If you have to see the Ring Always Home Cam in action to believe that Amazon made a flying security drone for your house, then check out the video of its hardware event. The live stream wasn’t available publicly yesterday, but now you can click through the highlights on a YouTube stream (or just check out a 30-second ad for the Ring drone that’s also embedded below).

If you prefer text, we have a full rundown right here that covers all of the Echo, eero, Fire TV and Ring hardware unveiled.

As expected, Amazon just announced a new low-cost streaming media player. When the Fire TV Stick Lite becomes available later this month, it will set you back a mere $30. For that price, you get a streaming device that supports Full HD playback with HDR and comes with a redesigned Alexa Voice Remote that skips on volume and power buttons.

Amazon is also refreshing the original Fire TV Stick, which was discontinued recently. According to Amazon, the $40 device features a quad-core processor that is 50 percent more powerful than the one in the company’s previous model. It also features support for HD streaming, HDR, Dolby Atmos (but no Dolby Vision) and support for dual-band 802.11ac WiFi. For that extra $10, you also get a remote that includes TV controls. Like the Fire TV Stick Lite, it will be available later this month.

Buy Blade 15 laptop (4K) at Best Buy – $1,999 Buy Blade 15 laptop (4K) at Razer – $1,999

Apple AirPods Pro

Billy Steele / Engadget

The AirPods Pro are still $220, or $30 off their normal price. This is the lowest price we’ve seen, making it a good opportunity to grab Apple’s top-of-the-line earbuds. We gave them a score of 87 for their solid sound quality, excellent active noise cancellation and IPX4 water-resistant design.

Buy AirPods Pro on Amazon – $220

Apple AirPods

Chris Velazco / Engadget

If you want to spend less, Apple’s standard AirPods can still be had for $30 off as well, with Amazon discounting the price to $129. These are the AirPods with the standard wireless charging case, so it’s a bit of a bummer if you were hoping to get the case that supports wireless charging. Nevertheless, these buds earned a score of 84 from us for their improved wireless performance and solid battery life.

Buy AirPods at Amazon – $129

Lenovo Legion 7

Lenovo / B&H Photo

Lenovo’s powerful Legion 7 gaming laptop is also on sale. B&H Photo has it for $250 off, bringing this particular model to $1,599. It runs on a 10th-gen Core i7 processor, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and NVIDIA’s RTX 2070 GPU with Max-Q. It also has a 1080p, 240Hz display, so you’re almost guaranteed a smooth gaming experience regardless of what you’re playing. Just keep in mind that this is the previous model of the Legion 7; Lenovo recently announced new gaming laptops with slight upgrades. Those will be available later this year.

Buy Legion 7 at B&H Photo – $1,599

Amazon Echo Buds

Billy Steele / Engadget

Amazon’s Echo Buds remain at the all-time low price of $90, which is $40 off their normal price. We gave these true wireless earbuds a score of 73, with our favorite features being hands-free Alexa controls, Bose active noise reduction technology and a number of customizable features. However, the sound quality isn’t the greatest and the battery life is less than what other wireless earbuds are capable of. But if you’re on a strict budget and like the idea of having Alexa at your beck and call wherever you go, this deal on the Echo Buds is a good one to consider.

Buy Echo Buds at Amazon – $90

Samsung Galaxy Fit

Engadget

The Galaxy Fit fitness tracker dropped to $50 at Best Buy, which is an impressive 50 percent off its normal price. It’s a great basic fitness tracker, with perks like a color AMOLED display and a week’s worth of battery life. Not only does it track daily activity, but it has dozens of workout profiles to choose from and some auto-tracking capabilities. It’s worth noting that Galaxy Fit 2 was just announced earlier this week. That said, we don’t know when it’ll be available and it’ll probably cost at least $100 when it ships.

Buy Galaxy Fit at Best Buy – $50

Samsung Galaxy Buds+

Billy Steele / Engadget

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds+ are also on sale for $130, or $30 off their normal price. These came out earlier this year with many improvements from the previous buds. Not only do they now have their own iOS app, making them more viable options for iPhone owners, but they also have a smaller design and come with a wireless charging case at no extra cost.

Buy Galaxy Buds+ at Amazon – $130

Segway ES 2 electric scooter

Segway

Amazon has a great sale on Segway’s Ninebot ES2 electric scooter. It’s $189 off right now, bringing the final price down to $399. When we first covered it, there was an additional $90 coupon available, which brought the price down to $309. However, the coupon has since disappeared, but the $399 sale price is the best standalone discounted price we’ve seen on this scooter. While electric scooters aren’t for everyone, they can be convenient ways to get across town or run errands if you live in a big city, dense suburb or even on a college campus.

