INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Gerald LynchThe Amazon 2019 launch event is over, and it was an announcement-packed 90 minutes with no fewer than 14 new hardware launches
as well as a host of other new features and software.The Amazon 2019 launch event has finished, and we'll bring you our in-depth analysis,
round-ups and hands on reviews of the new products over the next few hours, so keep it locked to TheIndianSubcontinent.Here are the key
announcements from Amazon's 2019 launch event.Amazon Echo Dot with Clock ($59.99)Samuel L
Jackson voice for Alexa ($0.99)All-new Amazon Echo ($99.99)Amazon Echo Studio ($199.99)Amazon Echo Show 8 ($129.99)Amazon Echo Glow
($59.99Ring Stick-up Cam ($99.99)Amazon Smart Oven ($249.99)Amazon Echo Buds ($129.99)Amazon Echo Frames ($179.99, invite only)Amazon Echo
Loop ($129.99, invite only)Amazon 2019 launch news storiesAmazon 2019 launch: as it happenedGerald LynchAll times are in Pacific Daylight
Time (PDT)Gerald Lynch11:25 - PHEW
That's an awful lot of product
We're going to race around and see what we can get hands on with and bring you our findings as soon as we can
Introducing the Echo Loop, a smart ring which has two mics which can be activated by a button on the base of the device, working alongside
your phone, and allows you to send messages to your home's Echo devices.The Echo Loop also includes a haptic engine for vibration
feedback, which can alert you to notifications.Amazon's Echo Loop on-stage demo hasn't worked, but it's likely to be a non-final unit
It'll set you back $129.99 and like the Frames, will be invite-only to start with.(Image credit: Future)Gerald Lynch11:18 - Hello Amazon
Echo Frames! Yes, Amazon is getting into the smart glasses game with these 31g frames with stems which look kinda chunky if we're honest
There's no display, and no camera
Instead the Echo Frames feature discrete directional mics, allowing you to chat to Alexa hands-free when you're out and about.Sound from the
built-in speakers is also discrete, allowing you to hear, but not others around you
The Echo Frames cost $179.99, and will be available via invite only - how exclusive.(Image credit: Amazon)Gerald Lynch11:15 - We've been
waiting to hear about them, and here we go! Amazon Echo Buds confirmed - true wireless earbuds set to rival Apple AirPods
Available to pre-order today for $129.99, and shipping in time for Christmas.The Echo Buds offer up to 5 hours of battery life on a single
charge, and the charging case can take up total up to 20 hours between visits to a plug.Amazon says: "each earbud has two premium, balanced
armature drivers, inspired by those used by professional musicians
These deliver crisp, clear vocals, and dynamic bass."11:11 - Amazon Fetch, for the best doggy bois! It's a pet tracker that uses the
Amazon Sidewalk network to keep an eye on where your dog has got to
If your dog is near an Amazon Sidewalk connected device, you'll get an idea of where it's ran off to.(Image credit: Future)Gerald
Lynch11:09: Amazon Sidewalk is a new low-energy network protocol using the 900Mhz wave to allow devices around your home to speak to each
Should make for more secure and stable interactions for your devices, as well as being less of a battery drain for products that run off a
is now the best-selling microwave on Amazon, and now adding to that explosion in Alexa appliance tech is a new Amazon Smart Oven
Convection cooking, air-frying, all with voice control in the new devices
It's smart enough to allow you to scan a product's packaging, and pre-program the oven to automatically cook it to perfection
new Ring Indoor Cam is being introduced too for $59, along with a revised Stick Up Cam for $99.99
Big push on security and smart home functionality here at this year's Amazon event.11:00 - Now the Ring Retrofit Alarm Kit being talked
Lets you take an existing alarm system for your home that isn't smart, and update it with Ring smart controls
No cables, simply just a plug that goes into the wall
Includes a mic and a small speaker (not optimised for music), but makes for a simple Alexa smart home access point that you can put almost
Includes a USB port for charging so you don't lose a power outlet entirely
There's a software and hardware API for it, and so there's already motion sensor accessory that can be plugged into the bottom, as well
as a Smart Nightlight add-on too
Very neat! The Echo Flex will cost just $24.99
A nice, small smart addition there
Alexa Guard being added to routines
Anecdotally been great for stopping crime, it seems.Gerald Lynch10:55 - Alexa-enabled doorbells like Ring are getting more conversational
too with Alexa Concierge, allowing those at the door to leave messages for you
Coming to Ring Doorbell Elite models first, rolling out next year.(Image credit: Future)Gerald Lynch10:54 - Alexa Hunches getting more
pro-active - will let you know when smart device batteries are running low, or printer cartridges running dry, as well as suggesting
auto-created routines for things you do regularly.10:52 - Alexa support coming to ASUS, Tp-Link, Arris and Linksys Wi-fi systems, letting
you talk to Alexa to turn off Wi-Fi access to specific devices
Example given, "Alexa switch off PlayStation Wi-Fi", instantly making you an enemy of your Fortnite-playing children.10:48 - Eero is
partnering with Amazon for new, simple Wi-Fi solutions
An All-New Eero whole-home mesh Wi-Fi system announced
Can be set up in 10 or 20 minutes, should mean you'll have no Wi-Fi black spots around your home
Future)Gerald Lynch10:46: 'Certified for Humans' is a new Amazon-initiative to identify stress-free set up smart home devices
