Amazon's fall 2021 hardware event delivered a huge influx products including its home drone and robot. Here's a quick recap of some of the biggest announcements from today's event.
Ring's Fly Drone Security Camera Is Now Available for Preorder
Originally announced last year, Ring Always Home Cam is an indoor security drone that flies inside your house. The drone is designed to monitor activity in your house without a multi-indoor security camera setup. It only works on a single floor and has a five-minute battery life.
the Always Home Cam is now accepting applications for preorder and costs $249.99.
Astro is an Adorable $999 Robot With Wheels
After years of rumors and speculations, Amazon finally unveiled Astro, its $999 adorable-looking household robot with a display and wheels. Astro shares some commands that are commonly found on Echo devices. This includes sending you reminders and making video calls. But Astro can also leverage its mobility and perform commands such as delivering something like a beverage to another person in the house.
Like the Always Home Cam, Amazon is currently accepting applications for Astro so select customers can have the chance to purchase a "Day 1 Edition" of the robot.
Echo Show 15 Is a Smart Display Designed to Hang on Your Wall
The latest addition to the Echo Show series is the Echo Show 15, a smart display with a 15.6-inch HD display. Though many interesting features make the Echo Show 15 stand out from the other models in the lineup. This includes a flat design making it easy to mount on your wall which you can hang in either portrait or landscape mode.
The Echo Show 15 is not available for preorder yet, but the listing up on Amazon lists it at a $250 price.
Amazon Glow is a Kid-Friendly Device With Built-in Games and Video Chat Capability
Amazon is no stranger to making devices designed for a younger audience. And Glow is the latest in its product lineup. This videoconferencing gadget doubles as a tabletop projector. Not only can it perform video chats, but in an effort to keep your children entertained, Glow also includes built-in games and other age-appropriate content for your children.
Amazon is currently accepting applications for those interested in buying the Glow. Those selected will pay an introductory price of $249.99. But once Amazon Glow is more publicly available, the device will cost $299.99.
The First Blink Doorbell Finally Gets a Release Date
At CES 2018, Blink announced that it was working on a doorbell, though four years, later the company's first video doorbell is finally making its way to market. The first-gen Blink doorbell functions similar to Ring (both subsidiaries of Amazon) and allows you to "answer" your door via your smartphone. The Blink Doorbell is also compatible with Amazon's smart assistant Alexa.
The first-generation Blink Doorbell is up for preorder on Amazon for $49.99 and will be released on October 21.
Halo View is a New Fitbit-like Wearable
Halo View is Amazon's latest outing in the wearable market. A successor to the Halo Band fitness tracker, the Halo View offers a color AMOLED display and a slew of health features such as blood oxygen level and skin temperature. Amazon claims that the Halo View has a seven-day battery life and can fully charge in 90 minutes.
Halo View does not currently have a release date, but it is expected to ship in time for the 2021 holiday season. Preorders are not live yet, but it costs $79.99.
Amazon Teams Up with Disney to Create a New Voice Assistant
Amazon Echo device owners that also really enjoy Disney will be happy to hear that the companies have teamed up to announce a new custom voice assistant called Hey Disney. Unlike Alexa, which the voice assistant is inspired by, Hey Disney is aimed as a custom service-focused assistant that will help visitors at Disney World or Disneyland ask questions about the parks such as hours of operation.
As you can probably guess, Hey Disney will be available on Echo devices will be installed at Walt Disney resort locations.
Amazon Enters the Smart Thermostat Market
Amazon is taking on Nest in the smart thermostat market with its $60 Smart Thermostat. The Amazon Smart Thermostat is aimed to make it easy to transition from a traditional thermostat and will help reduce energy usage, which you can keep track via the Alexa app. The device supports Alexa, of course, and you can program the home assistant to update the temperatures in the house.
Amazon's Smart Thermostat is available for preorder now and will release on November 4.
Ring Alarm Pro Is Equal Parts Security System and Wi-Fi Router
Ring Alarm Pro is an all-in-one base station that combines the Ring Alarm base station and the Eero Wi-Fi 6 router with internet speeds up to 900 Mbps and coverage of up to 1,500 sq. ft. The device also includes support for Ring Edge, which allows you to process video from a connected Ring camera on the Alarm Pro, but requires an active subscription to Ring Protect.
The Alarm Pro will release on November 3 with a starting price of $250.
Ring's Virtual Security Guard Service Let's You Pay Someone to Watch your Security Feed
Ring's security cameras are convenient and allow you to view your security easily feeds from your phone, even when you are not at home. But sometimes you just don't have time to view your feeds. Ring's Virtual Security Guard is a monthly subscription that gets you access to agents at a professional monitoring center that will keep tabs on your security feed when you can't do it yourself.
The service itself is $99 a month but also requires a $20 monthly subscription to Ring Protect Plus.
Package Alerts Finally Arrive in Ring Video Doorbells
Ring's video doorbells are finally getting a highly-requested feature that allows you to get notified when a package is delivered to you. Important to note that most Ring video doorbells may not spot where the package is located due to the limited viewing angles on your smart home devices.
This feature will roll out to US owners with a Ring Pro 2 or 2020 Ring Video Doorbell model.
Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.