Everything announced at Amazon's fall hardware event
It's not technically Techtober yet since we’re one day shy, but we've already had a bunch of fall hardware events from some of the bigger companies in the tech space. Today, it was Amazon's turn to step up to the plate. Going into its event, the company teased new Echo speakers and Kindle news. Rumors suggested Amazon was ready to ditch its long-standing Android-based OS on Fire TVs in favor of the Linux-based Vega OS it's already using on the Echo Show 5, Echo Hub units and Echo Spot. Indeed, Echo, Kindle and Fire TV are all being featured at the event, along with Ring and Blink devices. Oh, and lots of Alexa+ updates, of course.Amazon doesn’t usually livestream its product events and that remained the case here. However, we’ve got you covered with all the news and announcements with both our liveblog and this here rundown of everything Amazon announced at its fall hardware event:Kindle Scribe ColorsoftThe Kindle Scribe 2 and Kindle Colorsoft appear to have been smushed together, as there's now a full color version of Amazon's writing tablet (which has some other upgrades). The company is using its custom display tech for the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, with a color filter and light guide with nitride LEDs. The idea, according to Amazon, is to boost the color without washing out details.The company says it developed a new rendering engine for the Kindle Colorsoft too. It claims this helps to make sure writing on the device feels fluid, natural and fast. Moreover, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is said to run for several weeks on a single charge. You'll be able to choose from 10 pen colors for writing, drawing and annotation. There are five highlighter colors as well.The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft will be available in the US later this year, starting at $630. It's coming to the UK and Germany in early 2026. Refreshed Kindle ScribeAmazon is refreshing the regular Kindle Scribe too. It has a larger, 11-inch display to match the proportions of a sheet of paper. It's 5.44mm (0.2 inches) thin and weighs 400g. Amazon also says it's 40 percent faster than the previous model when it comes to page turns and writing. The standard 2025 Kindle Scribe shares a bunch of features with the Colorsoft model. Both boast a front light system with miniature LEDs, a texture-molded glass that's designed to improve friction for writing and revamped display tech that's said to make it feel like you're writing directly on the page.The latest devices have a quad-core chip and more memory than previous models. That helps to power new AI-driven features. You'll be able to get an AI-generated summary of information that you search for across your notes and the option to ask follow-up questions. Starting in early 2026, there'll be the option to send notes and other docs from your Kindle Scribe to Alexa+, and have a conversation with the chatbot about them.There's support for Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, so you can pull in documents from there to mark them up. There's an option to export annotated PDFs, as well as to export notes as converted text or an embedded image to OneNote. The home screen has a new Quick Notes function to help users start jotting down their thoughts faster. The home page includes access to recently opened or added books and documents too. Meanwhile, there's a new pen that attaches to your Kindle Scribe. This refreshed Kindle Scribe will go on sale in the US by the end of the year, starting at $500. A version without a front light will be $430. Again, these models will be available in the US and Germany in early 2026.RingRing DoorbellAmazonRetinal Vision is a concept that Ring has built its latest devices around (for what it’s worth, the name reminds me I’m probably due for an eye exam). The idea is to use AI to optimize image quality. It taps into back-side illumination sensors to deliver superior low-light performance, Amazon says.An function called Retinal Tuning samples your Ring camera's video quality several times per day for up to two weeks in a attempt to improve it. Large-aperture lenses in the new devices will help with all of that.To that end, Amazon has announced a Wired Doorbell Plus with 2K visuals for $180 and the Indoor Plus Cam 2K for $60. There are 4K models too: Outdoor Cam Pro 4K ($200), Spotlight Cam Pro 4K ($250), Wired Doorbell Pro 4K ($250) and Floodlight Cam Pro 4K ($280). Pre-orders for all of them open today.Of course, there are Alexa+ features embedded into the new cameras. Alexa+ Greetings is a function that will enable the AI to make "informed decisions about how to greet certain visitors." Amazon will roll this out for the new cameras in December.Familiar Faces, meanwhile, is a facial recognition feature. It identifies known faces, so Ring will be able to notify you when they’re at your door (or if someone unfamiliar is there). I’m suddenly even more annoyed about my neighbors having Ring doorbells that are impossible to avoid walking past.There’s another new feature called Search Party, which Amazon says is about helping people find lost dogs. When a neighbor reports a missing pooch in the Ring app, a Search Party commences on nearby Ring cameras. These will keep a look out and notify camera owners if they spot what may be the missing dog. The camera owner will then see a photo of the pet alongside relevant camera footage, and can then choose whether to alert the dog’s owner. Search Party will roll out in November.Alexa+ and other AI featuresZero prizes to anyone who guesses that Amazon was going to talk up Alexa+ features for all of the new devices it announced today (including the Ring features I've gone over already). That one was a gimme. AI features for books are coming to the Kindle Scribe devices and other compatible Kindles early next year. The Kindle iOS app will be the first to gain access later this year. Amazon says the Story So Far option will catch you up on everything you've read in a book to that point without any spoilers — which could be handy if you're returning to the digital tome after a break. With the Ask this Book option, you'll be able to highlight any text, ask questions about it and get "spoiler-free answers." Amazon says thousands of Kindle books will support these features.On Fire TV devices, Alexa+ will be able to find scenes in certain movies using natural language prompts. You'll be able to ask the assistant to find a scene where a certain thing happens and it will try to find that for you. This story is developing; refresh for updates.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/everything-announced-at-amazons-fall-hardware-event-143557140.html?src=rss