• AWS CEO looks to debunk common 'myths' about data centers
• Amazon announces it will no longer make local governments sign NDAs when proposing data center projects
• The company has also laid out new codified community commitments

CEO of Amazon Web Services Matt Garman has released a statement in defense of AI data centers that labels the technology as “The race our nation can’t afford to lose”.

Within it, Garman calls on the United States to band together against “misinformation and outright lies” that are being spread about AI data centers to prevent the country from missing out on the huge benefits that will be provided to the economy, national security, and local communities.

“A lapse in our nation’s focus or resolve could put us behind, and potentially irreparably so,” Garman says.

Debunking the myths

There has been a significant amount of messaging about the positives and negatives of the AI data center buildout, with falsehoods and misinformation fueling both sides.

Garman’s statement starts with a section aimed at countering the ‘myths’ spread about AI data centers, such as water use, higher energy costs, and pollution - but keep in mind that Garman makes no distinction between AI data centers and regular data centers.

For example, Garman argues that data centers account for “0.5% of total U.S. direct industrial water use”, but draws on the figures of direct water use to argue this point.

The indirect water usage of data centers is far higher, and often isn’t included in water estimates for AI data centers. The indirect water usage includes upstream factors such as the water used to generate the huge amounts of electricity that data centers rely on. Data centers are also being built in regions that have experienced long-term droughts, exacerbating water shortages and their effects on local ecosystems.

Garman also labels the rise in US energy bills caused by data centers as “misleading and convenient scapegoating,” arguing that “the accelerated adoption of AI is precipitating a build-out that was destined to happen.” What Garman fails to mention is that the infrastructural build-out is being fueled by AI data centers.

Up until very recently, new grid connections for data centers haven’t been paid outright by the developers. Instead, grid operators have funded new connections and upgrades to power lines through increased bills on rate-payers. It is only the backlash from rate payers that has preceded the introduction of Trump’s voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge - and the much more binding (and bipartisan) Ratepayer Protection Act. Had there been no public backlash, these measures would not have been necessary.

The next myth Garman attempts to counter relates to the pollution caused by “large backup diesel generators”. Garman states that these are necessary as the services “consumers, businesses, and governments rely on every day” are provided by data centers. This is, in its exact wording, true.

But the pollution many of those in the US are arguing against is attributed to the fossil fuel burning gas turbine engines that many AI data centers use as an alternative to connecting to regional power grids - particularly if their connection requests are denied. The turbines at some campuses give off the same noise pollution as an international airport, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The sounds they produce have also been involved in causing neurological symptoms in local residents.

The demand for gas, pushed higher by AI data centers, could see the US use more natural gas than Germany and Japan combined by 2035, and the associated pollution could cause generational health decline and cost $25 billion in associated costs.

The final myth that Garman seeks to debunk is that ‘Community members get nothing from data centers’, arguing that data center operators are “often the single largest taxpayer in a community” and that this “reduces the taxes paid by families, but it also funds investments in schools, fire and police departments, parks, roads, and other community services.”

But data center operators are also the largest beneficiaries of tax cuts and credits too. Numerous states have begun repealing tax cuts for data centers after seeing billions lost in expected revenue - billions that otherwise could have been used for funding investment in community services.

Garman also points to the boom in construction jobs associated with the AI data center buildout, but doesn’t include that many of these jobs are temporary. Once the construction of a data center is complete, these jobs often disappear unless there is continuing demand within the local region, and operational data centers themselves require a very small number of employees.

Amazon’s new community commitments

In an effort to get local communities onboard with data centers, Garman’s statement also lays out a number of ‘codified’ community commitments that Amazon will adhere to.

These commitments fall under four pillars; Protecting & Enhancing Communities; Providing Jobs & Economic Benefit; Engaging Communities; and Building & Operating Responsibly.

The full list of commitments is available here, but there are a few key points to look at. Outside of vague commitments to covering the cost of grid connections and infrastructural upgrades, paying their fair share of taxes, and paying the workers they hire, Amazon will contribute "$1 billion over the next five years" to jobs and education, energy affordability and water solutions, and community investment.

Given that Amazon operates 236 data centers that are operational or under construction, this $1 billion figure amounts to around $4,237,000 per data center over the full five years, or about $847,000 per data center per year.

