Amazon event 2020 is live now

The tech launch season is fully upon us, and we’ve already seen new devices from Samsung and Apple. But now it’s time for Amazon. That means new Echo smart speakers and screen, Ring doorbells and cams, Eero routers and most certainly a few surprises.

Last year at the 2019 Amazon Devices event, a monstrous amount of devices were announced. Don’t remember, we’ll remind you: We got Echo 3rd Gen, Echo Dot with Clock, Echo Studio, Echo Flex, Echo Buds, Echo Frames, Echo Show, Ring’s Indoor Cam and Stick Cam and the all new Eero mesh system.

Amazon’s Devices event kicks off at 1 p.m. EST so stay tuned for the latest as it breaks. And all of the new devices announced today will be built from 100% recycled fabric, feature a low power mode and are built from 100% recycled diecast.

Amazon’s event is now in full force with Dave Limp on stage introducing the strides that Alexa and the full device portfolio has made.

For the most part, Amazon’s core Echo has stayed a tall vertical cylinder. But the Echo is going somewhere different. It’s spherical and looks like a mini Death Star. It represents a full redesign from the ground up, but it still maintains the most important part of any Echo: Alexa integration.

The new Echo is up for preorder now at $99.99 at Amazon.com.

This fourth-generation Echo smart speaker features six far-field microphones that work to pick up your voice and clearly hear it. Those audio inputs are paired with three main audio outputs. Powering the sound on the spherical Echo is a 3-inch woofer and dual-firing tweeters. Dolby Atmos processing is on board for a vibrant mix with clear lows, mids and highs. You can connect out to other speakers via a 3.5-mm audio port (and it supports Bluetooth).

Plus, for the first time outside the Echo Studio (Amazon’s high-end $199 smart speaker), this Echo features adaptive sound. Essentially it will intelligently listen to how the audio is flowing in the room and make adjustments for the best mix possible.

But, as expected, the story goes beyond just audio. Powering this Echo is Amazon’s first-generation AZ1 Neural Edge processor — essentially a silicon chip that Amazon designed in partnership with MediaTek. The core purpose and feature-set is designed to accelerate machine learning applications. The biggest improvement? The time it takes to process your voice (before it gets sent off to the cloud.

And Amazon is combining the previous Echo and Echo Plus into this Echo. That means all of the extra smart home features — like ZigBee, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Amazon Sidewalk –— are all integrated here. So you’ll get easy pairing with an array of smart devices (lights, door locks, outlets and more) with just the Echo and no need for an additional hub. The classic Alexa action and mute buttons are still here. And this incorporates a tap-to-snooze function.

In terms of size, it should be wider than the current Echo but much shorter at just shy of 6-inches. It will be a unique shape for sure and it comes in three colors: Charcoal, Glacier White and a Twilight Blue. All of these feature a “homey” fabric design and are made from 100% recycled products. The classic LED ring light now sits on the bottom, opposed to the top, and should reflect off the surface the Echo lives on with a nice glow.

The new Echo is up for preorder now at $99.99 on Amazon.com and will ship later this year.

Alongside a circular and spherical fourth-generation Echo, we have the fourth-gen Echo Dot and second-gen Echo Dot with Clock. Priced at $49.99 and $59.99, respectively, these both represent a whole new design for the Echo Dot family.

The Echo Dot at $49.99 and Echo Dot with Clock at $59.99 are both up for preorder now.

Like the bigger Echo, both of these features a fabric outer shell that’s made from 100% recycled fabric. Both Dots will be available in Charcoal, Glacier White and Twilight Blue. They’re smaller than the Echo at just 12-ounces in weight and measuring in at just 4-inches tall. There’s also a single 1.6-inch front-firing driver inside. We expect the sound from Echo Dot and Dot with Clock to be on-par with previous generations. The 3rd Gen model brought big improvements to sound, so we hope that is the case again.

To communicate easily with Alexa, there are four far-field microphones onboard both of these. The AZ1 processor is inside the Echo Dot and Dot with Clock as well. The classic microphone mute and Alexa call buttons now sit on top, while the LED glowing light has been moved to the bottom of the device.

The tap-to-snooze function will be on both of these Dots as well. The LED display can also be used to show off animations for the weather, act as a time and display the temperature.

The Echo Dot at $49.99 and Echo Dot with Clock at $59.99 are both up for preorder now. Shipments will start later this year.

Also along for the ride is the Echo Dot Kids Edition. For starters, it matches the same design as the new Echo Dot, but is cheaper than the previous Kids Edition at just $59.99 (and available for preorder now).

You get the brand new spherical design and all the power of Alexa, while also giving you a year of Amazon Kids. Plus, the new color options are epic: You can pick from a Tiger or Panda design. They look dope and we have a feeling a lot of adults might opt for these, as well.

New to this generation is the ability to create a Kids Profile. And with this turned on, Alexa can identify if a kid is speaking to it and properly adjust its responses to be a bit more child-friendly. There’s a Reading Sidekick skill which will let Alexa read along with your child and also provide positive encouragement. The latter could be especially helpful with many kids learning from home.

The Echo Dot Kids Edition is up for preorder now at $59.99 and will ship later this year.

Ring pretty much has you covered from the outside in when it comes to the home. Now, they’re expanding to the car. And it arrives in the form of three products.

First up is the Ring Car Alarm, which is a $59.99 device that plugs into your car’s OBD-II port. It has wireless components inside, allowing it to alert the owner, via the Ring app, of what’s going on. It’s not arriving until 2021, so specifics are a little far off, but essentially it will allow you to trigger your car’s alarm from afar in the event something goes wrong. Amazon mentions it can alert owners of a break-in or bumps, so we imagine there are some sensors on board. It also connects via Amazon Sidewalk, a public network that is operated by Amazon and available to customers for free.

Second is the Ring Car Cam, Amazon’s version of a dashcam. It will also launch in 2021 for $199.99. There’s a blue ring around the camera lens so you’ll know when it’s recording. It can start recording if a crash or bump is detected. Better yet, if you want to record a traffic stop, you can say “Alexa, I’m being pulled over” and it will record the interaction. And if you don’t want the camera recording, you can hit a button to physically cover the camera and electronically disable the hardware.

Lastly, Ring has the Car Connect API, which integrates software and a physical hardware attachment that plugs into the vehicle. It’s first launching for the Tesla Model S, 3, X and Y. With it enabled, you’ll get content like video footage, vehicle status info and events visible in the Ring app for Android and iOS. Notably, with Teslas, you’ll be able to watch Sentry Mode directly in the Ring app.

You might be reminded of a post-apocalyptic movie, but Ring’s Always Home Camera is an autonomous flying indoor camera that will patrol a set path in your house. From the images, it looks like a Ring doorbell strapped to a drone. It has a home base, which it will take off from and land at, while also acting as a charger. It will launch in 2021 for $249.99.

The Ring Always Home will fly around your house based on pre-learned routes. It works like a Roomba in this context and will only be engaged when the Ring Security System is armed away. Let’s say your Ring Doorbell picks up unexpected motion at the front door, the Ring Alway Home Cam can fly to that area and check things out. It will also give you a live view of what’s going on.

On the privacy front, it only records when in motion and Ring says it’s quite loud, dubbing it “privacy you can hear.” We’ll report back with more on the Ring Always Home Camera in the coming months.