If I covered everything announced at Amazon’s fall hardware event, it would take a while, and I would be repeating the hard work of my colleague Kris Holt. Check out his report for all the new Echo speakers, new Alexa tricks, more Nest Cameras and, yes, more Kindles — AKA the only Amazon hardware I’m usually interested in.
When it comes to Amazon’s ereader series, the standout new addition is the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, combining its stylus-toting note-taking hardware with its latest color e-ink screen. It has a new rendering engine, too, which is meant to make writing faster, more fluid and more natural. Check out our first impressions of the device, and if you’re intrigued, you can order one later this year for $630.
If you think color is overrated, there’s a new regular Kindle Scribe, with a bigger screen that matches typical paper sizes. The refreshed Kindle Scribe will go on sale in the US by the end of the year, priced at $500. A version without a front light will be available for $430.
— Mat Smith
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The news you might have missed
But don’t worry, there are 45 new games.
Alongside some tier shuffling, there’s also a painful sting in the tail for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. It now costs $30 a month, a 50 percent increase on what it was before. And there’s no discount if you go for an annual subscription, either. It’s also the second price jump in the last two years. It went up from $17 in July 2024. Three dollars doesn’t seem so bad now.
At $360 per year, Game Pass Ultimate is now more than twice as expensive as PlayStation’s Plus Premium. If you’re willing to pay up, though, Microsoft added 45 more games this week, including a lot of entries from the Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry series, two gaming franchises where the games definitely aren’t very similar to each other.
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Smart glasses are finally getting useful.
Meta’s second-generation smart glasses are becoming a genuinely useful accessory. This year’s hardware upgrade addresses many of the issues we had with the original Ray-Ban Meta glasses. The battery life is much improved, while the 3K resolution bump makes video far more useful on platforms like YouTube. Resolution aside, the video quality is just better too. Check out our full review.
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How’s that morning coffee tasting?
I felt a little nauseous writing that headline, but if your interest is piqued…
Continue reading, you sicko.
The plus models have form-checking cameras, rotating screens and lots of AI.
It’s been a rough time for Peloton. Now, the company is back with major hardware (and software) upgrades across its Bike, Tread and Row family of machines. It’s an almost-entire overhaul, with new software, programmable workouts and an array of collaborations. There are also some tentative steps toward wellness, because why not?
All of the new machines have a screen that rotates away from the bike/track/rower. The updated Bike+, Row+ and Tread+ models feature a 23.8-inch display, while the base models have a 21.5-inch display. Rotating it turns your Peloton into a more versatile screen for cross-discipline workouts, which Peloton has already dabbled in, including yoga and strength training. The new devices are now available for purchase.
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