Amazon 2025 Event: Echo, Alexa+, and Kindle Scribe Reactions
▼ Summary
– Amazon held its 2025 Devices and Services event in New York City to announce new products across its smart home, wearables, and entertainment categories.
– The new Kindle Scribe lineup includes a Colorsoft model with a color e-paper display, faster performance, and improved writing feel, priced from $430 to $630.
– New Echo devices like the Echo Studio and Echo Show 11 feature AZ3 processors for enhanced Alexa+ AI capabilities and contextual awareness in home environments.
– Ring introduced 2K and 4K security cameras with Retinal Vision technology, along with software updates like facial recognition and Alexa+ Greetings for smarter home monitoring.
– Amazon launched updated Fire TV models and a Fire TV Stick 4K Select featuring the new Vega OS, offering faster performance and integrated Alexa+ voice assistance.
Amazon’s 2025 Devices and Services event unveiled a significant refresh across its product ecosystem, introducing new Echo smart speakers, a color Kindle Scribe, upgraded Ring security cameras, and Fire TVs running a new operating system. The invitation-only press conference in New York highlighted Amazon’s deepening investment in smart home technology and ambient computing, with nearly every new device designed to integrate more seamlessly with the Alexa+ AI assistant. All announced products are available for preorder immediately.
Since the event was not publicly livestreamed, firsthand reporting provided real-time coverage of the keynote and product demonstrations. Attendees went hands-on with the new hardware to deliver initial impressions.
A major hardware introduction was the new Kindle Scribe lineup, headlined by the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. This model marks the first Scribe device with a color e-paper display. Amazon’s Chief Product Officer, Panos Panay, emphasized that the writing experience mimics the tactile feel of paper. He noted the device is 40% faster than previous versions and incorporates unique color processing technology. “This brings the real-world colors and doesn’t blast your eyes. Same front light design but with a color filter. It feels right—it just feels right,” Panay stated. The standard Kindle Scribe starts at $430, the Front Light model is $500, and the Colorsoft version is priced at $630.
The Echo family received a substantial upgrade, with new models including the Echo Studio, Echo Dot Max, Echo Show 11, and Echo Show 8. These devices are engineered specifically for Alexa+ and are powered by new AZ3 and AZ3 Pro processors. These chips deliver faster performance and enhanced on-device AI capabilities, enabling what Amazon calls “contextual awareness.” The system can learn household patterns and send alerts for unusual events, like a front door left unlocked overnight. Pricing is set at $220 for the Echo Studio, $100 for the Echo Dot Max, $220 for the Echo Show 11, and $180 for the Echo Show 8.
Ring’s announcements focused on improved video quality and new AI features. Ring founder Jamie Siminoff introduced Retinal Vision technology for the Video Doorbell, which enhances image quality and increases resolution to 2K. He described it as a multi-step process using BSI pixels for better low-light performance. New 2K camera models include the Wired Doorbell Plus 2K for $180 and the Indoor Cam Plus 2K for $60. The company also expanded its 4K lineup with the Outdoor Cam Pro 4K ($200), Spotlight Cam Pro 4K ($250), Wired Doorbell Pro 4K ($250), and Floodlight Cam Pro 4K ($280). A new Wired Doorbell Elite 4K and POE (Power over Ethernet) cameras were also revealed.
Several new Ring software features were detailed. Retinal Tuning allows users to customize picture quality for different scenes. Familiar Faces uses facial recognition to identify people at the door, while Alexa+ Greetings enables the AI to act as an intelligent doorbell attendant, managing deliveries and visitors. A feature called Search Party helps locate lost pets by notifying nearby Ring users through the app when a pet is reported missing. Familiar Faces and Alexa+ Greetings will launch for new Ring devices in December.
For the Blink security line, new products include the Blink Mini 2K+ ($50), Blink Outdoor 2K+ ($90), and the Blink Arc ($100). The Arc model uses two cameras to capture a 180-degree panoramic view.
Amazon’s Fire TV lineup was refreshed with new 2 Series, 4 Series, and Omni QLED Series models, starting at $160, $330, and up, respectively. A new Fire TV Stick 4K Select will retail for just $40. These TVs will run Vega OS, a new Linux-based operating system that moves away from Android. The sets feature faster processing and images that adjust to room lighting. A Dialog Boost feature enhances quiet dialogue, and new Omni Series TVs include presence sensors under the “Omnisense” name, allowing the TV to turn on when you enter the room.
Throughout the event, Amazon stressed its commitment to user privacy. In response to questions, Panay stated that customers maintain full control with opt-in/opt-out choices and that data sent to Amazon is anonymized. The company’s vision for ambient computing was a recurring theme, with sensors in Echo devices using audio, ultrasound, and Wi-Fi radar to provide contextual assistance without disruptive voice commands.
One standout product highlighted during the keynote was the $20 Amazon Smart Dimmer Switch and Remote. This compact clicker features programmable buttons that can be mapped to execute complex routines, like opening a garage door while turning on lights and playing music.
The event concluded with Panay reiterating that Amazon’s goal is to create technology that is simple, empowering, and blends naturally into daily life. With the shift to Vega OS and deeper Alexa+ integration across all product categories, Amazon is positioning itself for a more unified and intelligent smart home ecosystem.
(Source: ZDNET)
