Amazon doesn’t just sell products and services. The American giant also designs devices under its own brand. In addition to Echo assistants, HDMI keys, router, soundbar and even connected glasses are included for this back-to-school season.
The advantage of Amazon with its gigantic online store is that it covers all areas and offers an equally staggering number of brands. Which does not prevent the firm from offering its own products, a bit like distributor brands in supermarkets, at prices often well below average. For this 2023 school year, the American giant therefore organized a major show on September 20 in its new premises based in Arlington, Virginia. On the program, a nice range of connected devices for the home. Classic first with new Echo assistants and Fire Stick HDMI keys but also original with a new WiFi Mesh router, connected glasses and an Amazon branded soundbar. At the heart of this environment, Alexa, the home voice assistant, mistress of the place, is preparing to unveil a new profile (read our article). A quick overview of the new features, all of which, unfortunately, are not yet planned for France.
Amazon Echo: the assistant turns up the wall
Amazon Echo Show 8 devices are arriving in a new generation. This connected screen this time sports a more raw design. It retains its beautiful 8-inch screen but strengthens the audio part by equipping itself here with two side speakers supported by a bass speaker placed on top. Under the hood, a new processor accelerates its responsiveness. It also allows the Alexa voice assistant to no longer need to connect to the Internet and to process the most common requests locally to control connected objects in the home. On this point, the new Echo Show 8 integrates the Zigbee, Thread, Bluetooth and Matter protocols to manage all types of connected devices.
In addition, the Echo Show 8 has an adaptive display. This makes it possible to modulate the size of the elements presented on the screen according to the distance at which the user is located to maintain good readability even from a distance. This function will be deployed on the second and third generation Echo Show 8 from next month and on older devices in 2024. The new Echo Show 8 will be available from October at a price of 170 euros.
And for those who don’t want to place an Echo on a table and simply want to control connected objects in the home, Amazon offers an Echo Hub. The device comes in the form of a small 8-inch touch screen to be attached to the wall.
From there, it becomes a home automation center to control all connected devices (bulbs, heating, locks, surveillance camera, etc.) by hand or using Alexa obviously. The Echo Hub will also be available next month at a price of 200 euros.
Amazon Fire Stick 4K: faster and more customizable
There is no question for Amazon that Google will steal the show with its Chromecast TV 4K. Jeff Bezos’ firm is announcing two new Fire Stick 4K HDMI keys to connect to televisions without a Smart TV function to take advantage of streaming and other apps. It starts with a Fire Stick 4K. Sold for 70 euros, this HDMI key benefits from a more powerful processor than the previous model, a WiFi 6 connection and supports the Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and of course HDR 10+ standards.
Its big sister, the Fire Stick 4K Max goes further with a more efficient processor than the 4K Stick, WiFi 6E support, 16 GB of storage space and a new function called Fire TV Dynamic Screen. The goal: to present works of art on the television screen to transform this black slab into a master painting. No subscription is necessary.
All you have to do is ask Alexa to display a table (more than 2000 are available). The Fire Stick 4K Max will be available next month for 80 euros.
Amazon eero Max 7: the Mesh router powered by WiFi 7
While we are just starting to get used to WiFi 6 and WiFi 6E, Amazon is offering the eero Max 7 to go directly to WiFi 7. This is a Mash router (for the mesh WiFi network) offering theoretical wireless speeds of up to 4.3 Gb/s and 9.4 Gb/s wired thanks to the two onboard 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports.
Of course, the eero Max 7 is compatible with previous WiFi standards (phew) until the newly adopted WiFi 7 is rolled out to more mobile devices. The pack including a router and a satellite module will be priced at 699 euros “soon” according to Amazon.
Connected glasses and soundbar
The conference on September 20, Amazon also announced the release of new Echo Frames glasses. These connected glasses – which are still not sold in France – can be fitted with solar or corrective lenses. Above all, they include a microphone to call Alexa and an audio system to listen to up to 6 hours of music with their battery. They cost 270 dollars (around 245 euros) in the United States.
Innovation for the American giant this year, the Fire TV Soundbar. This is a soundbar about which Amazon has been tight-lipped. We just know that it is compatible with all of the brand’s streaming products and Fire TV devices.
No details have been revealed regarding the connectivity, the connected aspect and, more annoyingly, its audio components. Its price set at 120 dollars (around 110 euros) classifies it as an entry-level model. It is sold in the United States and Canada. No availability for France is currently planned.