Amazon refreshes device lineup to integrate new AI-powered Alexa+

By Greg Bensinger and Arriana McLymore SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Amazon on Tuesday unveiled a refreshed lineup of devices optimized for home security and its new artificial intelligence-infused Alexa+ voice assistant. At an event in New York, Amazon showed off Echo speakers, Fire TV streaming devices, a new Kindle reader and improved Ring and Blink cameras, which will be available later this year. Amazon is trying to drive interest in the new Alexa, after investing billions of dollars and years updating it with AI for better personalization and a more conversational tone, with the aim of turning the money-losing service profitable.  The Seattle firm said its new Echos, including smaller Dots and Show devices with screens that range from $99 to $219, will be enabled to work with Alexa+ and feature new silicon chips for faster processing. The new Blink cameras have a higher resolution for better monitoring inside and outside one’s home, while the improved cameras in its Ring devices also offer facial recognition to help ward off unwanted visitors.  The new Ring cameras will also be enabled with Alexa+, allowing the devices through the use of AI to help make decisions like whether a visitor is delivering a package or casing someone’s house for intrusion. They will be priced from $60 to $350 depending on their utility and camera quality. "It's about knowing immediately whether your visitor is someone you know or someone you've never seen before," said Jamie Siminoff, the founder of the world's first Wi-Fi video doorbell, whom Amazon brought back to the company as head of Ring earlier this year after two years.      Siminoff also showed a separate feature used to help Ring users identify lost pet dogs in their neighborhoods by notifying other community members who have the device. The feature, available in November, is currently unavailable for other animals.  “We’re turning individual concerns into community actions,” he said. Panos Panay, Amazon’s device chief, demonstrated Amazon’s new Kindle Scribe, a $630 tablet that allows for digital writing with a stylus, and which features a color screen for the first time.  “It just feels like you’re writing on paper,” said Panay. New improved screen-quality Fire TV television sets, ranging from $160 to $480, and a $40 streaming stick offer new Alexa+-enabled features, like asking the voice assistant to find and cue up a particular scene in a movie and to get more detail on particular actors.  (Reporting by Greg Bensinger and Arriana Mclymore Editing by Marguerita Choy)

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