Good morning. The President of the United States said Thursday that the White House considers anyone who uses the term “artificial intelligence,” rather than his recently ordered replacement “super intelligence,” nothing less than “THE ENEMY!”
Here’s a brief and current list of those enemies:
—The U.S. military
—The No. 1 company on the Fortune 500
—The Vice President of the U.S.
—The No. 1 ally of the U.S.
—The No. 1 frenemy of the U.S.
—The world’s wealthiest university
—The world’s wealthiest man
As the millennials say: Gretchen, stop trying!
Today’s tech news follows. Have a wonderful weekend. —Andrew Nusca
Thoughts? Suggestions? Hot tip? Drop me a line.
THE BIG STORY
Amazon launches premium Alexa tablets to take on Apple and Samsung
When Amazon hired Panos Panay from Microsoft in 2023, senior executives hoped he could bring some of the devices magic he pulled off at the software giant to the e-commerce company.
Three years later, Panay is back in his comfort zone.
Amazon on Thursday unveiled an entirely new product lineup: premium Alexa tablets meant to take on devices from Apple and Samsung. The tablets, featuring aluminum casing à la Apple, puts Amazon in direct competition with the iPhone maker after years of offering lower-budget Fire tablets that have primarily served as entertainment devices.
With the new line of Alexa tablets, Amazon is also taking a different approach to software. Unlike Fire tablets, which are heavily optimized for Amazon services, the Alexa tablets run Android with full access to the Google Play store.
Amazon will also phase out the Fire tablets while keeping security updates active for four years. The company in a statement said it has “limited supply available” of the devices.
The Amazon Alexa Tablet 12 Pro is the most premium offering at $499.99 for the 128-gigabyte version. It is 6.5 millimeters thin and features a 12-inch, 280 pixels-per-inch display.
A pricier, $549 version has a “Nanomatte” display that the company said dramatically reduces screen glare. The tablet can be paired with a new Alexa Tablet Pro Pen and Pro Keyboard, creating a laptop-like setup similar to what Apple offers.
There is also a $329.99 Alexa Tablet 11, an 11-inch device, and a 8.7-inch Alexa Tablet 8 entry-point version. In addition, Amazon launched two kids’ tablets.
While the prices are a notable step up from the Fire line of devices, Amazon is pricing the new Alexa tablets below Apple’s tablets. Though Amazon is undercutting Apple on price, Apple leads in display technology, connectivity, thinness, and storage options.
The new Alexa tablets go on sale Oct. 14 in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, with a rollout to the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, and Spain starting Oct. 19. —Sebastian Herrera
THE BLIND BOX
“Please stop … It’s depressing, and everybody knows you’re out of touch.”
THE RUNDOWN
—OpenAI told investors its annualized revenue is approaching $50 billion.
—AI stocks including Nvidia, Oracle, and CoreWeave sank on news of that figure, which was $20 billion less than previously reported.
—An Apple “HomePad”? An Oct. 13 press event may feature a HomePod with a screen.
—U.S. suspends Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Microsoft from program allowing skilled foreign workers to gain permanent residency.
—Google debuts a new universal Gemini AI agent for the workplace.
—Anthropic’s Claude will now leave the chat after “sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior.”
—Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin: “We should take the risks to cryptography from AI-accelerated math seriously.”
—Microsoft’s Xbox launches a division to focus on extending its game IP to film, TV, products, and more.
THE PARTING SHOT
According to a new AP-NORC poll, nearly two in three Americans—64%—think AI is developing “too fast.”
Almost one in three—27%—say AI’s pace of development has been “about right.”
Team “too slow,” meanwhile? A paltry 8%. (Take note, U.S. officials up for reelection next month.)