Amazon is holding a ‘Devices and Services’ launch event later today. Here’s what to expect from the event.
While we’ve been to Seattle for the event for the last three years, this time things will be different and – naturally – it’s taking the form of an online presentation which starts at 10am PDT, 1pm EDT, 6pm BST, 7pm CEST and 10.30pm IST.
However, the presentation won’t be publicly available, so you’ll have to keep your eyes on Pocket-lint for the latest news.
As before, Amazon has said this event is “devices and services” related meaning that we won’t only be getting new hardware. Last year it was announcedthat you could delete your Alexa recordingswhenever you wanted. Plus it previewed a range of celebrity voices for Alexa.
In terms of hardware last year, Amazon revamped the standard Echo, previewedEcho Studioand launched theEcho Dot with Clockplus theEcho Flex plug-in.
Amazon Echo Studio
Amazon alsorevealed a smart ring (Echo Loop), smart glasses (Echo Frames)and aSmart Ovento go with itsalready-launched microwaveand this time around we’ll no doubt get some other ideas thrown at the wall in the hope that some of them will stick (we were thinking about theEcho Wall Clockthere, but in actual fact ours is ace). What about theEcho Glow? No, we haven’t seen one either.
Amazon Echo Wall Clock
There were also Echo Buds, Amazon’s first effort at true wireless earphones plusnew Eero routersand Ring cameras from Amazon’s sub-brands.
This year we’re not expecting quite so many devices to launch, but then we’ve said that before… However due to the current global situation, Amazon might not be as experimental in terms of the lineup this time, but we shall see.
Will there be a new Echo speaker?
The basic Echo speaker had a new lease of life last year, while the more expensive Echo Studio was soft-launched before its eventual November debut.
But theEcho Plusnow appears to have gone end-of-life (no wonder as the3rd gen Echohas the same audio capabilities) and so there’s surely room for a revamped Echo Plus in between the basic Echo and the Studio, around the $130/£130 mark.
Amazon Echo (3rd gen)
Also, could there be a replacement for the long-goneAmazon Tap– the portable Echo that never made it to Europe? We’ve seen other portable Echo devices from other vendors such as UE and Pure in addition toSonos Movebut could Amazon announce its own?
Reworked Alexa Buds
It’s fair to say that the first version of theAlexa Budswasn’t as good as they could have been. They boasted water resistance and Bose-enhanced noise reduction but were plasticky while the sound needed improvement.
Amazon Echo Buds
Expect a second-generation version – or a Pro version, perhaps – to go up against Apple’s AirPods Pro and numerous other rivals.
A new flagship Echo Show
Since the10-inch Echo Show debuted two years agowe’ve had two, much better-designed devices debut in the form of theEcho Show 5andEcho Show 8, the latter at this event last year.
Amazon Echo Show 5 (2019)
So expect a larger Echo Show to debut that not only sounds good but looks good too. There should be a higher resolution screen, too, although the one thing that would make Echo Show exponentially more useful is native YouTube and support for more video calling services than just Skype…
Fuelling Fire TV
Last year the Fire TV announcements took place at the IFA show in Berlin. But with that show having been scaled back this year for obvious reasons, it falls to this event. Expect further announcements of TVs that have Alexa built-in to the screen itself. That’ll meanmore TVs with the Fire TV OSas well as anew entry-level Fire TV Streaming Stick.
Amazon Fire TV Cube (2nd gen)
We might also get an improved Fire TV Cube. The second-generation device was introduced last year and had a lot of promise for controlling set-top boxes, TVs and soundbars with Alexa but it was hard to set upas we found in our review(the user reviews don’t make for pretty reading, either).
New Alexa smarts
Google used the last couple of Google I/O events (before the non-existent one in 2020) to really showcase the direction and power of Google Assistant –calling using Duplexbeing one super example.
Could we also get a look atwhere Alexa can take us in future. While Alexa Skills and Routines ensure the assistant is capable of much more, Alexa has a bit of a disadvantage versus Siri or Google Assistant in that it’s not on millions of phones by default.
Home security and a thermostat?
Amazon now has various smart home accessories including a smart plug, while in the US there is Alexa Guard – a service where your Echo listens out for trouble. Could we get better management of all this stuff, plus some other low-cost gap-fillers like window or door alarms?
We also wonder whether Amazon will try and enter the smart thermostat market - at last - to take the fight to Google Nest (and Hive).
And of course, Amazon also owns Ring and Blink who do doorbells and cameras. But we won’t get new products from them, sinceboth Ringand Blinkhave announced new products recently.
Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen)
The Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) isn’t quite as slick as the doorbells above it, but it is much cheaper. It still offers 1080p Full HD video capture too, though it doesn’t feature a removable battery. This means you’ll have to dismount the unit in order to charge it up, which isn’t as convenient as removable ones.
However, Amazon’s smart home effort all feels a little piecemeal at present aside from the excellent Ring ecosystem.
There could also be more information on a wider rollout of theautonomous Amazon Scout delivery cartsor more information on therollout of Amazon Fresh.
