Amazon Debuts Sphere-Shaped Echo Speaker, Ring Home Security Drone, Luna Cloud Gaming Service and More

[MacRumors]

Amazon today announced the launch of its fourth-generation Echo speaker, which features a new spherical design and improved sound performance thanks to a three-inch woofer, dual-firing tweeters, and new Dolby processing.

The $100 fabric-covered speaker comes in three colors, including black, blue, and white, and it's accompanied by a built-in smart home hub with Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy, and Amazon Sidewalk integration. Amazon Sidewalk extends the range of devices like the Ring and includes support for Tile devices.

The new Echo is equipped with an AZ1 Neural Edge processor that moves speech recognition on-device for faster than ever response times to requests.

Alongside the new sphere-shaped Echo, there's a spherical Echo Dot that's priced at $50 and a kid's version that comes with animal face designs and is priced at $60, along with an updated $250 Echo Show that has the same AZ1 neural processor plus a 10-inch display, the ability to pivot, and a 13-megapixel camera.

A Guard Plus feature, priced at $4.99 per month, allows Alexa devices to listen for sounds like footfalls or doors opening and closing and it can play fake sounds like a dog barking to scare off intruders. Amazon also unveiled Alexa Care Hub, a feature designed to let users monitor a family member's home.

There are new Eero 6 and Eero Pro 6 WiFi 6 mesh systems available, and for Ring, Amazon is adding end-to-end encryption for videos. A new Ring Car Alarm is meant to be plugged into the car's OBD-II port and it includes built-in sirens and sensors to monitor for car theft.

A Ring Car Cam is Amazon's new in-car security solution, and it too includes a siren and emergency crash assist functionality. The Ring Car Alarm is priced at $60, while the Ring Car Cam is priced at $200.

Also new in the Ring family is the $250 Always Home Cam, which is a drone-based security system that can fly to different places in the house from a home dock. It basically flies around the house on pre-set paths, recording while in motion.

Amazon introduced an updated $40 Fire TV Stick with HDR, Dolby Atmos Support, and an Alexa Remote, plus there's a Lite version that has a simplified remote for $30. To compete with Apple Arcade and other streaming gaming services, Amazon's final announcement was Luna, a game streaming service.

Luna works cross-platform on Macs, PCs, Fire TV, smartphones, and tablets, and it will be compatible with Apple devices, according to Amazon, because it is designed to be a web app and is not subject to Apple's rules.

Luna will be priced at $5.99 per month, and Amazon has designed the Luna Controller, to go along with it. The $50 controller has "cloud direct technology" to cut down on latency, essentially connecting the controller directly to Amazon's servers.

Article Link: Amazon Debuts Sphere-Shaped Echo Speaker, Ring Home Security Drone, Luna Cloud Gaming Service and More

 

[cknibbs]

At a quick glance the Show almost looked like an old iMac... which was the best designed iMac IMHO

 

[itsmilo]

That always home drone thing is just CREEPY and I am saying this as a echo owner

 

[dannyyankou]

I think the 2nd gen echo show had a better design, I have one and never really felt the need to pivot it.

 

[Romeo_Nightfall]

That always home drone thing is just CREEPY and I am saying this as a echo owner

its a dystopian taste of our (seems so) almost near future

 

[coachgq]

New Echo could be the predecessor to homepod mini.

 

[Attirex]

$200 car camera? o.0

 

[Agit21]

Amazon is a great company. These services / devices seem great tbh.

 

[rictus007]

A flying camera watching my home? Skynet?

 

[ianKent]

Will the car camera come with its own LTE/Wifi connection or do the older cars need to have a 3rd party wireless connection installed first?

 

[bobmans]

Imagine waking up in the middle of the night and seeing your newly bought amazon drone camera recording you while you're sleeping.

 

[iMi]

I'm very happy to hear about the Ring devices. I have several cameras and the alarm system, along with few lights around the house. Love them. Also interesting is the Luna gaming service. Not "canceling my Xbox Series X pre-order interesting" but I'll check it out when it comes out.

 

[thedarkhalf]

Who tf wants a flying camera in their house?? I don't even understand what the purpose is...

 

[orbital~debris]

Sunflower-iMac mini! (a few years late!)

 

[MacinMan]

I love amazon products. I currently have the following:
Echo Plus 2nd Generation (charcoal)
2 Echo dots 3rd Generation (1 sandstone, 1 plum)
3 Echo Studio
4 Echo Flex with smart Nightlight (in bathroom)

I decided to start trying Amazon products after I invested into a Prime account. Really wanted to see what Amazon's ecosystem offered. I've been invested about a little over a year now, and have been happy for the most part. Will keep my eye on this one, just to see where it goes, even though I don't need anymore right now, could make for a nice upgrade in the future.

 

[CarpalMac]

Good to see existing products evolving and interesting new products appearing.

Seems a waste of real estate /unnecessary girth for the show to have a bezel from 2012 though. (yeah, I went there).

 

[MrGimper]

At a quick glance the Show almost looked like an old iMac... which was the best designed iMac IMHO

I paid £50 for one of those iMac just to sit in my lounge and look gorgeous. Love it

 

[Jarman74]

Very happy to see a Wi-Fi 6 eero router. Hopefully it supports HomeKit.

 

[Doomtomb]

That security drone idea is pure gold. Ahaha

 

[Rogifan]

So this gaming service is going to run in the browser. I’m not sure if Apple can do anything about it but might test the validity of their reasons for not allowing xCloud and Stadia in the App Store.

 

[erinsarah]

That always home drone thing is just CREEPY and I am saying this as a echo owner

While I completely agree with you, I want this to follow my dog around so that when he sneaks into the a random room upstairs and starts eating the furniture, I can be notified.

 

[LawJolla]

I love how there's a flying security drone -- the neck-snapping part of the article -- and it's given a shrug and positioned at the end.

 

[ArPe]

Waiting for Alexa Chuckie Doll that kills home invaders with a big knife.

 

[Analog Kid]

Hey kids! Speak to the panda and tell Uncle Jeff all your secrets!

 

[redgreenski]

I need Apple to make me a drone like that.