Buy Segway ES2 at Amazon – $399

Samsung T7 SSD

Samsung

If you need an external drive for the new school year, Samsung’s latest T7 portable SSD is on sale — $80 for the 500GB model. This is the newest version of the company’s popular credit card-sized SSD, but alas, it’s not the T7 Touch model that has a fingerprint sensor for biometric security. However, the standard T7 is still a secure device thanks to its password protection software and shock-resistant body. It’s also nearly twice as fast as the T5 model, with read and write speeds of up to 1,000MB/s.

Buy T7 SSD (500GB) on Amazon – $80 Buy T7 SSD (500GB) on Best Buy – $80

DJI Osmo Mobile 3

DJI

After DJI released the new OM4 smartphone gimbal, Amazon knocked the price of the Osmo Mobile 3 down to $98. That’s roughly $20 off its normal price and over $50 less than the new OM4. Both gimbals are pretty similar, but the OM4 adds a new magnetic phone mounting system to the device that’s a bit easier to use than the standard clamp grip. However, if you can live without it, you’ll get mostly the same experience (for much less money) if you opt for the Osmo Mobile 3.

Buy Osmo Mobile 3 at Amazon – $98 Buy Osmo Mobile 3 kit at Amazon – $119

New deal additions

Satechi Labor Day sale

Through Monday, September 7, you can get 15 percent off Satechi products on the company’s website and Amazon by using the code SATLDAY15 at checkout. Satechi makes solid computer and mobile accessories including hubs and adapters, mice, keyboards and more. Since these products tend to be on the expensive side, this sale is your chance to grab some accessories for less. We’re partial to Satechi’s keyboards (both wired and Bluetooth) and its collection of USB-C adapters.

Shop Labor Day sale at Satechi Shop Labor Day sale at Amazon

Fire TV Edition smart TVs

Also through September 7, many Fire TV Edition smart TVs are on sale, with some as low as $99. These TVs use Amazon’s Fire TV OS as their smart interface, similarly to how Roku TVs get their smarts from Roku OS. It’s a good opportunity to get a new TV for cheap if you’ve wanted to replace a “dumb” set in your home with a smart one.

Shop Fire TV Edition smart TV sale at Amazon

Hisense 55-inch 4K Android TV

The 55-inch model in Hisense’s H65 series of Android smart TVs is down to $280 at Best Buy, or $120 off its normal price. We’ve recommended smaller models in the H65 series before, but this is a great price for a larger 4K version. Android TV may take some getting used to if you’re not familiar with it, but it’s a capable smart TV OS with built-in Google Cast and voice control capabilities via the Google Assistant.

Buy Hisense 55-inch smart TV at Best Buy – $280

Vantrue N2 Pro dash cam

One of Vantrue’s most advanced dash cams, the N2 Pro dual dash cam, is on sale for $119 on Amazon. To get the discounted price, clip the $30 coupon on the product page and then use the code 8YNZVG96 at checkout to get an additional $50 off. This dash cam records video in up to 1440p (front camera only) and monitors both the road in front of you and the inside of your car while you’re driving. It also has night vision that makes dark footage more clear as well as loop recording and G-sensor auto saving.

Buy Vantrue N2 Pro at Amazon – $119

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Buy Echo Studio on Amazon – $170 Buy Echo Studio on Best Buy – $170

There are other deals beyond these two, although they’re not the lowest we’ve seen. The Echo Dot with Clock is available for $40 at Amazon ($20 off) if you need help waking on time for morning classes. The Fire TV Stick 4K is selling for $35 ($15 off) for after-hours TV marathons. And if you want to studying using digital books, the basic ad-supported Kindle is available for $70 ($20 off).

The Echo Plus hasn’t been updated since 2018, but that’s not a bad thing. It produces a richer sound than the standard Echo without consuming much more space, and it can get your smart home started quickly thanks to its built-in smart hub and temperature sensor. The Echo Studio, however, is what you want if you’re more of a stickler for sound. We found it quite capable for the money, and it even benefits from high-quality audio services like Amazon Music HD. It’s just a question of whether you’re willing to pay nearly $100 more for the privilege.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

At the same time, a TV app could help TikTok get its content in front of new viewers who may be wary of downloading the smartphone app some lawmakers have labeled a national security threat. 

