Newsletter
Amazon held it’s annual Fall Hardware Event today, live from HQ2. This is typically where Amazon will announce a slew of new hardware, and while the event got off to a slow start, there was still plenty of new products announced.
So here’s everything that Amazon announced today at its Fall Hardware Event.
Echo Show 8
The Echo Show 8 got a nice upgrade this year, and continues the trend of Amazon updating its products every other year. The second-gen model was announced back in 2021, so it was time for a third-generation Echo Show 8. It does get a price increase, now costing you $149. That’s $20 more than the previous model. But there are some really nice upgrades here.
Firstly, Amazon says that Alexa is going to be about 40% faster on the Echo Show 8. That’s huge, seeing as Alexa had been pretty slow on smart displays already. The audio experience also got a nice upgrade here. It also brings along for the ride “spacial audio” and “room adaptation” software. So it should sound pretty good.
The new Echo Show 8 is available for pre-order now and should ship next month.
Echo Frames
Amazon also updated its Echo Frames this year at the Fall Hardware Event. These feature longer battery life and better audio. Battery life is rated at 6 hours of continuous media playback or talk time. And up to 14 hours of battery with moderate usage. These are also IPX4-rated for water resistant and are also scratch resistant.
There is also a new model called the “Carrera Smart Glasses” and it’s thanks to their collab with the eyewear maker Carrera. They have all the same features as the regular Echo Frames, but with a cooler look.
The Echo Frames will start at $270, with the Carrera Smart Glasses starting at $390. Amazon did not mention when they’d go on sale, but you are able to sign up for notifications about pre-orders right now.
Echo Hub
Next up is the Echo Hub. Which is actually an all-new product for Amazon. Think of it as a smaller Echo Show 15, but it’s sole purpose is to be mounted on the wall and be a smart home control panel. That’s basically what it is. It’s a pretty cool smart display, coming in at 8-inches (measured diagonally). And you are able to control your entire smart home with this one.
The Echo Hub will cost $179, but it is not yet available for pre-order, Amazon says later this year. You are able to sign up for notifications, to find out when pre-orders will be available.
Fire TV Stick 4K & 4K Max
Amazon also updated its 4K Fire TV Sticks. Both are featuring faster and newer processors now, so they should be a whole lot faster. Amazon quotes about a 30% speed boost on the new Fire TV Sticks. They also have support for HDR10, HDR10 Plus and Dolby Vision.
While the Fire TV Stick 4K Max gets a new 2GHz octa-core processor and support for WiFI 6E. Making it a lot more future proof. Both the Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Stick 4K Max are available for pre-order right now.
Fire TV Soundbar
Another new product this year, is the Fire TV Soundbar. This is a first for Amazon, but not for the industry, it’s becoming a pretty popular product category these days. With the Fire TV Soundbar, you can make your TV a smart TV with Fire TV included, without using another HDMI port for a Fire TV Stick or a soundbar.
This soundbar does support Dolby Audio and DTS Virtual:X. It uses Bluetooth, so you can easily connect to your soundbar from your phone to play music from apps like Spotify, Apple Music and much more.
The Fire TV Soundbar is available to purchase today, and delivers as fast as this Friday, depending on your area. It’ll cost $119.
Fire HD 10 Kids
Amazon didn’t forget about the kids this year. They also introduced a new version of its popular Fire HD 10 Kids tablet. It’s available for $189, which is the same as the previous model. This new 2023 release does come in a slew of colors and designs, and also offers up 32GB of storage.
The Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids tablet is available for pre-order right now, and will ship on October 18.
Ring Stick Up Cam Pro
Over onto the Ring side of things, Amazon has also announced a new Ring camera. We’re looking at the Ring Stick Up Cam Pro, which brings a number of features from its newer cameras and doorbells. Like Bird’s Eye View. This feature uses radar detection, to see the route someone took across the camera’s field of view. So you can really see what people are doing around your home.
The Ring Stick Up Cam Pro is available now for pre-order from Amazon, it’s priced at $179.99. And it’ll start shipping on October 18.
Ring Stick Up Cam Pro - Amazon
eero Max 7
Who doesn’t need faster WiFi? And with the eero Max 7, you can get just that. With speeds as fast as 9.6Gbps. Now, despite the name, this does support WiFi 7. But more importantly, it does WiFi 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz. It’s a tri-band router from eero that can connect up to 200 devices. And it offers 2,500 square-feet of coverage.
The eero Max 7 is not yet available for pre-order, but you can sign up for notifications. It is going to be priced at $599 for a single eero Max 7, a two-pack is $1,149 and a three-pack is $1,699.
Blink Outdoor 4 (4th Gen)
The Blink Outdoor 4 was also announced today by Amazon. It’s a pretty inexpensive wire-free camera, that has extended battery life. We’re talking about two years of battery life here. Which is pretty impressive. It still has all the goodies like two-way audio, HD live view, being weather resistant and more.
The new Blink Outdoor 4 is available now from Amazon for only $119. Amazon does offer this in multi-packs, all the way up to eight cameras, which would cost you $639.99.