When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Where were the flying drone cams and Alexa robot dogs? Amazon's fall hardware events can usually be counted on for a couple of things: an avalanche of new devices, and at least one new product that's genuinely nuts. Take the Amazon Astro, a two-wheeled Alexa-powered robot that was rolled out--literally--during Amazon's fall 2021 hardware event. A year prior, there was the Ring Always Home Cam, an indoor airborne drone that could patrol your home in a preset flight pattern.

Amazon's next-gen Alexa+ chatbot is now available in four new Echo devices and a bevy of Ring cameras. The company also debuted three new Kindle Scribe tablets, one with a color screen. All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. It got a large language model power-up earlier this year in the form of Alexa+ (a paid upgrade for non-Amazon Prime subscribers), and now, Amazon has fresh hardware to take advantage of the assistant's new capabilities.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Here are the existing Echo smart speakers and displays most in need of a refresh. After skipping last year, Amazon is back with a big fall hardware event slated for next week, and we're expecting plenty of new Echo smart speakers and displays that make the most of Alexa+, Amazon's AI revamp of the Alexa voice assistant. Plenty of other hardware will also be unwrapped during Amazon's September 30 event in New York City; for example, we're sure to see new Kindle tablets, as well as Fire TV models and perhaps even some Ring cameras. For now, though, we're concentrating on new Echo devices, and there are a few popular Echo speakers and displays that are ripe for an upgrade.

Plus: Wacom debuts a new drawing tablet, and Wyze's smart lock can release with a hand wave. All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. Nothing has a new pair of earbuds for you: the Ear 3 . These AirPods-style buds cost $179 and are available now, following the Nothing Phone (3) and Headphone (1) the company released this summer .

It's been well more than a year since Amazon gave us a glimpse of a revamped Alexa, complete with an AI overhaul under the hood. Now there are signs that the AI-powered Alexa is almost ready for prime time. Journalists (including me) awoke this morning to invitations from Amazon for a "Devices and Services" event hosted by Panos Panay, the ex-Microsoft exec who's now in charge of Amazon's Amazon and Echo divisions. Amazon raised eyebrows last September when it skipped its traditional fall hardware event, so this latest invite quite naturally set the Alexa rumor mill abuzz. So, what do we know about this upcoming Amazon event, and what should we expect in terms of the next Alexa?

Google went big when it launched its generative AI fight-back against OpenAI's ChatGPT in May. The company added AI text-generation to its signature search engine, showed off an AI-customized version of the Android operating system, and offered up its own chatbot, Bard. But one Google product didn't get a generative AI infusion: Google Assistant, the company's answer to Siri and Alexa. Today, at its Pixel hardware event in New York, Google Assistant at last got its upgrade for the ChatGPT era. Sissie Hsiao, Google's vice president and general manager for Google Assistant, revealed a new version of the AI helper that is a mashup of Google Assistant and Bard.

Microsoft held a media event in New York City this morning. The company used the occasion to show off two new laptops from its house-made Surface line as well as a slew of AI-powered enhancements coming to Windows 11 later this month. The hour-long presentation was not livestreamed, but we were there to hear the announcements, watch the demos, and go hands-on with the new devices. The Surface hardware announced today is currently available for preorder at Microsoft.com and will officially go on sale starting October 3. Copilot, Microsoft's new AI-powered assistant that was announced earlier this year, is getting fully baked into Windows. Think of it as a side panel you can bring up in practically any part of Windows 11, even in the Edge browser. Its purpose is to help with mundane everyday tasks.

Amazon held its annual fall hardware event on Tuesday. It's too bad the company didn't stream the proceedings to the public because it was jam-packed with announcements. We saw everything from new Echo devices to an Alexa-powered robot. But worry not, we have you covered. Here's everything the company announced today.

Everything Amazon announced, from new Alexa-powered speakers to a Ring-powered car security system and indoor autonomous drone, and upgraded Fire TV stick. Plus, what you need to know about Luna, Amazon's cloud gaming competitor to Microsoft and Google.. Explore this storyboard about Technology, Amazon Echo Dot by Tech on Flipboard.

I've been thinking about how Amazon takes a chaos-energy attitude towards developing ecosystems around its products. When it's trying to get third parties to work with its products, Amazon throws open the doors and invites all comers. When it's making new products itself, Amazon is much more likely than anybody else to just do whatever it wants, sometimes aggressively. Sometimes that leads to hilarious Alexa products like rings that listen to your whisper when you push a button on it, IR blasters, and Alexa party games. Other times it leads to corporate synergy with a burgeoning police interest in surveillance.