Members of the media recently received invites for an Amazon devices event in New York City on Feb. 26, which means one thing: Don’t buy any Amazon devices until after the event.
While Amazon hasn’t explicitly said what will be shown on the big day, it’s always good practice to wait until after these sort of announcements to buy—assuming the products are not too far away. Even if you don’t see anything that interests you in the reveals, older, now outdated products are likely to get a discount in the weeks following news of their successors. You’ll either get something brand new, or save on something you would have paid full price for.
As for what we can expect Amazon to trot out, despite the company keeping mum, there are still a few clues to follow.
Alexa goes AI
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Alexa is likely to be the star of the new event, with Amazon hiding an Alexa-centric easter egg in its invites. It turns out that different attendees got different versions of the invite, and if you put all of them together, they spell out “alexa.”
Alexa is probably going to be the next virtual assistant to jump on the AI trend, with Amazon finally releasing the AI-powered version of the bot it teased in 2023. Since then, the company’s been fairly quiet on AI Alexa, although Reuters reports that it’s now ready for launch, so the timing would line up.
In its initial tease, Amazon said AI Alexa would be able to handle conversational prompts, read body language, and give more personalized responses to questions, although Reuters’ sources seem to indicate that while conversational prompts are here, other features may take some more time.
The team behind Alexa has previously had difficulty getting the AI version of the chatbot to do simple tasks like set timers or shut blinds, according to reporting from Bloomberg, so there are some concerns. Hopefully, it doesn’t lose any capabilities in the transition. If it does face post-launch problems, though, that might be another reason to hold off on an Amazon device for a bit.
New Alexa-enabled devices
After leaving Microsoft in 2023, Amazon hardware chief Panos Panay is also set to be at the event, alongside his devices and services team, which seems to confirm that this won’t just be a software overhaul, but that we’ll see new hardware as well.
Specifically, I would place a bet on new Echo smart speakers designed to take advantage of an AI-powered Alexa. Perhaps these would include a dedicated neural chip, or new cameras for use with the LLM’s supposed ability to read body language. It’s difficult to tell, but given that Amazon’s most recent Echo releases were more focused on the premium Echo Show, its more affordable cousins are probably due for a refresh.
Similarly, Amazon’s Fire TVs or other smart displays could get their own upgrades that allow for better compatibility with Alexa.
Don’t expect new Kindles
Personally, I don’t tend to use Amazon devices in my home, mostly because I don’t have a smart home. The biggest exception to this is probably the Kindle, but anyone expecting a new series of Kindles can probably slow down.
That’s because Amazon released a new line of Kindles just a few months ago, including its first ever color Kindle in the Kindle Colorsoft. It was a pretty robust lineup, with four options strewn across multiple price categories. With user issues multiple complaints about faulty hardware at launch, as well as what seemed to be a brief pause in shipping, Amazon is unlikely to want to take the wind out of its sails any further.
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