All the news from Amazon’s September 2022 product launch event – The Verge

Blink’s new Mini Pan Tilt adds robotics to its compact home security camera

2023-01-26T10:45:39-05:00

The Blink Mini camera attached to the new Pan Tilt mount. | Image: Amazon

Blink's giving its blocky Mini security camera a new robot body. The new Mini Pan Tilt is a very literally named mounting accessory that converts your existing Blink Mini camera from a stationary device into a controllable camera that lets you look around the room.

Setup sounds like it'll be easy for the Pan Tilt: you connect the Mini camera to the mount, plug in the Micro USB cord, and the camera now has 360-degree movement from the Blink app. You can even install it on a tripod or wall mount (not included), or you can just place it on a table.

You can preorder the Mini Pan Tilt mount today on Amazon for $29.99. There's also a bundle that …

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The 11 biggest announcements at Amazon’s hardware launch event

2022-09-28T13:29:48-04:00

Amazon just held its fall hardware launch event, where it revealed a ton of new tech, including a new Kindle Scribe, an updated Fire TV cube, and a second-generation Echo Auto device. Here's a roundup of some of the most exciting announcements that came out of Amazon's event.

The new Kindle Scribe comes with a stylus

Amazon's new Kindle Scribe has an E-Ink display. | Image: Amazon" data-portal-copyright="Image: Amazon">

Kindles aren't just for reading anymore - the newest Kindle is an E-Ink tablet that you can use for reading and writing. It comes with a 10.2-inch screen with 300ppi, along with a Basic Pen or Premium Pen option for the stylus.

The Premium Pen costs $30 more and comes with a customizable shortcut button and a sensor for an eras …

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Alexa is getting some much-needed smart home upgrades

2022-09-28T13:15:00-04:00

Amazon’s smart displays like the Echo Show 10 (pictured) will soon be able to display multiple security camera feeds. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Amidst a slew of new hardware announcements today, Amazon is also announcing a host of new capabilities for Alexa, including a handful of new smart home features. The company hasn't announced exact release dates for the updates, but its press release says it hopes to roll them out "over the coming months."

It might sound like a small change, but one of the more significant upgrades is the ability to quickly and easily schedule smart home device actions for moments in the future. Although it's previously been possible to schedule actions via the Alexa app, now the process is a lot simpler, thanks to voice commands like "Alexa, turn off the l …

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The new Amazon Fire TV Cube has an HDMI input for controlling cable boxes

2022-09-28T13:00:00-04:00

The latest Fire TV Cube has a fabric finish. | Image: Amazon

Amazon just announced its latest and most powerful Fire TV Cube to date. Like past models, the $139.99 streaming player has built-in microphones for voice controls and a speaker for playing back Alexa's responses. It's the most capable of the company's streaming players and retains the 360-degree IR blaster found in the previous Fire TV Cube that can power on and control other devices in your home theater system, like a TV, soundbar, or receiver.

Preorders for the new Fire TV Cube start today, and it will ship on October 29th. Amazon has refreshed the Cube hardware by adding fabric to its sides, though the standard Alexa LED status bar and …

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Amazon’s latest 4K TVs improve picture quality and borrow ideas from The Frame

2022-09-28T13:00:00-04:00

The Fire TV Omni QLED TVs include full-array local dimming for better contrast and black levels. | Image: Amazon

Amazon's first self-branded TV sets were aimed squarely at budget shoppers and prioritized value and good software over sheer picture quality. The Fire TV Omni lineup runs the same software as the company's popular streaming device - offering access to endless entertainment apps - and the built-in microphones allow for hands-free Alexa voice commands. Today, Amazon is announcing the latest edition to its TV series, the Fire TV Omni QLED, and this time, it's stepping up the display specs with the inclusion of full-array local dimming.

Starting at $799.99 and coming in 65- and 75-inch ($1,099.99) sizes, the Fire TV Omni QLED includes "up to" …

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Echo speakers can now be Eero mesh Wi-Fi extenders

2022-09-28T12:50:00-04:00

Echo speakers will join the newest Echo Dot speakers as Eero Wi-Fi range extenders for an Eero.

If you've been eyeing your Echo smart speaker for a while now and wondering if it could do something more than just play music or set a timer for your toast, I have good news. Amazon is turning it into an extender for your Eero mesh Wi-Fi network.

The capability to push your Wi-Fi a few hundred feet further around your home and make it easier to connect smart home devices like outdoor cameras and that streaming media stick in the spare bedroom is a feature of Amazon's new Echo Dot and Echo Dot with Clock speakers, announced today.

But the feature is also coming to the fourth-gen Echo speakers on October 20th and to all fourth-gen Echo Dot …

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Eero’s realizing that wires can be good, actually

2022-09-28T12:50:00-04:00

Wires in the wall — what a concept. | Image: Eero

When it comes to networking, Wi-Fi is great for convenience, but it can't hold a candle to wires when it comes to performance and plain old reliability. Amazon seems to have taken this idea to heart because it's introducing an ethernet jack-laden gateway, which supports Power over Ethernet, or PoE, to its Eero lineup. It's also releasing a PoE access point alongside it.

The tech, which is popular among businesses and home networking enthusiasts alike, lets you run a single cable to your networking equipment instead of having to connect power and ethernet separately. For those willing to pay for the equipment, it should provide more flexibil …

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Ring’s new Spotlight Cam Pro mashes its most advanced features into a wireless design

2022-09-28T12:46:08-04:00

No wires on the battery version of the Cam Pro. | Image: Ring

Ring's got a new top-of-the-line "Pro" security camera that packs all of the company's advanced features into a more versatile design, complete with wire-free options for the first time. The Spotlight Cam Pro adds radar-powered 3D motion detection, color pre-roll, and Bird's Eye View in a new design that can be powered by battery, a solar panel, and, of course, the good ol' plug-in option. You can preorder the new Spotlight Cam Pro today: the battery and plug-in power options are $229.99, and the solar panel-powered model is $249.99.

Like last year's Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 and Floodlight Cam Wired Pro, the new Cam Pro has a radar-powered …

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Amazon’s Halo Rise is a bedside light to track your sleep and wake you up

2022-09-28T12:41:33-04:00

Amazon has announced the Halo Rise, a bedside device meant to track your sleep and wake you up in the morning using lights and a "small alarm speaker," as a press release describes it. The company says the Rise uses "contactless" technology, meaning you don't have to put on something like a fitness tracker or smartwatch for it to work.

The company says that "it doesn't have any cameras or microphones" but that it tracks movement and your breathing patterns using "built-in sensor technology." (The company hasn't described exactly how this works yet, but it seems plausible that it's using something similar to the ultrasound tech found in some …

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Amazon’s new Echo Auto is smaller and easier to mount in your car

2022-09-28T12:35:00-04:00

The new Echo Auto is smaller and easier to mount in your car than the original model. It also looks nicer. | Image: Amazon

Amazon has announced an update to the Echo Auto that it originally launched back in 2018. The new Echo Auto is a wholly new design, with a smaller footprint, fabric covering, and easier mounting options. It will sell for $54.99.

The idea behind the Echo Auto is to put Amazon's Alexa voice assistant in your car if your vehicle doesn't have it integrated natively like some modern cars. Effectively a microphone with some smarts, the Echo Auto pairs to your phone over Bluetooth and can then connect to your car's audio system over Bluetooth or through a 3.5mm audio cable. Power is supplied by your car's USB port.

The new Echo Auto has five micr …

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