At an event held last night, Amazon unveiled a slew of products that were largely anticipated. Heading things up came two new Kindle Scribes — one of which adds a dash of colour to the proceedings — before all eyes fell to the retail giant’s four (that’s right, four) new Echo smart speakers, complete with new AI powers to justify the existence of Amazon’s Alexa+ subscription service.
Most important are the new Kindle Scribes, especially since these are the most likely to be available in South Africa. That’s not to say Amazon’s Echo devices won’t turn up eventually, but they’ll likely come later than the rest, forcing early adopters to import. While Alexa+ is still evading our borders as Amazon ensures everything is working as it’s supposed to, that’s fine by us.
Kindling favour
We’ve had the pleasure of tangoing with the first-gen Kindle Scribe, an experience we feel could only be upped with a little colour. Amazon has obliged, unveiling the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft that’ll make the pen-wielding e-reader that much mightier. It brings “weeks of battery life” — a claim nobody in the presence of a Kindle would doubt — and a new rendering engine that Amazon claims makes writing feel fast, fluid, and “totally natural.”
Amazon also reckons the Colorsoft features “the same new design” as the regular new Kindle Scribe, now entering its third generation. Unless a colour display is a must, it seems the third-gen Scribe is the one to get with its new quad-core chipset, more memory, and Oxide display tech that Amazon says will help everything feel snappier, even compared to the relatively speedy Kindle Scribe.
It’s also incredibly thin, measuring 5.4mm and weighing 400g, and is fronted by a new texture-moulded glass to give the pen a bit more grip. The bezels are stripped right back too, allowing users easier access to the 11in display. Both devices include more AI features than your little e-reader could ever need, including AI-powered search, a refreshed home screen, and support for Google Drive and OneDrive.
All three devices — the regular Kindle Scribe can be picked up with or without a front light, for some reason — will be available later this year, and certainly won’t be cheap. The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft demands $630 (∼R10,800), while the Scribe with a front light goes for $500 (∼R8,600). Nix the light and pay $430 (∼R7,400).
Amazon ECHO Echo echo…
Leading the Echo lineup is Amazon’s refreshed Echo Studio, now 40% smaller than the previous iteration. It packs a “powerful high-excursion woofer that delivers deep, immersive bass and three optimally placed full-range drivers,” which, in conjunction with Dolby Atmos and spatial audio support, only serves to improve the Studio’s audio chops. It also just looks pretty cool, too.
It matches the look of the new Echo Dot Max, a successor to the 5th-gen Echo Dot that supposedly beats out the old thing with three times more bass. It’s doing so with a two-way speaker system, “with a high-excursion woofer optimized for deep bass and a custom tweeter for crisp high notes.”
Both devices also feature new silicon chips — the AZ3 and AZ3 Pro — on the Dot Max and Studio, respectively. A new AI Accelerator has also been added to help them live up to Amazon’s ambitious AI plans. These are meant to up the device’s conversational abilities, while also powering Omnisense, a custom sensor platform that allows Alexa to intelligently pick up on what’s happening in your home before acting upon it. That’s not scary at all.
The AZ3 Pro also powers both the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11, which include new front-facing stereo speakers, a custom woofer to embolden the spatial audio chops, and in-cell touch and negative liquid crystal displays. Still, they’re not nearly as impressive as the other two, which can be combined with up to five of their siblings to build a surround sound system in your home.
They’re also not cheap, but you already guessed that, didn’t you? All four devices are up for pre-order in the US, with plans to be shipped on 29 October. The Echo Dot Max will set you back $100 (∼R1,720), the Echo Studio $220 (∼R3,800), while the Echo Show 8 goes for $180 (∼R3,100), and the Echo Show 11 $220 (∼R3,800).
