Amazon Echo Alexa 2019 event live blog | CNET
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Amazon Echo Alexa 2019 event live blog

Like Apple and Google, Amazon now has a regular autumn event where it launches new products and services. We'll be covering everything that happens, live from Amazon headquarters in Seattle.

  • Michelle Meyers 9/25/2019 5:25:08 PM
    The big news so far:
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:25:33 PM
     
  • Ben Fox Rubin 9/25/2019 5:26:04 PM
    Demo time! It sounds nice. Bradley Cooper is playing.
  • Ry Crist 9/25/2019 5:26:15 PM
    Setting up Echo Studio for a demo, now. "Not the most optimal room for a demo," Dave Limp jokes. Still sounds nice and crisp, sphere echoes and all.
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:26:21 PM
     
  • Ben Fox Rubin 9/25/2019 5:26:23 PM
    Oh crap, I might start crying. Look away, look away!
  • Ben Fox Rubin 9/25/2019 5:26:51 PM
    "You can tell it's pretty powerful in a small package."
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:27:45 PM
     
  • Ry Crist 9/25/2019 5:27:47 PM
    So this is Amazon's answer to the Apple HomePod and the Google Home Max. Wonder how Amazon prices it, should find out shortly.
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:28:29 PM
     
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:28:50 PM
     
  • Ry Crist 9/25/2019 5:29:39 PM
    $199, available for preorder today.
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:30:19 PM
     
  • Ry Crist 9/25/2019 5:31:00 PM
    By the way, Amazon just showed a promo video of blindfolded users listening to the Echo Studio, with a reveal at the end that the sound was coming from a single device. From my Echo Dot review last year, where I was describing the improved sound quality:
     
    "For an easy Echo Dot ad campaign, Amazon should have just blindfolded techies a few months ago and let them listen to music on a prototype of the new model. The shocked looks when Amazon revealed that they'd, in fact, been listening to a Dot would have made for marketing gold."
     
    Ahem.
  • Ben Fox Rubin 9/25/2019 5:31:16 PM
    Every 4K Fire TV will be able to stream Dolby Atmos directly to Echo Studio.
  • Ben Fox Rubin 9/25/2019 5:31:54 PM
    Fire TV stuff coming up.
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:31:56 PM
     
  • Ry Crist 9/25/2019 5:32:02 PM
    Just saw a demo of Echo Studio surround sound with Mad Max: Fury Road. That's a really smart way to pitch this thing.
  • Ben Fox Rubin 9/25/2019 5:32:34 PM
    Limp is summarizing the Fire TV announcements from the IFA show in Berlin. More here: https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-oled-tv-with-alexa-new-sound-bar-new-fire-tv-cube/
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:32:34 PM
     
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:33:08 PM
     
  • Ben Fox Rubin 9/25/2019 5:33:27 PM
    Alexa Smart Screen SDK to version 2.0. This is used for the new Facebook Portal. Will come to Sony TVs too.
  • Ry Crist 9/25/2019 5:33:51 PM
    Talking about some of the Alexa-powered info you can pull up on your TV via Fire TV. Now, Amazon is adding a Smart Screen SDK -- it's what Facebook already used in its new Portal smart displays. Coming to TVs and more.
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:33:55 PM
     
  • Ry Crist 9/25/2019 5:34:20 PM
    Surprise -- a new Echo Show. It's the Echo Show 8!
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:34:45 PM
     
  • Ry Crist 9/25/2019 5:35:17 PM
    $129, and basically the same size as the Nest Hub. It's a middle-ground pick in between the 5-inch version and the 10-inch Echo Show that debuted last year.
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:35:42 PM
     
  • Ben Fox Rubin 9/25/2019 5:35:53 PM
    Limp mentions that Echo Show typically goes in the kitchen. Says recipes "incredibly popular."
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:36:18 PM
     
  • Ry Crist 9/25/2019 5:36:25 PM
    Food Network Kitchen, a new service for phones and tablets, is coming to Alexa too.
  • Ben Fox Rubin 9/25/2019 5:36:37 PM
    Echo and Alexa will be the Food Network's exclusive voice service.
  • Ry Crist 9/25/2019 5:37:12 PM
    "Alexa, show me cooking classes from Bobby Flay. "
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:37:30 PM
     
  • Ben Fox Rubin 9/25/2019 5:37:40 PM
    Um, so this is supposed to go on for another 30+ minutes to 11:15 a.m. PT. How many more announcements are they gonna cram in here in that time?
  • Ry Crist 9/25/2019 5:38:14 PM
    You can ask Alexa questions during an instructional video like "how many chicken thighs do I need?" and you'll see an text answer overlay on top of the video.
  • Ben Fox Rubin 9/25/2019 5:38:23 PM
    Demo right now on recipes stuff on Echo Show. And now calling Bobby Flay...
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:38:27 PM
     
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:39:01 PM
     
  • Ry Crist 9/25/2019 5:39:19 PM
    Oh, and now Dave Limp is actually calling Bobby Flay. "I can be in any kitchen in the world, and I can teach anyone in the world how to cook," Flay says, adding that they've got "a gazillion" recipes.
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:39:49 PM
     
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:40:48 PM
     
  • James Martin 9/25/2019 5:41:09 PM
     
  • Ben Fox Rubin 9/25/2019 5:41:11 PM
    Talking about Drop In, the ability to basically use the Echo as an intercom.
  • Ry Crist 9/25/2019 5:41:38 PM
    Update to Drop-In on the Echo Show -- you'll be able to view multiple streams at once in a mosaic. "Brady Bunch for the Echo Show," Limp says, pitching it as an easy way to do quick group video chats.
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