“People are looking for community right now and TikTok is connecting users to content and people that resonate and are meaningful to them,” TikTok’s Head of Global Marketing Nick Tran said in a statement. “We’ve been thinking through what the adoption of streaming devices like Fire TV means for connecting with our users and how we can offer them more dynamic experiences, and we feel bringing our content to the TV to some extent is a natural next step.”

The HBO Now app will become simply HBO on Amazon Fire TVs as of August 1st, Variety reports. Existing HBO Now subscribers will have access to the rebranded app. HBO Max is still not available on Fire TVs, and HBO Go will be discontinued across all platforms on July 31st.

This is part of HBO’s ongoing attempt to clear up confusion around its streaming services. For those just tuning in, or understandably a bit lost, HBO Go is an on-demand streaming service for cable subscribers that offers every season and episode of HBO shows. HBO Now is the same on-demand streaming service for cord cutters. HBO Max, which arrived in May, is an on-demand streaming service that offers all the content of Go and Now, plus movies and TV specials, exclusive originals and a selection of non-HBO shows and movies.

Families now have a new way to watch YouTube’s kid-friendly videos on their TVs: YouTube Kids is now available as a dedicated app for Amazon’s Fire TV. The app, which is rolling out to Fire TV devices now, comes a year after the regular YouTube app made its return to Fire TV following a long-running spat between the two companies. 

YouTube Kids offers a curated catalog of child-friendly videos that’s separate from the main YouTube experience. Amazon also notes that the app also comes with parental control features that allow parents to block certain channels or videos — a handy feature given YouTube’s messy history with supposed age-appropriate content.

HBO parent WarnerMedia didn’t directly address Amazon’s points of contention, instead saying that its workers “look forward” to a deal that’s “on par” with how Amazon allows access to Disney+, Hulu and Netflix. You can read its full statement below as well.

While Amazon didn’t officially elaborate on why it insisted on Prime Video Channels access, this is really about control. It wants to offer the same experience (that is, the Amazon experience) that HBO customers already get, and having to limit some customers to the Max app would rule that out. It’s not clear why WarnerMedia isn’t embracing Channels — it also cut off Apple TV Channels today and began pointing users to the HBO Max app — although doing so would mean relinquishing control over HBO Max’s presentation. Either way, this isn’t good for would-be customers — you’ll have to use HBO Max through non-Amazon methods, assuming you haven’t passed on the service in the first place.

“With a seamless customer experience, nearly 5 million HBO streamers currently access their subscription through Amazon’s Prime Video Channels. Unfortunately, with the launch of HBO Max, AT&T is choosing to deny these loyal HBO customers access to the expanded catalog. We believe that if you’re paying for HBO, you’re entitled to the new programming through the method you’re already using. That’s just good customer service and that’s a priority for us.”

— An Amazon spokesperson

“We are thrilled that HBO Max is widely available at launch to customers through a variety of devices and distribution partners as well as HBOMax.com. Our goal is to make HBO Max available on every platform possible to as many viewers globally as possible so they can enjoy beloved shows from HBO, the Warner Bros. movie and TV library and a diversity of hit programming exclusive to HBO Max. We look forward to reaching agreements with the few outstanding distribution partners left, including with Amazon and on par with how they provide customers access to Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu on Fire devices.”

— A WarnerMedia spokesperson

Amazon

Remote

One of the standout features of the Fire TV Stick is the Alexa-enabled remote control. Many users mentioned it specifically in their reviews as why they chose the Amazon device over other streaming options. Marc enjoyed the control’s simplicity and intuitive nature, as did Mike who approved of its minimalist design “with few buttons.” Rh24 felt that “having that one tiny remote serve 90% of my remote controlling needs is a game changer” and that the convenience made up for any drawbacks. MJay said they “even use voice for searches from time to time, which is something I’ve never done with any other remote.” Jim felt differently, with the one thing he wished “Amazon would improve on is the build quality of the remote.” 

Apps

Multiple users cited the available apps as a reason they chose the Fire TV Stick. Timmyp123 was pleased that the device ran “full Android and runs Kodi natively. Also with apps like YouTube and DailyMotion you don’t even need TV.” Manny liked that the stick “plays everything from Netflix, Prime, YouTube, fiber cable and my 3rd party software (eg. Kodi).” Waclark57 said their “main reason for choosing Fire Stick was, being a Prime subscriber it gives me access to Prime video … and supports the apps I use (Netflix, Hulu) and I can get HBO/Showtime as ‘channels’ on my Prime sub.”