A new 'No Geeks Allowed' team will test these devices to see if they meet the criteria, with a dozen newly-badged devices launching with
Amazon's 'Frustration Free Set Up' option
They all also feature silent over-the-air automatic updates
and offers tap controls to switch on and change color
Pre-order available today, $29 and shipping in time for Christmas.10:42 - Next up, the Alexa Education Skill API - taps into school
services, letting parents know how their children are performing at school, as well as checking in on homework schedules and more
Amazon just lost a few teenage fans!(Image credit: Future)Gerald Lynch10:41 - Alexa Communications for Kids is a new white-list service
parents can turn on for their children's Echo Dot Kids Edition devices
It'll let you set up approved caller lists for your children, letting them call selected pals with their own smart speakers
Echo and Alexa, exclusively when it comes to voice services
This will give cooking classes and on-demand episodes of its upcoming shows
These instructional videos will be split into steps, numbered down the bottom, with Alexa also smartly knowing details of the recipe,
letting you interrupt and get information overlaid on the screen
Celebrity chef Bobby Flay gives his endorsement through an Echo video call on stage
privacy shutter for the camera, launching at $129.99, pre-order today and shipping in time for Christmas
Essentially your standard Echo Show's little brother but the bigger brother of the Echo Show 5
A size for everybody is the thinking here.10.33 - Echo Show the fastest-growing Echo product
So there's a new Echo Show! Echo Show 8!10.31 - Fire TV has 37 million monthly active users, with Alexa a core component too
Studio devices, as part of an update incoming
Echo Studio is now a proper home-cinema supporting option
Will auto configure for surround sound without much hassle.(Image credit: Future)Gerald Lynch18:23 - Now here we REALLY go
Introducing the Echo Studio, a Dolby Atmos-capable speaker, offering left-and-right overhead sounds
with a direction tweeter at the front, with a 5.1/4 inch woofer in the bottom
Should give the impression of having multiple speakers in a space, with the mic assessing your surroundings to tweak the sound to your
liking.It's quite a large device, and a brief demo (in sub-optimal space, granted) sounded loud and large and, potentially very good
indeed.Still has the usual Echo light ring around the top, as well as some touch-control buttons on top.It's got Rick Ross's seal of
approval, and well, that's enough for us
SOLD!Atmos-enabled tracks (hundreds) from Universal, Sony and Warner Music Group will be available at launch.Echo Studio will cost just
$199, avaialble for pre-order today.(Image credit: Future)Gerald Lynch10:22 - Alexa Guest Connect being introduced for when you're t a pal's
It'll let you hook up for Amazon Music libraries when away from your own Alexa device
Good for social situations.(Image credit: Future)Gerald Lynch10:20 - Also being announced, the All-New Echo
Takes the sound architecture from last year's Echo Plus, and puts it in the core Echo mode
New fabric design, including Twilight Blue
Not much else revealed here, other than expect to find the sonic internals from the Plus in here now.10:18 - Frustration Detection for Alexa
If your tone negatively changes when speaking to Alexa, the AI will apologise, and then make a save by fulfilling your intended
request.(Image credit: Future)Gerald Lynch10:17: Neural Text to Speech is also going to offer a mode which mimics Samuel L Jackson's
It'll also be able to mimic celebrity voices.10:13 - Neural Text to Speech is being added to Alexa to improve the voice of the AI, with a
more natural pace and tone
Machine learning is making Alexa sound more human
A multi-lingual mode for bi-lingual households is also being launched, letting your speaker talk in Spanish and English, French and English,
and Hindi and English, for US, Canadian and Indian territories
1 billion "what time is it?" Alexa requests each year
So we're getting a new Echo Dot with a clock! It has an LED display on its outer fabric ring, with that display also showing outside
temperature.Tap the top, and you get "9 more minutes of blissful sleep!"
Echo Dot with Clock pre-orders open today, $59 dollars.Gerald Lynch10:10 - Amazon adding an opt-in, rolling 3-month or one year auto-delete
voice recordings, too.(Image credit: Future)Gerald Lynch10:08 - "Customers control their data." Very much attempting to reassure those that
tell me what you heard" will let you know what Alexa interprets
And (and this is great) an "Alexa, why did you do that?" command
A bit more transparency on how our AI works is always welcome.(Image credit: TheIndianSubcontinent)Gerald Lynch10:06 - Talking about Echo's
hardware privacy efforts now too
Recording controls for Ring cameras and Echo Show devices being talked up, such as the toggle to switch audio recording off for Ring
"Every piece of hardware, software and services we work on include privacy from the beginning." The Alexa wake-word engine is being talked
up here, as the company improves Alexa's wake-word accuracy using machine learning
No more false-wakes when your buddies Alan and Elena come over.10:03 - Alexa initially could only do 13 things, now it can tell jokes,
reminders and so much more
Including making robot bears twerk! The future is NOW!10.02 - And we're off! Amazon reps on stage now - "We strive to be the most
customer-first company in the world." Amazon products start from a document called "Working Backwards From the Customer" to achieve their