Amazon has also announced a commitment to “no longer use nondisclosure agreements with the government agencies we work with on our projects.”

This is by far the biggest announcement included in Garman’s statement, yet it takes up just a single line. Local communities have long called out for more transparency around AI data centers.

In numerous cases, NDAs have been used to prevent local governments from discussing planned data centers with their constituents. In numerous other cases, data centers have only been announced to local communities after the necessary permits are secured, preventing local residents from being involved in the consultation process and limiting their ability to oppose new projects.

The community commitments offered by big tech companies such as Amazon and Meta looking to build AI data centers are not out of the goodness of their hearts. They are a direct result of the community backlash against AI data centers that has occurred across the US.

Had this huge opposition not happened these benefits would not be offered, but they are being jazzed up by big tech companies as a benefit they are providing to communities rather than the efforts of grassroots movements and every day Americans fed up with being subject to rising bills, increased noise pollution, and an economic system that favors those with money and power.

Welcome to our regular ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) recap on TechRadar, which we run every week so you can catch up on all the most significant happenings in the world of tech over the last seven days.

We say this every week, but we're going to say it again: it's been a bumper week of news, views, and reviews. There have been new ereaders from Amazon and new tablets from Samsung, as well as a phone built specifically for kids — and that's just the start.

So settle down and make yourself comfortable and we'll take you through the stories that mattered, whether or not you caught them first time around. And we'll be back next week with what will no doubt be an equally packed ICYMI...

8. We let Meta’s Muse into our personal life

Meta has a new Muse AI agent app, which is intended to sit on your phone and provide useful, proactive assistance whenever you need it. From filling out forms online to making sure you don't forget what's on your grocery list, Muse wants to give you context-sensitive help any time of day or night. The only catch? It also wants you to hand over a lot of data.

As TechRadar's Editor at Large Lance Ulanoff discovered when he put Muse through some vigorous testing, the AI is most useful when it knows as much about you as possible — what's on your calendar, what's in your email inbox, and so on. That means there's a privacy trade-off to be made, and it's unlikely that everyone will be comfortable with it.

• Read more: I gave Muse access to my personal data, and now I know why personal agents are probably going to change the world

7. Peloton claimed its new treadmills beat smartwatches

To get the inside story on the new and improved treadmills from Peloton, our Fitness & Wearables Editor Matt Evans spoke to Peloton executives Nick Caldwell and Meg Higgins about what makes them worth our money — and in particular, the capabilities of the AI-powered camera tracking that can watch your form as you go through your workouts.

According to the execs, the treadmill cameras can do a better job at assessing how you're doing than wearables strapped to your wrist, and that might be enough to tempt serious athletes into picking up one of the new models. There's plenty more to talk about with these new treadmills too, including a new cushioning system and a redesigned interface.

• Read more: Could a treadmill make you a better runner than an Apple Watch? Peloton execs believe the Peloton Tread Vision's AI cameras offer 'much higher accuracy' than wearables

6. The Prime Big Deal Days kicked off early

Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days is approaching, and the TechRadar team is all over it. Even if you're feeling fatigued in the hunt for top tech discounts, we've got you covered — and while the sales haven't officially started yet, lots of offers are already live. Click through to find significant price drops for hardware from Samsung, Blink, Nintendo, Philips, Anker, and more.

You can save yourself hundreds of pounds in some cases, and we're coming across certain products that are lower than they've ever been on the retail site. Prime Day proper gets underway on October 6 (next Tuesday), so even if you do avail yourself of some of the deals included here, make sure you check back with TechRadar over the next few days.

• Read more: 26 best early deals ahead of Prime Big Deal Days at Amazon UK — shop record-low prices on Nintendo, Kindle, Samsung, Blink, and more

5. A fresh Amazon Fire TV Stick landed with a new remote

The first Amazon hardware refresh of the week came with a new Fire TV Stick 4K, promising faster performance compared to its previous 4K streaming dongles and bringing with it a redesigned remote control. There are also some AI updates for Alexa+ here, and all for $59.99 / £69.99 (about AU$86, with international pricing to be confirmed).

