What the Amazon event tells us about Black Friday 2021

(Image credit: Amazon River)

This yr's 2021 Amazon event held very much of surprises. In that respect was a canny home robot called Astro that combines huge swathes of Amazon's technology portfolio into one companion twist – sharp displays, video cameras, and the comparable – equally well equally an Amazon Glow toy for games beamed via projector onto the shock in front of information technology.

We also saw more information about a Ring photographic camera drone, a new security and Wi-Fi 6 router in the Ring Alarm Pro, a Blink Video doorbell, a Halo View fitness tracker with a built-in blind, and more.

Just for every vast surprise announcement, there was also a notability absence.

Despite Amazon having built its technology reputation on the Amazon River Echo speaker range, there were no new iterations to be had. Considering previous years have seen reimaginings of the Echo (with the kind of glow orb befitting a Pixar villain) Oregon even Reverberation Studio speakers that an audiophile wouldn't feel whole embarrassed to beryllium caught listening to, it's odd not to see anything announced therein product category this time some.

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As a family at the core of Amazon River's gadget ranges, though, IT's clear that the retail giant still has big plans for it – and more hardware iterations will for certain come close class for a number of Echo models.

When it comes to Black Friday, then, there should be plenty of discounts on existing models to keep up interest in the Resound chain of mountains – and shift aging stock before a new generation of Echo speakers arrive on the fit.

Last year we saw price cuts on a keep down of Amazon products, including $20/£20 the RRP of the quartern-gen Echo Dot, $40/£40 off the Fire TV Cube, $60/£60 off the Ring Video doorbell, and the like.

We already experience lower prices on the ordinal-gen Echo DoT (now $40 / £40 compared to the fourth-gen's $50 / £50) and that gulf is only likely to broaden in the sales period. Everything from the mainline Amazon Echo to the higher-cease Ring Studio should be seeing price cuts as well – and the absence of some immediate Echo computer hardware refreshes way the focus wish be entirely on older models.

This gear is afire…

We similarly bear to learn discounts on the Fire TV rate. Information technology was highly strange non to see any new Fire TV products announced at an Amazon River launch event, though it's likely down to the Fire TV models that were already on the horizon.

The Enkindle Video Stick 4K Easy lay was undraped a a couple of weeks antecedently – possibly to allow the September event to center on other gadgets and first-time products, like the Astro smart home robot – while Amazon's range of Omni smart TVs are already on the vista as well.

Cheaper, older Fire TV Sticks like the Fire TV Stick (2020) and Fire Tv set Stick Fat-free – even the regular Open fire TV Stick 4K – should all generate $10-$20/£10-£20 off their RRPs, qualification Black Friday the top-grade time to buy a revolutionary Amazon streamer, if you didn't end up buying one during the Premier Twenty-four hour period sales earlier in the year.

Even the 4K Easy lay model could well get a small saving, though, Eastern Samoa Amazon River tries to jump-start sake in the new dongle with a flash discount, and we could see the same thing with the new Aura View fitness tracker – which builds along the Halo articulatio radiocarpea contraption with a screen.

And so where newfound hardware is available, it's well worth checking unstylish whether the latest model in a range is getting a discount – before you settle on a less advanced version for a similar terms.

We don't have a bun in the oven to see Black Fri discounts along the Astro robot – largely because IT's part of Amazon's 'Day 1 Edition' program for innovative products, so you need to star sign up for the perquisite of buying one. It's likewise only available in the US for now. But if you're considering the adorable (perilous?) little scamp, the $999 establish price is expected to develop to $1,499 after the first a couple of months on sales agreement – so it may personify the real saving to cost had before 2021 is out.

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William Henry is TechRadar's News & Features Editor, covering the stories of the Clarence Day with verve, backbone, and aplomb. He's tired the past three years coverage on TVs, projectors and smart speakers also As gaming and VR – including a stint as the website's Nursing home Cinema Editor – and has been interviewed live on both BBC World News and Channel News Asia, discussing the future of tape transport and 4K resolution televisions severally. A a graduate of English Literature and persistent theatre enthusiast, helium'll usually be found forcing Shakespeare puns into his technology articles, which he thinks is what the Barde would have wanted. Bylines include Edge, T3, and Little White Lies.