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Amazon Debuts Sphere-Shaped Echo Speaker, Ring Home Security Drone, Luna Cloud Gaming Service and More

Amazon today announced the launch (https://press.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-details/introducing-all-new-echo-family-reimagined-inside-and-out) of its fourth-generation Echo speaker, which features a new spherical design and improved sound performance thanks to a three-inch woofer, dual-firing tweeters, and new Dolby processing.





(https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2020/09/sphereecho.jpg)


The $100 fabric-covered speaker comes in three colors, including black, blue, and white, and it's accompanied by a built-in smart home hub with Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy, and Amazon Sidewalk integration. Amazon Sidewalk extends the range of devices like the Ring and includes support for Tile devices.





(https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2020/09/echodotkids.jpg)


The new Echo is equipped with an AZ1 Neural Edge processor that moves speech recognition on-device for faster than ever response times to requests.





Alongside the new sphere-shaped Echo, there's a spherical Echo Dot that's priced at $50 and a kid's version that comes with animal face designs and is priced at $60, along with an updated $250 Echo Show that has the same AZ1 neural processor plus a 10-inch display, the ability to pivot, and a 13-megapixel camera.





(https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2020/09/echo10show.jpg)


A Guard Plus feature, priced at $4.99 per month, allows Alexa devices to listen for sounds like footfalls or doors opening and closing and it can play fake sounds like a dog barking to scare off intruders. Amazon also unveiled Alexa Care Hub, a feature designed to let users monitor a family member's home.





There are new Eero 6 and Eero Pro 6 WiFi 6 mesh systems (https://amazonpr.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/wi-fi-6-here-amazon-introduces-all-new-eero-6-series-mesh-wifi) available, and for Ring, Amazon is adding (https://assets.ctfassets.net/a3peezndovsu/3ReZCqzFZqlxGA4TCuosIh/45bda7aec98a578d6bef98e32751a568/Scarlett_Release_-_FINAL__1_.pdf) end-to-end encryption for videos. A new Ring Car Alarm is meant to be plugged into the car's OBD-II port and it includes built-in sirens and sensors to monitor for car theft.





(https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2020/09/ringcar.jpg)


A Ring Car Cam is Amazon's new in-car security solution, and it too includes a siren and emergency crash assist functionality. The Ring Car Alarm is priced at $60, while the Ring Car Cam is priced at $200.





Also new in the Ring family is the $250 Always Home Cam, which is a drone-based security system that can fly to different places in the house from a home dock. It basically flies around the house on pre-set paths, recording while in motion.





(https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2020/09/ringdrone.jpg)


Amazon introduced an updated $40 Fire TV Stick (https://amazonpr.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/amazon-announces-next-generation-fire-tv-stick-fire-tv-stick) with HDR, Dolby Atmos Support, and an Alexa Remote, plus there's a Lite version that has a simplified remote for $30. To compete with Apple Arcade (https://www.macrumors.com/guide/apple-arcade/) and other streaming gaming services, Amazon's final announcement (https://amazonpr.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/introducing-luna-amazons-new-cloud-gaming-service-where-its-easy) was Luna, a game streaming service.





(https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2020/09/lunagamingservice.jpg)


Luna works cross-platform on Macs, PCs, Fire TV, smartphones, and tablets, and it will be compatible with Apple devices, according to Amazon, because it is designed to be a web app and is not subject to Apple's rules.  





(https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2020/09/lunacontroller.jpg)


Luna will be priced at $5.99 per month, and Amazon has designed the Luna Controller, to go along with it. The $50 controller has "cloud direct technology" to cut down on latency, essentially connecting the controller directly to Amazon's servers.
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Source: Amazon Debuts Sphere-Shaped Echo Speaker, Ring Home Security Drone, Luna Cloud Gaming Service and More (https://www.macrumors.com/2020/09/24/amazon-new-echo-speaker-and-more/)