Amazon is set to unveil its biggest hardware refresh in years at Tuesday's fall event, with company invites teasing new Echo speakers and the long-awaited color Kindle Scribe. Under devices chief Panos Panay's leadership, the event could mark a pivotal moment for Amazon's smart home ecosystem as it battles Apple and Google for living room dominance.
Amazon is about to shake up the smart home landscape again. The company's September 30th fall hardware event promises to be Panos Panay's biggest showcase since joining from Microsoft in 2023, and early clues suggest we're looking at the most significant Echo and Kindle refresh in years.
The event invitation itself tells the story. Two distinct Echo ring silhouettes dominate the teaser image, strongly hinting at new smart speakers. Industry analysts expect at least a standard Echo refresh - the current model hasn't been updated since 2020, making it practically ancient in tech years. The second shape resembles an Echo Studio, which last saw updates in 2023 and could use a boost to compete with Apple's HomePod lineup.
But it's the Kindle teasers that have e-reader enthusiasts buzzing. Amazon's invitation features a colorized Kindle logo, and eagle-eyed observers spotted tiny text reading "with the stroke of a pen" - a dead giveaway for the color Kindle Scribe. The original Scribe launched in 2022 as Amazon's answer to tablet-style note-taking, but its black-and-white E Ink display felt dated compared to color alternatives from competitors.
The timing makes perfect sense. Amazon's first color Kindle, the Colorsoft, launched last year but faced early quality issues with screen discoloration that the company had to address. A color Scribe would let Amazon showcase improved color E Ink technology while targeting the growing digital note-taking market.
There's also chatter about a smaller color Kindle dubbed "Petit Color," based on leaked prototype images from Reddit. But that seems less likely given Amazon just launched a cheaper Colorsoft variant without premium features like wireless charging.
The bigger story might be what's happening behind the scenes with Amazon's software strategy. Vega OS, the company's secret Android replacement for Fire TVs, could finally get its public debut. According to Lowpass reporter Janko Roettgers, the operating system could launch as soon as this week.
