AMAZON has announced brand new gadgets powered by Alexa – including a smart Alexa ring, Alexa glasses and a smart oven controlled by your voice.
There’s also a brand new celebrity voice for the digital assistant: Samuel L. Jackson. Read about all of the announcements below.
The first major announcement was the new version of Amazon’s Echo Dot.
That’s Amazon’s smallest speaker, and now has a clock hidden underneath the speaker fabric for telling the time.
It’s a great move given that asking the time is one of the most common Alexa requests.
“It has all the things customers love about the Echo Dot, but the team added a vivid LED to give customers access to the clock whenever you want it,” said Amazon.
“The Echo Dot with Clock can also display things like the temperature or alarm times.
“Best yet, if used as an alarm clock, you can simply tap to snooze your alarm for a few more minutes of sleep.”
Amazon also announced Samuel L. Jackson as the first celebrity voice for Alexa.
“He can tell you jokes, let you know if it’s raining, set timers and alarms, play music and more – all with a bit of his own personality,” said Amazon.
Two versions of his voice will be available – one explicit and one family-friendly.
And if you add the personality in 2019, you’ll get it for a discounted price of $0.99 (UK prices pending).
A brand new version of the core Amazon Echo was also announced, built with the same “audio architecture” as the Echo Plus.
This includes neodymium drivers, a three-inch woofer, and increased back volume for stronger bass.
There’s a new fabric design, and the addition of a fresh colour: Twilight Blue.
That’s on top of the existing Charcoal, Sandstone and Heather Grey options.
A brand new addition to the Alexa line-up is the Echo studio, which looks a lot like Apple’s HomePod.
It’s designed around audio, and calibrates its sound based on the room it’s in – using microphones.
It also offers up 3D audio from Dolby Atmos, and supports the Sony 360 audio format too.
The Echo Studio has left, right and top mid-range speakers for directional sound, as well as a tweeter and a 5.25-inch bass driver.
UK pricing remains to be seen, but Americans will pay $199.99 for the new speaker.
Amazon has updated its popular Echo Show model too – the Alexa speaker with a screen.
The new Echo Show 8 has a large 8-inch HD display, and the same audio system as previous Echo Show models.
It’s also got a camera (with a shutter, for privacy), as well as a relatively sleek form factor.
The Echo Show 8 joins two other screen size options: 5.5 inches and 10 inches.
And it’s available to pre-order right now for $129.99.
Another surprise announcement was the Amazon Echo Glow, a smart lamp aimed at children.
It’s multi-coloured and is designed to be controlled by Alexa.
You can ask for a flickering campfire light, or a Sleep Timer that gradually dims as bedtime approaches.
There’s also a dance party mode, and a rainbow cascade.
It’s available to pre-order in the US from today for $29.99 – no word on a UK launch yet.
Perhaps the strangest announcement was the Amazon Smart Oven.
It’s a combination of a microwave, a convection over, an air fryer and a food warmer.
You control the oven using your voice with an Alexa speaker, asking her to cook common foods using “dozens” of presets.
Alexa will announce out loud when you need to stir food during cooking, and also lets you know when it’s finished.
If you have an Echo Show (with a camera), you can also scan your packaged foods to get the correct cooking settings.
The Amazon Smart Oven will set you back $249.99, but that includes an Echo Dot smart speaker.
Alexa can now leave the home with you too.
Amazon has built Alexa-powered earbuds called the Echo Buds.
Each earbud has two drivers that promise “crips, clear vocals and dynamic bass”.
They’re also wireless with five hours of battery life, rising to 20 hours with the charging case.
Amazon teamed up with Bose for Active Noise Reduction technology.
And they’re available from October for $129.99.
More wearables! Amazon also announced an Echo Loop smart ring and Echo Frames smart glasses.
The Echo Loop lives on your finger and is Alexa-enabled.
It has two microphones activated by a button tap, as well as a tiny speaker and a vibration engine.
You’ll be buzzed for notifications or an incoming call – or when making Alexa requests.
And Echo Frames are Alexa-enabled glasses that look just like regular glasses.
There’s no camera or display, but they do give you access to Alexa on the move.
Here are some other minor announcements:
In other news, Amazon’s £4 ‘personal shopper’ subscription sends you new clothes in the post every month – and you only pay for what you like.
We reveal why is Alexa flashing green, yellow or red.
And, Amazon’s smart speakers are being commandeered by randy users as part of their kinky sex games.
What do you think of Amazon’s announcement? Let us know in the comments!
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