Amazon Canada has Alexa in some new devices

I live a lot of my life with my smart assistant.  "Turn off the lights", "is the store open", "will it rain", etc...

Alexa was the first to be put into a little device and Amazon has announced some new devices the assistant will be packed into and then also some new features.

https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/amazon-2023-devices-event-live-blog



Alexa News and Features 

Today, we gave an early look into the future of Alexa—an even smarter and more conversational Alexa—powered by generative AI. It’s based on a new large language model that’s been custom-built and specifically optimized for voice interactions, and the things we know our customers love—getting real-time news and information, efficient smart home control, and maximizing their home entertainment.  
 

Additional new Alexa features include: 

  • Call Translation: Today’s families are more dispersed and multi-cultural than ever before. With Call Translation, your Alexa audio and video calls can be captioned in real time, allowing call participants to communicate more effectively across languages. This feature also allows deaf and hard of hearing customers to communicate remotely more easily. This feature is supported on Echo Show devices and on the Alexa mobile app in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain later this year, in over 10 languages including English, Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese. We’re always eager to learn from our customers. We know we can continue to make our accessibility experiences better and more affordable, so we’re excited to build a more accessible future. To learn more and share feedback visit www.amazon.com/accessibility.  

 

We’re also excited to announce the following range of new devices and services that leverage advancements in AI to spark joy, transform experiences, and give customers peace of mind in their home and beyond.  

 

Echo 

  • Adaptive Content:Adaptive Content is a new home screen experience that uses on-device computer vision technology to adjust on-screen content based on a customer’s proximity to the device. With this experience, a customer positioned across the room will see content that is easily viewed from a distance—such as a simplified news headline—with the screen automatically transitioning to a more detailed view as they approach the device.  
     
  • Echo Hub: The all-new Echo Hub is a smart home control panel powered by Alexa, designed to give customers a simple and intuitive way to manage their smart home devices. It’s easy to install and features a thin, eight-inch, touch-enabled display with a customizable dashboard that makes it simple for customers to group and manage smart home devices, arm a Ring security system, start a Routine, organize widgets, and view multiple camera snapshots or live views on screens at once. When not actively in use, Echo Hub blends into the home by transitioning to an idle screen that can be personalized with a rotating collection of family photos and glanceable information such as the weather and time. 

o   Echo Hub is priced at $239.99 and will be available later this year - customers can sign up to be notified when pre-orders are available.  

 

Fire TV 

  • Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen): The Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen) is the first streaming media player to come with the Fire TV Ambient Experience, and features an upgraded 2.0 GHz quad-core processor, making it Amazon’s smartest and most powerful streaming stick yet. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is the U.S. industry’s first streaming stick to include support for Wi-Fi 6E; features vibrant 4K Ultra HD, and support for Dolby Vision, HDR, HDR10+, and immersive Dolby Atmos audio; and comes with 16GB of storage, doubling the previous generation’s capacity.  

o   Fire TV Stick 4K Max is available for pre-order today on Amazon.ca for $79.99
 

  • Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd Gen): The Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd Gen) delivers Fire TV Stick’s best performance yet for under $70. It introduces support for Wi-Fi 6 and features an updated 1.7 GHZ quad-core processor, making itnearly 30% more powerful than the previous generation. Customers can enjoy vibrant 4K Ultra HD picture quality and immersive Dolby Atmos audio with support for Dolby Vision, HDR, HLG, and HDR10+. 

o   Fire TV Stick 4K is available for pre-order today on Amazon.ca for $69.99
 

  • Fire TV Soundbar: The new two-channel Fire TV Soundbar brings customers room-filling sound with support for DTS® Virtual:X and Dolby Audio. Featuring a compact 24-inch design, the Fire TV Soundbar is simple to set up and is compatible with all Fire TV devices—and when not watching TV, customers can connect their phones, tablets, or any streaming device via Bluetooth.  

o   The brand-new Fire TV Soundbar is available today on Amazon.ca for $199.99

 

Fire Tablets and Amazon Kids+ 

  • Fire HD 10: The all-new Fire HD 10 is thin, light, and durable. With an octa-core processor that performs 25% faster than the previous generation and 3 GB RAM, you can seamlessly move between your favourite apps. The 10.1” Full HD display with 1920 x 1200 resolution shows off your entertainment in vibrant clarity. 

o   Fire HD 10 tablet is available for pre-order today starting at $189.99 and will ship next month.  
 

