5 Biggest Announcements from Amazon’s Surprise Product Event
Amazon held a surprise Alexa-focused event earlier this week where it showed off a lineup of new Echo speakers and Echo-related devices. Amazon also unveiled a new Fire TV to compete with Apple’s recently announced 4K TV. Press the right arrow to view the biggest product announcements from Amazon’s latest press event.
5 New $99 Echo
Amazon’s new $99 refresh of the original Echo speaker is set to compete against rival devices from Google and Apple. The Alexa-powered device comes with better speech recognition capabilities, a dedicated woofer, tweeter, Dolby sound, as well as an unbeatable price point.
4 Echo Plus
The Echo Plus looks a lot like the original, but comes with the additional function of smart home hub-- Amazon has announced that it already has over 100 smart home partners. The speaker features far-field voice recognition, an extended wireless range, and enhanced sound. It retails for $149 (with black, white and silver color options) and comes with a Philips Hue bulb as a bonus.
3 Echo Spot
The Echo Spot was probably the biggest surprise of the event. It’s something of a smart alarm clock with a 2.5-inch screen. You can use the Spot to make video calls using the built-in speaker, but you can also connect it external speakers via Bluetooth and use it to stream music from services like Pandora and Spotify. It costs $130 and goes on sale in December.
2 Amazon Fire TV refresh
Amazon’s Fire TV has had support for 4K Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos for some time now, but the refreshed version also provides High Dynamic Range, putting it in competition with Apple’s new 4K TV. The new Fire TV can handle 2160p resolution at 60 frames per second. It also comes with an Alexa voice remote The newest Fire TV retails for $70, which is $100 less than the Apple TV 4K.
1 Alexa Integration into BMWs
While Amazon didn’t unveil a new smartphone at the press event, it did announce mobile integration of Alexa into BMWs and select Mini vehicles starting 2018. Drivers can communicate with Alexa (i.e. ask for news and weather) using far-field microphones embedded into their cars and pull up visual content (third party apps like NPR) on a head unit inside the car. Amazon has made a similar arrangement with Ford. “It’s a complete, comprehensive set of internet capabilities that is available inside your vehicle,” a BMW executive said at the Amazon event.