We’re on the ground in New York for a firsthand look at fresh products across Amazon’s device lineup, including those from Ring and Blink, as well as Fire TV, Kindle, and Echo.
Amazon executives took to the stage in Manhattan today to debut updates across its device lineup, including the Ring, Blink, Fire TV, Kindle, and Echo brands.
The tone of the event was much more hardware-focused than February’s Alexa-heavy gathering, during which execs promised a more conversational, all-knowing AI assistant. Now, eight months later, Alexa+ is still in Early Access mode. Amazon claims « millions » have access.
Today, Amazon appears to be broadening the scope of Alexa+. Its products « are great on their own, but even more when you connect them to Alexa+ », said Panos Panay, Amazon’s SVP of products and services, in his opening remarks. The company’s goal is to create « technology that fades into the background », a concept Panay called « ambient AI. »
Here’s how Amazon is doing that across its line of doorbells, cameras, TVs, Kindles, and Echos.Meet the New Kindle Scribes
« I’m in love with this product », Panay said while introducing the upgraded Kindle Scribe.
The super-slim, productivity-focused ereader comes in at just 5.4mm. To achieve this, Amazon had to « miniaturize the LED » lights and add a « whisper-thin antenna », Panay said. The company worked on removing the « parallax », or the gap between the screen, pen, and ink, to get the lag to under 12 milliseconds. « The ink comes right out of the pen, right onto the paper », Panay said.
Amazon’s goal is to make writing on the Scribe feel as close to writing on paper as possible, including adding a touch of friction and a light, satisfying noise.
The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, meanwhile, features an eye-catching, colorful display. Amazon added an improved color rendering engine to « make sure the color you want to come out of the pen is the one you chose », says Panay.
Although Kindles are mostly known for reading, Amazon « reimagined the Scribe for productivity », said Avani Parakh, director of product at Kindle. That includes Quick Notes, a « new digital scratchpad », as well as the student-focused ability to organize books, documents, and notebooks in one file within Workspace. You can now also import and export files directly from Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Microsoft OneNote, all within the Scribe.
AI-powered features include the ability to send your notes to Alexa+ starting next year, allowing the voice assistant to answer questions about them. When you’re reading, you can also ask Alexa+ questions about the book, which will be « spoiler-free », Parakh said.
The new Kindle Scribe and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft are expected later this year in the US, starting at $499.99 and $629.99, respectively. The Kindle Scribe, without a front light, will be $429.99; it arrives early next year.