  • Fire HD 10 Kids: The new Fire HD 10 Kids, designed for 3- to 7-year old kids is a 10.1-inch tablet that's lighter and 25% faster than our previous generation, with 1080p full HD displays, 3GB of RAM, 5MP cameras, and up to 13-hours of battery life, all for $10 less than the previous generation.  

o   Fire HD 10 Kids tablet comes with 12-months of Amazon Kids+ included, is available for pre-order today starting at $239.99 and will ship next month.  
 

  • Fire HD 10 Kids Pro: The new Fire HD 10 Kids Pro, designed for 6- to 12-year old kids is a 10.1-inch tablet that's lighter and 25% faster than our previous generation, with 1080p full HD displays, 3GB of RAM, 5MP cameras, and up to 13-hours of battery life.  

o   Fire HD 10 Kids Pro tablet comes with 12-months of Amazon Kids+ included, is available for pre-order today starting at $239.99 and will ship next month.  

 

Ring 

  • Ring Stick Up Cam Pro: Ring Stick Up Cam Pro is Ring's most versatile camera with advanced features including radar-based 3D Motion Detection. With 3D Motion Detection, motion alerts are more refined, and more accurate. Advanced radar-powered features like Bird’s Eye Zones and Bird’s Eye View mean customers can use an aerial perspective to pinpoint and only send an alert when their camera detects movement from people in that location. This new indoor/outdoor camera comes in three power options (Battery, Plug-in, Solar) has Advanced Pre-Roll and we’ve also added Audio+, which delivers great sound thanks to two array microphones, with echo cancellation and a security siren.  

o   Ring Stick Up Cam Pro is available for pre-order today at $234.99 for battery and plug-in, and $274.99 for solar on Ring.com and Amazon.com,  and will ship to customers on October 18. 

 

Blink 

  • Blink Outdoor 4: Powered by Blink’s proprietary silicon, Blink Outdoor 4 enables high image quality, enhanced low light sensitivity, and a wider field-of-view significantly improved over the previous generation—all while maintaining up to two years of battery life. Blink’s on-device computer vision also adds support for person detection (Blink subscription required), giving customers the ability to customize the motion notifications to only when a person is present.  

o   Blink Outdoor 4 is available in Canada starting at $159.99 for a one camera system, including a Sync Module 2. 

 

  • Blink Sync Module Pro: Sync Module Pro is Blink’s first system hub to offer extended range for Blink Outdoor 4. Using a new proprietary wireless protocol, integrated into Blink’s custom-built third-generation silicon, Sync Module Pro extends the range of your Outdoor 4 significantly farther than Wi-Fi . Now, customers can place their Outdoor 4 cameras in even more places—all without the worry of Wi-Fi range. For customers that want to save and store video clips locally, Sync Module Pro features a MicroSD card slot (MicroSD card sold separately).  

o   Sync Module Pro will be available early next year for $59.99. 
 

  • Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera: The new Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera is the next generation of Blink’s popular wire-free smart security floodlight, delivering powerful motion-triggered LED lighting and up to two years of battery life, based on default settings. Outdoor 4 already offers Blink’s best image quality yet on a battery device and when paring it with the Floodlight Mount, customers can now light up any place on their property where they want more visibility.  

o   Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera is available for pre-order in Canada today, priced at $209.99 and customers who already own Blink Outdoor 4 and want to convert it into a floodlight camera can pre-order this as a Floodlight Mount accessory for $49.99 starting today. 
 

  • Blink Outdoor 4 Battery Extension Pack: The new Blink Outdoor 4 Battery Extension Pack, can be configured to extend Outdoor 4’s battery life up to four years, based on default settings. It also gives customers the ability to increase clip recordings, engage more frequently with two-way audio, enhance resolution and night vision brightness, and more while still maintaining the battery life Blink is known for.  

o   Blink Outdoor 4 Battery Extension Pack is available for pre-order today in Canada, priced at $39.99. Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera and Battery Extension Pack will ship to customers starting October 17, 2023. 

 

eero 

  • eero Max 7: eero Max 7 is an entirely new class of eero, built without compromise. eero Max 7 is Amazon's first Wi-Fi 7 mesh system and the fastest, most powerful eero yet. It combines the company’s patented TrueMesh networking technology with the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard to dramatically increase speeds, avoid interference from neighboring networks, and improve mesh latency–and with 10 Gigabit Ethernet, it’s now possible to download a 4K movie in 10 seconds or a 50 gigabyte video game in less than a minute. 

o   eero Max 7 will be available soon for $799.99  (one-pack), $1,599.99 (two-pack), and $2,299.99 (three-pack) through eero.comAmazon.ca, and leading retailers like Best Buy

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