Amazon ditches the big event

Rather than hold a standard fall hardware event, Amazon has been announcing new products piecemeal over recent weeks to keep devices in consumers' minds instead of revealing everything at once.

Panos Panay explains the strategy

Amazon's chief of Alexa and devices Panos Panay said last year only two products got attention and everything else was just there. He felt the teams behind overlooked products didn't get the pride they deserved.

“last year was a fine moment, but it turns out only two products really got any attention and everything else was just there.”

Three new Alexa tablets arrive

Amazon is transitioning from Fire tablets to a new premium Alexa tablet lineup available in the US, Mexico and Canada on October 14, and five days later in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

Alexa Tablet 8 starts at $230

The Alexa Tablet 8 has an eight point seven inch display, eight core CPU, two core GPU, four gigabytes of RAM and sixty four or one hundred twenty eight gigabytes of storage. It weighs sixteen point four ounces and offers up to fourteen hours of video playback.

Alexa Tablet 11 at $330

The Alexa Tablet eleven has a two point five K eleven inch display with ninety hertz refresh rate, eight core CPU, two core GPU, fifth generation MDLA NPU, eight gigabytes of RAM and dual Dolby Atmos speakers. Battery delivers up to fifteen hours of video playback.

Flagship Alexa Tablet 12 Pro costs $500

The Alexa Tablet twelve Pro has a twelve inch two hundred eighty PPI display with one hundred twenty hertz refresh rate, eight core CPU, seven core GPU, eighth generation MDLA NPU, eight gigabytes of RAM and one hundred twenty eight gigabytes of storage. Amazon claims three times faster processing and nine times faster graphics than previous tablets.

“three times faster processing and nine times faster graphics”

Tablets run Android 16 with Google Play

Amazon has bid adieu to Fire OS. Alexa tablets run on Android sixteen with a custom layer on top, offering direct access to the Google Play Store. However, they do not have a microSD card slot to expand storage.

New Kindle lineup starts at $150

The latest standard Kindle starts at one hundred fifty dollars and costs an extra twenty dollars to remove lockscreen ads. The six inch model is six point eight millimeters thick, weighs five ounces and Amazon says it is thirty percent faster at opening books and runs for six weeks on a charge.

Paperwhite and Colorsoft updates

The latest Kindle Paperwhite has a seven inch display, sixteen gigabytes of storage and adjustable warm light at two hundred dollars. The Paperwhite Signature Edition costs two hundred fifty dollars with no ads, aluminum back and thirty two gigabytes of storage. The Kindle Colorsoft has improved clarity and runs for up to eight weeks on a charge.

Ring Smart Lock arrives early next year

Ring unveiled its first smart door lock with a fingerprint reader and keypad. It includes a hand crank to supply power if the battery runs out, allowing you to unlock the door. You can also use Alexa to lock or unlock. The Ring Smart Lock will be available early next year for two hundred forty nine dollars.

Ring cameras get Retinal 4K video

Ring updated several cameras including the Outdoor Cam four K Plus, Spotlight Cam four K Plus, Floodlight Cam four K Plus and Indoor Cam four K to support Retinal four K video capture. A new Pan Tilt Indoor Cam two K can rotate three hundred sixty degrees and tilt one hundred seventy five degrees to automatically follow moving objects.

Fire TV Stick 4K gets faster

Amazon announced the Fire TV Stick four K in September. The sixty dollar device turns on faster, apps launch over thirty five percent faster and content starts playing nearly twenty percent faster than its predecessor. It is slimmer, runs on TV USB power and has Wi Fi six support.

“turns on faster, apps launch over 35 percent faster, and content starts playing nearly 20 percent faster”