A spate of new products in the works looks like a really impressive pipeline in some ways, but perhaps indicates the company may end up spreading itself too thin.
There’s a new Echo device called Hoya with a 15-inch screen to be mounted on the wall a la Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, with a compatible sound bar called Harmony. There’s a robot called Vesta, reported to be in its final stages, and Echo Auto engineering where a roadside device called Marion is slated to be installed in 700,000 Ford vehicles.
But that’s not all – not by a long shot.
“Other items in the works (at Amazon) include new Echo speakers for 2022 and wearables for kids and seniors,” writes Steve Dent at Engadget. “It’s also reportedly building dedicated processors to improve artificial intelligence along with new technology to help its Fire TV, Echo and other devices work better together.
The company has some other, somewhat more unusual products in the works as well, according to the report. It has been working on a home robot codenamed Vesta that would use the Alexa interface and also an Alexa-powered karaoke microphone — though the team working on the latter project was reportedly disbanded.
As for Vesta, some insiders fear a return of the Fire Phone debacle, where production of an Amazon smartphone only lasted one year.
“As with any unannounced device of this scale, there is an abundance of unanswered questions and uncertain details,” writes James Vincent at The Verge. “The basic premise, though, is that Vesta will be an Amazon Echo on wheels: a voice-activated assistant that can navigate your home, respond to your commands, and interface with other smart home devices.”
In addition to all of that, Amazon seems to be ramping up a project called Kuiper that would rival the SpaceX Starlink satellite chain.
Does that all sound like, well, too much? Where some traders are excited about one or more of these, others have been wary of tying their wagons too tightly to Amazon’s star. What do you think?
