The variations between Amazon’s Kindle e-readers was once stark. The most cost-effective base mannequin had paltry storage, bitsy battery life, and a sluggish, low-resolution display screen. Meanwhile, the extravagant Kindle Oasis luxuriated in its smooth aluminum chassis, totally adjustable lighting, large battery, and bodily buttons for turning pages.
But the fashions have slowly begun to mix collectively, with the inexpensive Kindles adopting premium options beforehand solely present in the Oasis. The mid-tier Paperwhite received some sprucing up in 2021, when Amazon added adjustable lighting and a USB-C port. (It’s nonetheless WIRED’s choose for finest e-reader.) At final, Amazon is juicing up the base-model Kindle as effectively.
The new Kindle will get an upgraded show—a 300-ppi-resolution display screen versus the earlier Kindle’s 197 ppi. Storage is doubled to 16 GB. The new Kindle additionally—lastly!—contains a USB-C port like the latest Paperwhite fashions. It fees in as little as two hours over USB-C.
Unfortunately, the costs have began to converge too. The new base-model Kindle prices $100, which is 10 bucks greater than the earlier model. Spend one other $20 and also you get a model that doesn’t bombard you with adverts on the lock display screen.
If you’re in the marketplace for an e-reader, try WIRED’s information to the best Kindles and the best ebook readers overall.
Here’s some extra information from the world of client expertise.
Alexa Speaks Brand
The worst factor about looking for one thing on Google is all the adverts that present up at the prime of the web page. Well, now Amazon is planning one thing like that for its Echo good audio system.
In a weblog put up with the not-at-all-dystopian title “Alexa Can Now Help Brands Answer Customer Questions,” Amazon laid out a brand new enterprise technique that can permit manufacturers to supply solutions to consumer questions that may relate to the merchandise the model needs to promote. Amazon gave an instance of asking Alexa learn how to take away pet hair from the carpet. Such a question might trigger a brand-backed response to spring forth, providing to ship you hyperlinks to Amazon pages promoting the model’s merchandise.
In Amazon’s model registry system, sellers will be capable to view widespread consumer questions and connect their branded solutions to them. Amazon says the questions and branded solutions might be reviewed by content material moderators earlier than they can be utilized by Alexa. Amazon insists these are usually not adverts and that manufacturers received’t be capable to pay to submit solutions. The firm additionally says branded solutions might be attributed to the model that answered them, however it didn’t elaborate on what kind that disclosure would take.
The firm plans to check the characteristic beginning in October, then roll it out throughout the US after that.
TikTok Wants to BeReal
Every app is attempting to be TikTok, however generally the viral video-sharing app has to play a little bit of catch-up itself.
If you might be hip and funky (learn: younger), then absolutely you understand about BeReal. The well-liked app prompts customers with a notification at a random time on daily basis that reads “Time to BeReal.” Users then have two minutes to snap a photograph that captures pictures from each the back and front cameras. The outcomes are fast and candid; the level of catching folks unawares is to encourage extra “authentic” moments than the fastidiously staged pictures you see on platforms like Instagram.
