Amazon

Amazon and Google just launched a bunch of new smart home hardware and software features this week, and I know you have questions. I haven’t tested any of them yet, but I got some hands-on time with the new gadgets and spoke with folks at both companies about the new features, so come ask me anything! I’ll go live at 1 PM ET.

The company temporarily paused flights of its Prime Air delivery drones on Wednesday morning following two back-to-back crashes involving a crane. But airborne deliveries in the West Valley Phoenix Metro Area have resumed and Amazon is “confident that there wasn’t an issue with the drones or the technology that supports them.”

Amazon Fresh and Happy Belly are now one private label brand: Amazon Grocery. Altogether, the new Amazon Grocery brand has more than 1,000 items, most of which Amazon says are under $5.

The new model, announced yesterday, is the $39.99 4K Select. It’s pricier, yet it has worse specs than the $24.99 Fire TV Stick 4K (the Select is missing Wi-Fi 6, Dolby Vision, Atmos, and other features). The best value under $50 is still the Wi-Fi 6E-ready 4K Max.

Amazon is bringing facial recognition to its latest Ring 2K and 4K cameras and doorbell. Familiar Faces lets you enroll friends and family, so you’ll get a notification saying “Emma is at the front door” if it’s someone you know. Google has had a similar feature on Nest cameras for years, but this is the first Ring hardware with facial recognition.

The feature will be available first for dogs in November, and will work for cats and other pets in the future.

I’m in line with Len Edgerly, of the Kindle Chronicles podcast, discussing what we expect to see today. New Kindles and Echo Shows are at the top of our list. I’ll be live-blogging from the event, so stay tuned!