Ring devices for better home security, including facial recognition to help ward off unwanted visitors. (Reporting by Greg BensingerEditing by Marguerita Choy) By Greg Bensinger and Arriana McLymore