STIR OF ECHOES

But Amazon's big reveal offers much more than an upgrade to the firm's smartspeaker line-up...

- JUSTIN CONNOLLY

FRANK Sinatra got it wrong about New York - arriving late last Sunday night ahead of Amazon's Big Product Launch, I struggled to find anywhere near my hotel to eat.

Even the hotel restaurant was closed... so much for the city that never sleeps.

I can’t imagine there has been much sleep going on in Amazon's devices division over the last few months, though.

During a packed presentation in Manhattan’s Tribeca district, the online shopping giant revealed no fewer than 19 new products that will be heading our way in the UK over the coming months.

The head of Amazon's devices division, Panos Panay, led the show and introduced an array of fellow execs on stage to show off what their team had been working on. The central thread was, of course, AI, and there were many things revealed that had Amazon's next-generation AI assistant at the heart of it.

Alexa+ is not quite ready for the UK yet.

A slow rollout in the US is under way, though Amazon’s people could only confirm we will see it over here... they just couldn’t say when. I reckon in the first half of next year is a pretty good guess.

When it comes, it will bring with it some incredible features, and not just the obvious ones like more natural conversations with Alexa and better ways to control the smart home.

One new service in particular stood out - Search Party uses AI and Amazon's Ring cameras to help owners find lost dogs.