The new Fire TV Soundbar is announced by Amazon
Fire TV Stick 4K: Streamers and Soundbars, and AI-Assisted Generative Background Generation with Fire TV Soundbar and Artful Display
There is an upgraded Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Stick 4K Max. During the company’s fall hardware event, Amazon’s Daniel Rausch said both devices feature upgraded processors for faster performance compared to their predecessors.
Rausch also announced a new $119.99 Fire TV Soundbar that will be compatible with the company’s existing streamers and Fire TV-branded televisions. He didn’t make a big claim about sound quality, so it sounds like this is being positioned as a simple solution for those who want more oomph in their speakers. The Fire TV Soundbar is available beginning today.
Will this be better or more fun than serendipitously discovering new shows and movies based on word of mouth? We will see. But it could be an excellent way to know when new options are available that might interest you. Amazon has also added a new Artful Display feature to the Fire TV, which lets you ask Alexa to change any photo you’d like into a watercolor design for your TV screen. —Parker Hall
The Fire TV Stick 4K Max will be getting the Ambient Experience first seen on the companys Fire TV televisions, which converts the TV screen into a smart display whenever you are not actively using it. Later this year, customers will be able to create generative backgrounds with the help of AI:
Customers can also create artwork using just their voice with AI Art. This free feature, which will begin rolling out to customers in the U.S. by the end of this year, allows customers to easily generate a personalized background by giving Alexa an imagination-driven prompt, such as, “Alexa, create an image of cherry blossoms in the snow,” and watch as that prompt is translated into a unique display on the Fire TV screen.
Amazon Hardware Event 2023: Everything Announced: Echo Pop Kids, Eero, Echo Frames, Echo, Fire TV, and More
There’s a new audio architecture to optimize what you can hear, minimize what everyone around you can, and minimize audio distortion in windy conditions. There are also new frame styles, with blue light lenses, sunglasses, and two styles designed with Carrera eyewear. The smart frames will start at $270 and customers can sign up to be notified when they’re on sale. —Adrienne So
The original echo pop is a colorful little device and now the echo pop kids is for the actual little people in your household. Amazon has collaborated with Disney on a design for a hemispherical speaker. You can pick either Marvel Avengers or Disney Princesses themes for the design. The kid-optimized voice assistant inside will be able to hold engaging science-based conversations with your children with a new feature called Explore with Alexa. Amazon draw content from the World Wildlife Fund and AZ Animals for age-appropriate, fact filled information. It’s $10 cheaper than the Echo Dot Kids, retailing for $50, and currently available for preorder to ship in October, but comes with only six months of Amazon Kids+ content rather than the full year the Dot offers. Yes, the owl and dragon of the Dot are quite cuter. —Nena Farrell
Source: Amazon Hardware Event 2023: Alexa, Echo Hub, Echo Frames, Eero, Fire TV
The Eero Max 7 and Other Home Security Cameras in the Near Future: Why I’m Not So Concerned with the Ring Detector
Even though we are a year away from the final certification of wi-fi 7 and even if we do have a house full of wi-fi 7, now is the time to get your routers made that support the new spec. Expect the Eero Max 7 to hit the market in time for the holidays. It can potentially download a 4K movie in 10 seconds, is backward compatible with Eero and older versions, and has two 10 th and two 2.5 th ports. Future-proofing comes at a higher price with a single Eero Max 7 costing $600. The Eero Max 7 can be read here. —Simon Hill
There were a few accessibility features that were highlighted by Amazon. The Eye Gaze feature allows folks with mobility issues and speech disabilities to use Alexa with their eyes. By gazing at the screen, they can trigger preset actions for playing music, calling loved ones, or controlling smart home devices. Looks like it’s confined to the new Fire Max 11 for now, and will land later this year. Call Translation brings real-time captioning to Alexa audio and video calls, which could be handy for people who are hard of hearing. The new Emergency Assist service from the Aol provides an urgent response if the operator says “Alexa, call for help.” The service costs $6 a month or $59 a year, but agents can share your address with first responders. —Simon Hill
Last month Amazon revealed a few additions to the Blink Outdoor 4 security camera. If your backyard is big, the blink sync module pro is a good option to give you a strong signal from a distant camera. The Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera ($160) is a wireless camera that can light up your backyard, and the Battery Extension Pack ($30) provides extra power. Sticking with security, Amazon also announced the Ring Stick Up Cam Pro ($180) with 3D Motion Detection to give you more control over what triggers your camera alerts. Before you buy a home security camera, you should read about why we don’t recommend Ring. —Simon Hill
Source: Amazon Hardware Event 2023: Alexa, Echo Hub, Echo Frames, Eero, Fire TV
Amazon Hardware Event 2023 Everything Announced: Amazon Kids Fire Tablets, Music Maker, Play Together Games and Eero, Fire TV
The regular model for kids under 7 years old are the same as the Pro model for older kids. Amazon claims that the lighter tablets make them easier to hold and are 25 percent faster than the previous ones. The RAM has been bumped from 2 gigabytes to 3 gigabytes, but the screen remains at 1080p resolution. Both models are $190 and available for preorder now. Amazon says the new tablets will ship next month.
There are a couple of new apps that are going to be launched by Amazon with the updated Kids Fire tablets. The first is Music Maker, a kid-friendly music editing app. Think GarageBand, but simpler. Play Together Games enable Fire Kids tablets to connect and play games across devices, which is referred to by Amazon as Play Together Games. —Scott Gilbertson
Source: Amazon Hardware Event 2023: Alexa, Echo Hub, Echo Frames, Eero, Fire TV
The Amazon Echo Hub: Review of a Wall-Mounted Alexa-Based Smart Home Control and Room Adaption System
Map View will be included in the new device, the Echo Hub. The wall-mounted control panel called the Echo Hub is similar to custom automation systems like Control4. It has a display of controls depending on whether someone is nearby or not. It can still answer questions like an Alexa can, so it feels like a wall-mounted Echo that’s almost entirely focused on controlling your smart home. It’ll retail for $179 and will be available later this year. Nena Farrell.
With the latest AZ2 processor onboard, the new smart home device from Amazon should be a decent option for a smart home controller.
The third-gen Echo Show 8 ($149.99) also has Amazon’s latest AZ2 processor, which makes it 40 percent faster, Amazon’s Dave Limp said at the fall hardware event this week. And it certainly felt snappier in my minute or so of playing with it in the demo room at Amazon’s new HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia.
The smart display has a new look, with edge-to-edge glass and a louder rear speaker that promises better audio. It’s getting spatial audio processing technology to boost its music capabilities, which will be similar to the Echo Studio’s sound capabilities, Heather Zorn, VP of Alexa, told me.
According to Amazon, new room adaption tech is able to sense the acoustics of the room and adjust the quality of sound in the room. The demo room wasn’t able to put this to a test.
The camera (still 13 megapixels) has been relocated to the middle (why did it take so long?), which should make it more usable for Zoom calls, something the current version does relatively well for a smart display. The camera also enables a neat new feature called Adaptive Content, which changes how it displays content based on how close you are. It will be better for you to see the show when you are close and it will have more touch-friendlyUI as you get closer.
The new buttons on the home screen will help with this. They are similar to mini versions of the Echo Show 15’s widgets, bringing up weather and other information with one tap. The widgets didn’t seem to be fully optimized for the display yet, though, looking a bit like iPhone apps on an iPad screen.
