Amazon redesigns smart devices

Yahoo Finance reporter Allie Garfinkle details how Amazon will be updating several of its smart devices, including the Kindle, Ring, Echo Smart, and Fire TV.

Video transcript

DAVE BRIGGS: Shares of Amazon today up 3 plus percent as the company announces some major updates to its core products today, including the Kindle and the Fire TV. Yahoo Finance's Allie Garfinkle here with the very latest. More ways for them to get more data and get further into our lives. No, I'm excited. Tell me about that.

ALLIE GARFINKLE: Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, the thing is, there actually is-- there are a couple of pieces--

DAVE BRIGGS: Cynical.

ALLIE GARFINKLE: --of this, right? The first is that the star-- there was the star of the show, right? It was actually the Kindle Scribe. It's a new Kindle. It actually has E ink, so you can take notes on it.

The other thing, too, is they actually did double down on their TVs. They have what's called the Fire TV Omni QLED, which promises better picture quality. And it promises what they were calling an ambient experience, where they can detect your presence in a room. So this is happening, Dave, at a moment where they're collecting a lot of data, but it's also having a moment where streaming is really important for Amazon.

SEANA SMITH: Well, and speaking about all that data that Amazon does have, they also announced some updates to its security system, namely the Ring system. What's new there?

ALLIE GARFINKLE: Yes, there's a lot that's new there, actually, Seana. So there are two new outdoor Ring cameras, and they have better surveillance capabilities. They have what they're calling 3D motion detection. They're having-- they call it Audio Plus. Audio Plus is where it can listen and determine noises.

The company also announced a virtual security guard that's tied to its Astro product. And now how that works is that it moves around your house, and it can identify pets, objects, intruders-- hopefully not. This is actually-- I think it's worth contextualizing this and talking about Apple, actually, because Apple-- safety was center stage for Apple at this last product event. And Amazon followed suit.

DAVE BRIGGS: Must have been in the works.

SEANA SMITH: Privacy is a big concern.

DAVE BRIGGS: Yes.

ALLIE GARFINKLE: Yeah.

SEANA SMITH: When it comes all that data, the security system, though, is very interesting. I have a Ring. I love it. I use it at the door, and I also use it as a security system. But the whole-- that's hard to wrap your head around, how someone's going to be able to patrol your house virtually. I don't know. I'm not sold on that yet.

DAVE BRIGGS: Not quite. Allie Garfinkle, thanks so much. Good stuff.