Amazon’s Fall hardware event was stacked with new devices and gizmos and marketing hype, as you might expect. 

• It was also punctured by people who built its new robot, who said the just-announced Amazon Astro robot is “terrible” and will “throw itself down stairs,” and a “disaster that’s not ready for release.”
• Ouch.

First, what’s new:

• Too many things were announced by Amazon to recap in total, but a couple of things my colleagues are interested in are the Echo Show 15 ($250), which is a 15.6-inch display form factor Echo device that you can prop or even hang around your house.
• There’s also a new Amazon Smart Thermostat ($60) that brings cut-price competition to what we see from Nest and others, though no availability yet.
• There are new fitness trackers and a video calling device, and software improvements were made too: Ring Video Doorbells are finally getting the ability to alert you about a package

But the big story out of the show is Amazon Astro: a much-rumored robot that’s now here as an Alexa-on-wheels, which combines Alexa’s voice assistant chops with an Echo Show-like tablet, Ring’s home security system, two Qualcomm chips, and motorized wheels so it can roam around your home.

• In Amazon’s view, that means it can be called and it’ll come, so you can ask Alexa questions.
• It can offer security measures, or dial in to its periscope camera to get a view of stuff in your house, like checking the oven is turned off.
• That’s because it has “ultrasonic sensors, time-of-flight cameras, and other imaging tools that let the robot know what’s around it and where it’s going,” according to The Verge.
• It can apparently recognize faces, though more on that in a second.
• After an introductory price of $999.99, Astro’s price will increase to $1,449.99.

Problems, oh the problems:

• It’s only available to a limited number of people, at Amazon’s invitation, which suggests Amazon hasn’t really found a use for it, yet.
• It can’t go up and down stairs. It doesn’t have arms, so it can’t bring you a cold can from the fridge. While it offers security, it can’t really do anything about an intruder. Plus, it’s all tied into Ring which means more subscriptions.
• But incredibly, Vice published documents and insights from those who worked on the device, and it shreds Amazon’s own ideas (like, providing accessibility options for some people or eldery family.)
• Developers who worked on Astro say the versions of the robot they worked on did not work well and broke easily…

The quotes are amazing:

• “‘Astro is terrible and will almost certainly throw itself down a flight of stairs if presented with the opportunity. The person detection is unreliable at best, making the in-home security proposition laughable,’ a source who worked on the project said. ‘The device feels fragile for something with an absurd cost. The mast has broken on several devices, locking itself in the extended or retracted position, and there’s no way to ship it to Amazon when that happens.’”
• “‘They’re also pushing it as an accessibility device but with the masts breaking and the possibility that at any given moment it’ll commit suicide on a flight of stairs, it’s, at best, absurdist nonsense and marketing and, at worst, potentially dangerous for anyone who’d actually rely on it for accessibility purposes,’ the source said.”
• Privacy and navigation were also mentioned as key concerns, with another person telling Vice,“it’s a disaster that’s not ready for release. They break themselves and will almost certainly fall down stairs in real world users’ homes.”
• Amazon refuted these claims with its own statements about rigorous testing and so on, as it would.
• But the real surprise out of all this is getting the leaked documents and reports the same day Amazon announced it.

Also: With half of Amazon’s announcements around security, Amazon is turning into a personal security company, which seems terrifying(Engadget).