Amazon news and analysis | TechCrunch

Best gifts for frequent travelers

Brian Heater — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000

What’s the best gift you can get someone? Why, the gift of travel, of course. The next best is something to enhance the travel experience. As fun and enlightening as seeing new places is, the whole part of getting there can detract from the overall experience, especially for those who find themselves traveling a lot […]

Amazon’s telehealth platform adds low-cost plans for hair loss, skin care, and more

Aisha Malik — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 15:17:17 +0000

Amazon One Medical is expanding its telehealth services with the launch of upfront and low-cost treatment plans and medication delivery for several beauty and lifestyle concerns. Customers can get treatment plans and medication for men’s hair loss for as low as $16 per month, anti-aging skin care for $10 per month, and erectile disfunction care […]

Amazon scraps secret fertility-tracking project

Marina Temkin — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 20:28:03 +0000

Amazon has shut down a 4-year-old secret program working on a fertility monitoring device and accompanying smartphone app, CNBC reported. The project, which was known by the codename “Encore,” evolved out of Amazon’s 2020 purchase of a startup called bluDiagnostics, which was developing a device that measured the levels of estradiol and progesterone — two […]

Amazon takes on Temu and Shein with discount ‘Amazon Haul’ store

Amanda Silberling — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 16:02:29 +0000

Amazon has rolled out its answer to the discounted, low-cost storefronts of Temu and Shein. The Amazon Haul store, currently available on the mobile app or mobile web browser exclusively, offers similar mass-produced, discounted items, most of which ship from China. It’s a departure from Amazon’s long-established reputation as a powerhouse of rapid delivery times […]

Amazon confirms employee data stolen after hacker claims MOVEit breach

Carly Page — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 18:30:56 +0000

Amazon has confirmed that employee data was compromised after a “security event” at a third-party vendor. In a statement given to TechCrunch on Monday, Amazon spokesperson Adam Montgomery confirmed that employee information had been involved in a data breach. “Amazon and AWS systems remain secure, and we have not experienced a security event. We were […]

Amazon may up its investment in Anthropic — on one condition

Kyle Wiggers — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 00:26:37 +0000

Amazon is considering increasing its investment in OpenAI rival Anthropic. According to The Information, Amazon is in talks to invest multiple billions in Anthropic, its first financial pledge in the company since a $4 billion deal struck last year. The new investment is structured similar to the last one — but with a twist. Amazon […]

Amazon begins delivering select products via drone in Phoenix

Kyle Wiggers — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 14:01:03 +0000

A few months after ending its drone-based delivery program, Prime Air, in California, Amazon says that it’s begun making deliveries to select customers via drone in Phoenix, Arizona. Starting today, Amazon customers in the West Valley Phoenix Metro Area have access to a drone-deliverable selection from Amazon’s catalog, including household, beauty, office, health, and tech […]

Amazon brings generative AI-powered recaps to Prime Video

Lauren Forristal — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 19:07:09 +0000

Instead of scouring the internet for a summary of a TV show, which often risks unintentionally revealing major plot points, Prime Video’s latest feature aims to save viewers from encountering any spoilers. Amazon announced on Monday the launch of “X-Ray Recaps,” a generative AI-powered feature that creates concise summaries of entire seasons, single episodes, and […]

Amazon acknowledges screen issues on a ‘small number’ of Kindle Colorsoft units

Brian Heater — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 19:06:05 +0000

After more than a decade of waiting, Amazon’s first color Kindle has stumbled out of the gate. An issue with the new display has left Colorsoft buyers leaving unfavorable reviews. At last count, the e-reader is hovering around 2.7 stars. The company confirmed the display issues that are affecting a “small number” of units in […]

Regulators deliver successive blows to Amazon and Meta’s nuclear power ambitions

Tim De Chant — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 19:00:21 +0000

A series of recent rulings from regulators dashed the Big Tech companies' hopes of finding a quick fix for their electricity needs.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy hints at an ‘agentic’ Alexa

Kyle Wiggers — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 21:59:49 +0000

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on Thursday hinted at an improved, “agentic” version of the company’s Alexa assistant — one that could take actions on a user’s behalf. “I think that the next generation of these assistants and generative AI applications will be better at not just answering questions and summarizing, indexing, and aggregating data, but […]

500 Amazon employees reportedly ask AWS CEO to reverse return-to-office policy

Maxwell Zeff — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 22:16:36 +0000

More than 500 Amazon employees sent a letter on Wednesday to AWS CEO Matt Garman, urging the executive to reverse the company’s full return-to-office policy, Reuters reports. In September, Amazon asked employees to come back to the office five days a week starting in 2025. The AWS CEO previously told employees that nine out of […]