Amazon

User Interface

One area readers felt Amazon could improve on was the Fire TV’s user interface. Mike called the landing screen messy, saying he saw “lots of ads promoting shows” but wished he “could make it land only on favorite apps.” Rh24 agreed, chiming in to say that they “can’t stand the Amazon slanted content and terrible horizontal app list access. Honestly, the UI is terrible.” Manny also said the main page was also on his list of nitpicks because “it’s kind of busy but is customizable.” 

Additionally, Mike was aggravated by the screen saver mode, as it “can only max out at 20 minutes” and also felt “Airplay/Chromecast isn’t very easy. These are all functions I think Amazon could fix easily or someone else will hack.” Kaapow had issues with the “horrible” navigation: “When you open Pandora, for example, and go back to the home page the music is still playing — which might be a default but… there should be a ‘close app’ option and it’s not there. It’s common sense for most apps to have that option. Instead I have to go back to the Pandora page, log out or completely close the Fire stick to escape Pandora.” 

However, others were less critical. Marc called the remote and OS intuitive, and pointed out that “there are numerous video tutorials on how to customize and enhance the Fire Stick experience. It’s simple for neophytes.” Manny said that he’s “set up many family and friends on this and it is the only one they don’t call me back to get help, even when it comes to installing third party software.” And MJay, who has also owned or used both Roku and Chromecast, said they prefer the Fire Stick for its ease of use. 

Amazon

Bugs

Kaapow wasn’t the only user to have issues operating and using the Fire Stick; Gldoorii “can’t get through one movie without it dropping connection several times. This is the only device in my home that constantly drops … and I’m not alone. Googling this issue shows it’s widespread.” Gldoorii wound up selling their Fire TV Sticks because of this problem. And Donna found that “every 10-14 days or so I have to empty the cache on a particular channel or it just won’t load up.” She also had problems installing a cable channel and kept getting an error message (despite being a subscriber), and often got no results when using Alexa to search a film or actor’s name. Dotnetgator was frustrated when using the Stick as an Alexa device control, saying that “using it to control home automation devices is inconsistent and features like ‘turn off lights in this room’ won’t work like they do with ‘proper’ Alexa devices.”

Price

The inexpensive price point featured heavily in the ‘pro’ column for the Fire TV Stick: At $50, its competition is the lower-end Roku devices and the Chromecast. Marc felt the Fire TV Stick offered the best value, while Manny said it couldn’t be beat for price/feature content, “especially when half price on Amazon days.” Kaapow was the only user who wasn’t pleased about the price point: “I bought my Fire Stick for $15 when it was on sale last year. Seemed like a great price! In short you get what you pay for.” 

Amazon

Comparison

When it came time to make a side-by-side comparison between the Fire TV Stick and its competitors, users largely came down on the side of the Amazon device. Jim said he likes his Fire Stick better than his Roku because “Fire TV has more apps than the Roku and, unlike Roku which rarely gets its apps updated, Fire TV updates periodically. We can also use VPN on Fire TV, which we can’t do on Roku.” Though Marc owns a Roku TV, he prefers his 4K Fire Stick instead, due to the Fire Stick’s ability to side-load apps. Nomad07 uses their Roku “way more than my Fire TV, Apple TV, Nvidia Shield TV or Google Chromecast.” Manny said that of the many different services he’s used over the years, including Android TV, Chromecastand Apple TV, the Fire TV stick is “by far the easiest.” Timmyp123 asserted “if you bought an Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, etc over this then you made the wrong choice, plain and simple.” 

Overall

Despite the stated snags and bugs, most users seemed satisfied with their purchase. Twenty users have reviewed or scored the Fire TV so far and it has an average rating of 75. Most had positive things to say about it, pointing to the price and simplicity of the device as its major advantages. Gldoorii gave a backhanded compliment, stating the Fire TV Stick was “an amazing product, when it works.” Waclark57 was more straightforward, saying they haven’t had any issues with it (though they don’t use the voice control feature). And Manny professed the stick to be an upgrade over the regular version, saying “nothing touches this even when compared at full price.”

Buy Fire TV Stick 4K at Amazon

In addition to the News app on Fire TV, #AtHome will curate the latest COVID-19 updates from ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, NBC News and more. NBC News will stream a kids edition of the “Nightly News with Lester Holt” twice a week. There will be plenty of other kids programming, too, both entertaining and educational. And if you’re looking for more workout inspiration, #AtHome will feature apps from Peloton, Yoga International, Gaia and others.

Amazon plans to add more content, including more educational content, and will expand #AtHome to the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, Canada and India.