This week, Amazon wrapped up its fall product event. Amazon unveiled quite a lineup of new gadgets. Perhaps the biggest announcement was its new home Robot named Astro. Amazon has certainly set the bar for the upcoming holidays season. The following is what Amazon announced.

• Amazon Astro home robot.
• Amazon’s first smart thermostat.
• The Echo Show 15”
• Amazon Glow, a video calling device that allows kids to play games with others.
• A new Halo View fitness tracker and Halo Fitness and Halo Nutrition services.
• ‘Hey Disney’ Amazon Echo partnership with Disney.
• Amazon will now let customers sign up to buy the Ring home security drone.

Here’s our full coverage of the event:

Astro Home Robot

Amazon has unveiled its first home robot named Astro. Astro is supposed to retail at $999. Probably the most noticed announcement of the Amazon conference, the Astro home assistant can move to any room in your home and has several applications. It helps secure your home and can even act as a mobile device. 

Meet Astro, Amazon’s little home robot. Unveiled this Tuesday, the pet-sized robot has two-wheel drive and a steering wheel to move around. At the head, it incorporates a 10-inch touch screen reminiscent of the one that can be found on the Amazon Echo Show. With this interface, you can play music, broadcast videos, and it is equipped with a face recognition system. It also has a telescopic camera, which comes out like a periscope from its housing. This camera allows the robot to transform itself into a home surveillance agent during the absence of residents. Like any robotic vacuum cleaner of the moment, to move around without colliding with furniture and walls, during its first use, Astro goes around the house to map it with its cameras.

At the back, the robot has a small bin. It allows you to move objects from one point to another. A cup holder is also available, but do not have hands. The robot is not able to collect the drinks on its own. According to Amazon, for the moment, a robotic arm to pick up objects is complex to integrate and would explode the price of this robot.

Astro looks like an Echo Show on wheels, and the interaction you can have with it is exactly the same. As with the connected device, it is possible to take control of Astro remotely and see through its camera. Convenient to check that everything is going well at home. This robot could be the perfect link between the relatives of an elder person living alone.

When it comes out, it will cost $1,450, but first-time buyers who get an invitation can get it for just $999.

Amazon Smart Thermostat

While Google is already well established in the connected heating market with the acquisition of Nest, Amazon is launching in turn with its Smart Thermostat.

During the conference, Amazon also announced a new connected Smart Thermostat that works in concert with Alexa. Made in collaboration with Resideo, the designers of Honeywell Home, this thermostat will be available for $54 across the Atlantic. No launch date or price in Europe for the moment.

It features a minimalist design. This object can intelligently control the temperature of the house by taking advantage of Alexa routines. Note in passing that the connected thermostat from Amazon was created in collaboration with Honeywell Home, a brand specializing in home automation.

The main advantage of this new connected object is its very aggressive price of the  $59.99 price, making it one of the most affordable at the moment. Unfortunately, this device will not arrive in Europe anytime soon.

Amazon Echo Show 15

The new Echo Show 15, powered by Alexa, aims to become the center of your home. It has a 15.6-inch screen and can be wall-mounted or placed on a shelf. Its screen has several elements available for display, the Alexa Widgets. The device will be available later this year.

These include a shared family calendar, Post-its, shopping or task lists, etc. You can also access shortcuts to your connected home devices, including Ring devices. The Echo Show 15 can also be used as a television since it allows films and videos to be broadcast from the various services it supports.

In addition, it uses facial recognition to identify who is in front of the screen. Depending on who it identifies, the information displayed on the screen will not be the same. This feature, called Visual ID, is optional. All processing is done on the device without sending anything to Amazon. The model is powered by the AZ2 processor.

Dave Limp, senior vice president of devices and services at Amazon, explains that the company’s ambition is to advance an environment where artificial intelligence (AI) is present all the time. “We want to make real-world more enjoyable and more engaging,” he says. “AI is all around you. It adapts to you, helps you when you need it, and goes into the background when you no longer need it.”