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft review: A muted approach to color

Brian Heater — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 13:15:00 +0000

October was an exciting month for reading devices. We got a new iPad mini, a couple of products from Boox, and this strange yet compelling iPhone e-reader adapter from Astropad. The biggest splash of all, however, came from Amazon. It’s unsurprising, as the retail giant commands around 80% of the devoted e-reader market. The past […]

Amazon brings its Rufus AI shopping assistant to more international markets

Paul Sawers — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 16:43:48 +0000

Amazon is extending the availability of its AI-enabled shopping assistant, Rufus, to more markets in Europe and the Americas. The e-commerce giant has been widely considered to be playing catch-up with its Big Tech brethren in the AI sphere, particularly against the backdrop of the generative AI hype these past couple of years. Rufus is […]

Amazon adds gasoline discounts for Prime members, EV charging savings to follow

Lauren Forristal — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 13:38:35 +0000

Amazon is challenging Walmart+ by offering Prime members a discount on fuel to combat high gas prices. The company announced on Wednesday that Prime members will receive a 10 cents per gallon discount at around 7,000 Amoco, AM/PM, and BP gas stations across the U.S., potentially saving them about $70 annually on fuel. To access […]

Amazon indicates employees can quit if they don’t like its return-to-office mandate

Maxwell Zeff — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 01:17:28 +0000

AWS CEO Matt Garman has harsh words for remote workers: return to the office or quit. The Amazon executive recently told employees who don’t like the new five-day in-person work policy that, “there are other companies around,” presumably companies they can work for remotely, Reuters reported on Thursday. Amazon’s top boss, Andy Jassy, told employees […]

Amazon jumps on nuclear power bandwagon by investing in X-Energy and promising small reactors

Tim De Chant — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 16:36:30 +0000

The company revealed three deals, including an investment in a fission startup and two development agreements to add nuclear power to the grid.

Amazon revamps Kindle line with faster page turns, AI, and a new green color

Brian Heater — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Amazon’s Kindle line seems to go longer and longer between updates. While e-readers aren’t quite the consumer electronics darlings they once were, the retail giant is still invested in the category. After all, according to estimates, Amazon controls more than 80% of the U.S. market. Along with the long-awaited addition of a color Kindle, Amazon […]

Amazon Kindle finally gets color

Brian Heater — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000

It’s a big week in Kindle land. Along with refreshes to the base Kindle, Paperwhite, and Scribe, the company is introducing something many of us never expected in a devoted e-reader: color. Earlier this year, Amazon’s chief e-reader competitor, Kobo, introduced the $220 Libra Colour, which leverages color E Ink. The technology has thus far […]

Tesla’s Cybercab robotaxi is here — and it could cost less than $30K

Cody Corrall — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 20:15:00 +0000

Welcome back to Week in Review. This week, we’re taking a closer look at Tesla’s Cybercab and Robovan reveals, the “complete disarray” at Fisker HQ, and a horrifying side effect of living in our modern world: AI summaries of your breakup texts. Let’s do this. Tesla finally revealed its Cybercab robotaxi. Unveiled at the company’s […]

Amazon news and analysis | TechCrunch

Best gifts for frequent travelers

Amazon’s telehealth platform adds low-cost plans for hair loss, skin care, and more

Amazon scraps secret fertility-tracking project

Amazon takes on Temu and Shein with discount ‘Amazon Haul’ store

Amazon confirms employee data stolen after hacker claims MOVEit breach

Amazon may up its investment in Anthropic — on one condition

Amazon begins delivering select products via drone in Phoenix

Amazon brings generative AI-powered recaps to Prime Video

Amazon acknowledges screen issues on a ‘small number’ of Kindle Colorsoft units

Regulators deliver successive blows to Amazon and Meta’s nuclear power ambitions

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy hints at an ‘agentic’ Alexa

500 Amazon employees reportedly ask AWS CEO to reverse return-to-office policy

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft review: A muted approach to color

Amazon brings its Rufus AI shopping assistant to more international markets

Amazon adds gasoline discounts for Prime members, EV charging savings to follow

Amazon indicates employees can quit if they don’t like its return-to-office mandate

​​Amazon jumps on nuclear power bandwagon by investing in X-Energy and promising small reactors

Amazon revamps Kindle line with faster page turns, AI, and a new green color

Amazon Kindle finally gets color

Tesla’s Cybercab robotaxi is here — and it could cost less than $30K

Amazon jumps on nuclear power bandwagon by investing in X-Energy and promising small reactors