Alexa where you least expect it: Meet Amazon’s mad new product range

Amazon’s event last night brought the usual range of new Echos and even some Alexa-powered earbuds. But that’s just scratching the surface of Amazon’s plans to put Alexa everywhere but the kitchen sink.

Give it time, though, because in light of some of the products unveiled last night, it wouldn’t be wholly surprising if Amazon built an Alexa-powered kitchen sink at some point.

Think we’re exaggerating? Here are some of the weird things Amazon showed us…

Echo Frames

If you can’t face the idea of leaving the house without Alexa there to feed you trivia or tell you jokes, then now you can literally have Amazon’s virtual assistant attached to your face. The Echo Frames are smart glasses, only instead of packing a screen, they have Alexa built in: ask a question to yourself, and Alexa will whisper the answer in your ear using small directional speakers.

If the idea of chatting to your glasses appeals for some reason, you’ll be disappointed to hear that the $179.99 specs are both US only, and require an invite. Probably for the best, to be honest.

Echo Loop

If you can’t quite bring yourself to chat to your glasses, perhaps you’d feel more comfortable talking to your finger? Sadly the Echo Loop isn’t a finger puppet, but a smart ring.

Press a button on the side, speak, and the teeny-tiny speaker inside will whisper its response. Again it’s US only and invite only, but it costs $99.99.

Echo Glow

Another one for the US market, the $30 Echo Glow is a nightlight to give the kids sweet dreams. How that’s compatible with a disembodied voice living inside is debatable, but it does at least let you change the colours by just saying the words…

Alexa Smart Oven

Did you know Alexa is also an expert chef? Well, maybe not a chef as such, but it can at least follow instructions.

The Alexa Smart Oven is a microwave, air fryer, convection cooker and food warmer in one and, yes, it can be controlled by a bundled Echo Dot. A companion app will be able to scan products from Amazon-owned Whole Foods meaning you don’t need to read the instructions yourself. It’ll be $249.99 and is available from November in the United States. No word on a UK date yet.

New voices for Alexa

Remember how you used to be able to get bad impressions of celebrities to give SatNav instructions? Well now Amazon has enlisted the help of real celebrities to give Alexa a makeover – or a voiceover, more accurately. The first of these will be Samuel L. Jackson, and to get his voice on your Echo will cost 99 cents – or around 80p.

And yes, there will be an explicit mode, just in case you’ve had enough of all those m********** snakes on your m********** plane.

At the same time, Amazon announced that Alexa will now be able to tell when you’re getting frustrated from the tone of your voice. This won’t change much, except that Alexa will now say ‘sorry’ – just to guilt-trip you for being mean about its inability to understand you want it to play songs by The Beatles, not a potted history of the Volkswagen Beetle.

Ring Fetch

As you may know, Amazon owns Ring, which makes video doorbells and security cameras. Well, now it’s getting into pet care with the Ring Fetch. It’s a tracker for dog collars that will use Sidewalk ring-fencing to tell you if your dog has strayed out of your home, so you can quickly intercept with a bag of treats.