Amazon reveals new Echo Dot, Kindle Scribe tablet & more

An Amazon product event is underway, and the company has unveiled a new stylus-based Kindle Scribe tablet, a refresh of the Echo Dot line, sleep monitoring hardware, and more.

New product updates include a fifth-generation Echo Dot with a clock and a Kindle with a stylus. Kindle's offerings compete with Apple's iPad and HomePod mini, but with budget-focused designs and hardware.

Outside of the updated Kindle, the new products center on the home and entertainment. Stay tuned to Amazon's devices page as the new products are made available to purchase.

Kindle Scribe

The Amazon Kindle Scribe is the first-ever Kindle with a stylus. It has a 10.2-inch Paperwhite display with 300 pixels per inch resolution. The premium stylus is included with the purchase.

Use a stylus with a Kindle for the first time

The pen has a dedicated eraser and a shortcut button. It attaches to the side of the Kindle magnetically when not in use.

Amazon says that the Kindle Scribe will get support for apps including the Microsoft Office suite in 2023. Users will be able to mark up Word documents, for example.

The Kindle Scribe launches later in 2022, "in time for the holidays," for $339.99.

Halo Rise

Amazon announced the Halo Rise, a smart bedside sleep tracker, wake-up light, and alarm clock. It doesn't have any cameras or microphones, but it tracks sleep patterns using built-in sensors.

The Halo Rise tracks sleep

Data from the Halo Rise is Alexa compatible so users can call up their sleep report on Alexa displays. The Halo Rise requires a subscription, but comes with six months bundled.

The Halo Rise costs $139.99 and will be available later in 2022.

Echo Dot (5th-generation)

The new Amazon Echo Dot comes in black, beige, and dark blue. It has improved sound for clearer vocals and rich sound. Amazon says it has up to twice the bass.

The new Echo Dot has an optional clock

There is a variant with a clock built into the speaker's face. It shows through the mesh using white LEDs.

Echo Dots also act as Eero WiFi extenders. Each speaker can add up to 1,000 square feet of coverage to a network.

The kids' edition Echo Dot also gets the 5th-generation update. New skins include an owl and a dragon.

Order the new Echo Dot for $50 or the Kids Edition for $60. The Kids Edition is bundled with a year of Amazon Kids Plus.

Amazon also announced a new Echo Studio with better bass and mid-range clarity. It comes in glacier white and costs $199.99, with orders shipping in October.

Echo Auto

Amazon announced an updated Echo Auto with more intelligence surrounding media playback and handoff. For example, music started in the home can pick up where it left off in the car.

BMW also made an appearance to announce its in-vehicle assistant will be based on Alexa.

Ring Spotlight Cam Pro

The Ring Spotlight Cam Pro has motion detection and the Birds Eye View feature. It can detect people or animals and show their walking path, but users can program it to ignore your pets.

The Ring Spotlight Cam Pro has the Birds Eye View feature

It is available with solar, wired, or battery-operated variations. Only the battery and wired versions are out now for $230, with the solar option coming later in 2022 for $250.

FireTV

Amazon announced the Fire TV Omni QLED TV. It has Dolby Vision IQ, HDR 10+, and adaptive brightness. It comes in 65-inch and 75-inch options with pre-orders starting at $800.

This Alexa-compatible TV enables users to show photos using voice commands.

The updated FireTV has an HDMI input for cable boxes

The FireTV Cube has been updated with new hardware and an HDMI input for cable boxes. This cloth-covered box supports streaming 4K content over WiFi 6E.

The cable box input enables users to give Alexa commands to control the cable box. For example, tell Alexa to change the channel to a specific station.

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6 Comments

badmonk 11 Years · 1336 comments

About 2 years ago

WatchOS 9.0 has great sleep tracking ability if you wear it overnight. I find it to be accurate compared with my subjective sense of wakefulness, REM and overall sleep. You just to have the foresight to find some time to charge yr AW before you go to bed.

I am not sure why anyone needs a stand alone device with a subscription to monitor sleep, unless you don’t want to wear a watch while sleeping.

Scot1 7 Years · 126 comments

An Echo Dot that works as a Wi-Fi router or extender is something that I always thought the Apple HomePod should or could have done.

dewme 10 Years · 5775 comments

Scot1 said:

An Echo Dot that works as a Wi-Fi router or extender is something that I always thought the Apple HomePod should or could have done.

Not a bad idea if Apple was still in the networking business, especially if they put an Ethernet port in the HomePod. The old AirPort Express was essentially what you are describing if you plugged a speaker into it.

On the upside, the HomePod mini is a Thread router which will help people who want to build up a HomeKit system using Matter compatible devices … once all those specs get ratified and more devices hit the market.

I’m always a bit leery when vendors bring out combo devices because one or more of the bundled features can become outdated or even obsolete while other features remain relevant. While Amazon’s devices are often inexpensive enough not to lose any sleep over this concern, the same may not be said about Apple.

The one Echo Dot combo that makes perfect sense is putting the clock display in the speaker. I wish Apple offered a HomePod mini version with a clock. It would be a great nightstand device or even part of a desktop or mini home theater pair with one of the HomePods in the pair having the clock option.

FileMakerFeller 6 Years · 1561 comments

AppleInsider said:

Halo Rise
Amazon announced the Halo Rise, a smart bedside sleep tracker, wake-up light, and alarm clock. It doesn't have any cameras or microphones, but it tracks sleep patterns using built-in sensors.

Without microphones, I'm curious what sensors can be used to track sleep patterns without physical contact. Is it scanning the IR spectrum? Monitoring changes in the EM field around the head?

I'm very uncomfortable with the idea of such a device sending data home to Amazon. Sounds like the company wants to monetise health information on a massive scale, although I concede it might be purely for research purposes.