Simply over a yr after its debut, Amazon is discontinuing its interactive, video-calling gadget for teenagers and households, the Amazon Glow. First launched at Amazon’s annual {hardware} occasion final yr, the gadget promised a novel means for teenagers to make use of know-how when on video calls with different members of the family. As a substitute of utilizing solely a display screen, just like the Echo Present or Fb Portal (one other gadget that didn’t fare so properly), the Amazon Glow used projection know-how to create an area on the tabletop it sat upon which could possibly be used for digital actions like video games, artwork, puzzles and extra.
Amazon have to be underwhelmed with shopper response to this specific innovation, because the gadget had been barely given any time to discover a market. The retailer had saved the Glow as an invite-only product for its first six months, earlier than releasing it to U.S. prospects in late March. Meaning it’s solely actually been obtainable to the broader public for round 6 months.
Bloomberg first reported the information of the gadget’s discontinuation, which Amazon confirmed.
To be truthful, the Amazon Glow was an experimental gadget that might have probably struggled to discover a huge buyer base, given its peculiarities. It’s an odd-shaped, upright touchscreen that requires a flat floor the place it may possibly undertaking its photos onto the desk in entrance of it — one thing that will not work in everybody’s properties, the place kitchen tables and counter tops are sometimes coated or cluttered and the place a tool wouldn’t slot in. It additionally required an Amazon Youngsters+ paid subscription.
Nonetheless, as TechCrunch’s evaluation of the Amazon Glow famous, the expertise itself was somewhat enjoyable. Child testers responded higher to utilizing the gadget, which is extra like a toy, than they might when FaceTiming grandma by a cellphone or pill. Utilizing Glow to play video games and have interaction in actions saved children for longer durations of time throughout these calls, the evaluation mentioned.
However the Amazon Glow, as a brand new product, was buggy at launch and its enchantment might have additionally been restricted attributable to its requirement for the opposite consumer to be considerably tech-savvy and a pill proprietor.
Plus, it was designed to handle an issue that arose from the pandemic, when family members had been remoted at house, lacking their members of the family. As a result of it may replicate the real-world really feel of taking part in video games and studying tales, it may function a stand-in for the grandparents’ (or aunts, uncles, cousins, or anybody else’s) normal in-person visits. However the locked-down days of the pandemic are actually behind us, which may have impacted the Glow’s skill to seek out traction.
Amazon declined to offer gross sales figures for the gadget when reached for remark, however Bloomberg reported gross sales had been “sluggish.”
An organization spokesperson provided TechCrunch a press release that appeared to indicate customers didn’t see the worth within the product.
“At Amazon, we predict massive, experiment, and put money into new concepts to please prospects. We additionally regularly consider the progress and potential of our merchandise to ship buyer worth, and we often make changes based mostly on these assessments,” the spokesperson mentioned. “We will probably be sharing updates and steerage with Glow prospects quickly.”
The Amazon Glow’s product touchdown web page doesn’t but inform prospects that the product is discontinued — it solely says it’s out of inventory. It’s unclear at the moment how Amazon Glow’s prospects will probably be supported as they weren’t but made conscious of the product’s discontinuation
The Glow is hardly the primary experimental product Amazon has killed off over time, as the corporate often exams its {hardware} concepts. The corporate has additionally killed off units like its Cloud Cam, fashion-focused Echo Look good speaker and digicam, good ring, Sprint buttons, and extra.
