Every breath you take,
and every move you make…
Every bond you break,
every step you take,
I'll be watching you.
Every single day,
and every word you say.
Every game you play,
every night you stay,
I'll be watching you.
Amazon had a surprise product announcement event back in 2017, in which they unveiled the Echo Spot, a new version of the regular Echo, and more.
That event resonated so well that Amazon made it an annual occurrence, with the fourth straight year of the event taking place earlier today.
Amazon has a nice feel for how to do these events in a way that provides tailwind heading into the holiday season. And this year, it matters a little bit more, with Amazon’s Prime Day delayed from its usual perch in the summertime to October 13. So the product announcements today will potentially have a greater impact than usual.
There’s quite a bit to cover, so what follows is a bit of a TL;DR summary and grade of everything Amazon covered today.
New Echo devices: A
Love the new spherical shape. It’s been fun to watch Amazon iterate on the Echo from its original “black tower of death” design to what it’s now become.
A rather than an A+ for these devices not being available for purchase until October 22. The decision likely has to do with using the now re-scheduled Prime Day on October 13 to clear out the older model Echo devices, but it still provides plenty of time for consumers to forget all about today’s event.
Echo Dot for Kids: A
Inspired use of the fabric covering to make these fun.
A new feature called Reading Sidekick helps assess a child’s reading, while Amazon also took this opportunity to extend Alexa parental controls universally across all devices, helping parents out.
This is what winning hearts and minds looks like, amongst people with children who might otherwise view Alexa with cynical eyes.
Echo Show 10: B+
Beautiful device, gonna sell truckloads, and likely immensely valuable addition of a motorized 360-degree range of motion.
Dinged for what we noted in yesterday’s letter, which is Google having Disney+ while the Echo Show 10 doesn’t, and also for no firm release date, though Amazon said the device will be available by the holidays.
Ring Always Home Cam: B+
This is a drone, which flies around your house, transmitting footage back to you on your mobile device.
Or, it can detect motion on its own, if you allow it, and fly on over to see what’s going on.
If it spots a break-in, or detects activity it’s not used to detecting, it can be trained to fly itself to go investigate.
This device takes a blowtorch to conventional notions of privacy, and demonstrates Amazon’s embrace of security and utility over all else.
This device has a lot of potential to help people, even save lives, in a number of different contexts, and I like Amazon’s boldness in unapologetically bringing it to market.
Release date of “sometime in 2021” earns a demerit. Otherwise, I think this is the star of the show, and you can bet it will be in high demand.
New Fire TV Stick + Introduction of Fire TV Stick Lite: B
The Fire TV Stick is an Alexa-enabled, rock-solid product that Amazon doesn’t tend to get enough credit for.
Today’s announcement saw a new iteration of the core product, along with a new, lower-cost, lesser-featured version.
Only quibble here is that the differences between the Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick Lite are minimal and weird (the Lite removes control of the TV). But Amazon has shown they don’t mind experimenting with the market in real-time.
Eero 6 Routers: B
With all these various devices, you’re going to need seamless internet throughout your house or office, with no dead zones.
Amazon’s got you covered.
Amazon Ring devices in the car: C
These three devices (pictured above) present a smorgasbord of functionality into the modern car, while again ignoring all conventional notions of privacy.
It is fascinating to consider that, with Amazon’s Ring Car Cam, you can say “Alexa, I’m getting pulled over” which will initiate the car cam to begin filming and record that information to the cloud.
The Car Cam also will begin recording if there’s a collision or some sort of other unusual event while in the vehicle.
The Ring Car Alarm lets you know if something’s happening to your car, sending you a notification and sounding a siren if you choose.
The Ring Car Connect uses a car’s built-in cameras, starting with Tesla models, to record and document if something happens to the car while either moving or parked.
These all feel a bit rushed, a bit overly complicated, and a bit expensive.
Amazon Luna: I (Incomplete)
Why did a video gaming announcement get dropped in the middle of this event? With no clear connection back to Alexa?
Like Google Stadia before it, everything sounds great, until you get hit with the words “invite only,” “beta,” and “no known release date.”
Good fundamentals here, in theory, with a solid gaming lineup, partnership with Ubisoft for day one releases, good monthly price point, and potentially game-changing implementation of Twitch, also owned by Amazon.
I for incomplete, for now. We’ll revisit this later when we know more.
Event Coverage: D
A final word on how the event itself was covered.
The event was invite-only for specific press, and no live-stream was available.
So folks like the company’s Alexa Champions, who adore the company, couldn’t attend the event, while press who clearly hold Amazon in disdain could.
The thoughtfulness that went into so many of these products went missing here.
——-
EDITOR’S NOTE! We were corrected on this shortly after publishing it. Amazon did, in fact, invite all Alexa Champions around the world to attend this event, and even gave them special access after the fact.
This completely changes the above section to be an A+, and I give myself an F for not getting this right to start with! Well done Amazon taking care of your key group of people.
All in all, today was a strong showing for Amazon, showing the same vision that brought Alexa to the unlikely point of societal ubiquity.
The questions that remain all relate to privacy.
Amidst COVID, we learned to overlook a wide range of privacy concerns.
What happens as COVID wanes?
Today’s event helps set a fascinating stage for 2021.
Since you've gone I've been lost without a trace
I dream at night, I can only see your face
I look around but it's you I can't replace
I feel so cold and I long for your embrace
I keep crying: baby, baby, please
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