The Echo Show 15 can also be used as a frame. According to Amazon, it fits into any room in your home.

This 1080p HD connected display measures no less than 15.6 inches and will join the other products of Amazon’s Echo line at the end of this year. Equipped with an AZ2 chip and a beautiful, neat design. It was thought to become a hub shared between the members of a family.

Amazon Echo Glow

Amazon is offering a new Echo device, design specifically to maintain the attention of a young child during a video call. It does this by projecting an interactive interface onto a flat surface, just below the built-in screen. The tactile image can be used to read a book, play games, draw, or scan, and turn a child’s toy into an interactive object.

Glow is a connected screen surmounted by a projector that sends images to a touch surface placed at the bottom of the device. With its eight-inch screen, the Echo Glow can be used by parents to communicate by video with their offspring. But this device can also project images on a table or the floor. Better yet, the child will be able to interact with the projection. Thus, the device combines the practicality of modern applications with the playful side of touch, ideal for reading or even games. If necessary, it is possible to share gaming sessions using the Alexa app.

The person you are calling does not need to have their own Echo Glow. She will be able to use the Echo Glow app on her tablet to interact.

Of all the new stuff presented at the Amazon conference, Glow is certainly the strangest. This connected object could, however, change the way children play.

For now, the Echo Glow will only be available in the United States for $ 249.99. Pre-orders have started, and deliveries will begin “in the next few weeks.” The price of the device includes a two-year Amazon warranty. In case of breakage, Amazon replaces it.

Amazon Halo, health monitoring for everyone

The e-commerce giant is also making health its focus. If France has not yet had the chance to benefit from the Halo program, the United States has been entitled to it for several months already.

With its full-color AMOLED display, this fitness tracker looks like a classic Fitbit bracelet, where the previous Halo bracelet looked like a simple bracelet. The device takes the broad outline of such devices: step tracking, heart rate, or blood oxygen level.

Halo is a set of services dedicated to health. There is a paid program on one side and a connected bracelet on the other. The range is enriched for 2021/2022 with a new bracelet called Halo View. It is equipped with an AMOLED screen, a heart rate sensor, and SpO2. Its cost is $79 and is only available in the USA.

The software part of the Halo program is enriched with Halo Fitness and Halo Nutrition. The application can thus give new coaching advice to perform exercises or eat more balanced. All of this is reminiscent of Fitbit Premium, a monthly subscription that is now under the rule of Google.

Hey Disney, a New Voice Assistant

Amazon has also announced a partnership with Disney, which is (for now at least) only for American consumers. This partnership will allow users to wake up Alexa by saying the phrase “Hey, Disney.” Instead of Alexa’s usual voice, Disney characters will respond, ready to entertain you with their share of jokes, stories, and anecdotes.

Derived from Alexa, this voice assistant offers many Disney-themed experiences. The device is scheduled to land next year; this tool will be available in hotel rooms at Disney parks in the United States. And also as a paid skill.

Also, in the Disney theme, Amazon announced during the conference the release of an Echo Show 5 screen support in Mickey’s colors.

This experience will continue in Disney theme parks in the United States, with characters responding when customers ask questions about the park (opening hours, means of transportation, etc.).

Amazon Ring security drone 

Much of the Amazon conference focused on home security. It is necessary to say that the American brand has acquired some experience in the field since its acquisition of Ring.

The partnership between the two entities has thus led to numerous productions, including the strange drone camera called Ring Always Home Camera. The device can be detached from its charging base to scan the home during your absences. His multiple sensors should prevent him from ending up in the first wall – or worse, right in a face. The drone can, of course, be controlled remotely and returns to its charging base automatically when its battery shows signs of weakness.

It is not the only novelty presented during the conference. Amazon has announced a Ring security pack including an alarm and various intrusion detectors, all supported by a subscription. The advertised price is $249.99.

Ring virtual security guard even extends its expertise with a remote security service provided by qualified personnel. Once again, Amazon announces very aggressive prices for its service. It is available at $99/month. Currently, all these novelties are available for the American market.