According to Amazon, the update remote is more tactile and easier to hold than before, with some tweaks to help you navigate its various buttons through touch alone, without looking at it (you can buy the new remote separately to work with an old Fire TV stick, if you want). Oh, and discounts are being promised to coincide with the Prime Big Deal Days next week.

• Read more: There's a new Amazon Fire TV Stick that's faster to use, and a redesigned remote — and it'll have a huge discount for Amazon's big Prime sale coming soon

4. We were blown away by Vivo’s 400mm phone lens

When it comes to phone brands, Vivo may not be as well known as the likes of Apple, Samsung, or Google, but it's done something rather special with its new G2 Ultra 4.7x teleconverter lens — a specialist add-on that it just unveiled alongside its flagship X500 series of phones, and which gives you a serious amount of zoom from your phone.

In the words of our Cameras Editor Tim Coleman, who's been testing out the new accessory, the teleconverter "is a real showcase of what smartphone cameras can be capable of". For the time being, the device is only available to buy in China, but you can check out some of the stunning shots that the G2 Ultra 4.7x is capable of capturing.

• Read more: I tested Vivo's 400mm teleconverter lens with the X500 Pro Max, and no other phone from Oppo, Honor, or Apple can rival it

3. The Freckle Phone made us rethink kids' phones

No one has quite worked out the best age for kids to get phones yet, or what those phones should be allowed to do when they are given to children. The latest device to try and find a solution is the Freckle phone, which has a lot of phone-like features (such as calling and photo-taking), without being weighed down by apps that are potentially unhealthy.

The design of the Freckle Phone is chunky and colorful, but it's really the software that makes it stand out. The developers of the device have eschewed a conventional operating system to offer a collection of curated apps that encourage kids to get outside and go on adventures — something we can probably all agree is going to be good for their growth.

• Read more: I'm fascinated by the 'Freckle Phone' — a kids' smartphone with no social networks and tools to help your child explore the outside world — so I asked its creator my burning questions

2. Samsung revealed its new iPad Pro rival

Samsung has launched two more tablets to take on the iPad, the Galaxy Tab S12 Plus and the Galaxy S12 Ultra. The huge 14.6-inch Ultra is the pick of the pair, bringing with it faster performance and a slimmer design compared to its predecessor, and these two new slates could be the best options you've got at the moment if you want a tablet running Android.

We've got all the details on the Galaxy Tab pair here, including key specs, starting prices, and our hands-on first impressions — plus there's also a new Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 3 to talk about. Samsung's latest Bluetooth tracker works with iPhones for the first time, and adds new features as well as range improvements when you're trying to hunt down something you've lost.

• Read more: The Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra is here to take on the iPad Pro M5 — and it's joined by a SmartTag 3 with iOS support

1. Amazon's new Kindles fixed our biggest gripes

Last but not least, we've got the second Amazon hardware unveiling of the week, which was a complete refresh for its Kindle line. The 13th-generation ereaders bring with them changes to the design, some new colors, and aluminum unibodies in some cases, and there are updated accessories too — including devices with physical page turn buttons.

It feels like another step forward for the Kindle family, even if it's not a huge one, and we're pleased to see the power button has been moved from the bottom to the side of the Kindles for the first time. It's a change that's long overdue and should lead to fewer accidental presses (especially when you've got these Amazon ereaders propped up).

• Read more: Amazon has moved the power button on all its new Kindles — and I feel vindicated

• Amazon has overhauled its entire Kindle ereader line
• They have new materials and a repositioned power button
• There are also new accessories, some of which will turn heads

Yes, Amazon has an all-new line of 13th-generation Kindle ereaders. Sure, they're marginally lighter and thinner than ever, with scant display upgrades, newly smooth, flush faces, and some with stamped aluminum unibodies that come in brilliant and quite trendy colors. But can we talk about buttons? Or, rather, one very specific one, the power/sleep button?

Every once in a while, a tech company makes me feel seen, or at least heard. I've been complaining for years about the placement of the Amazon Kindle e-reader's power/sleep button. It sits on the bottom edge, where it's too easy to trip when, say, I prop the Kindle Paperwhite up on a hard surface, or even on my lap or chest while reading.

When I asked Amazon's Kindle hardware lead Kevin Keith about the issue in 2024, he told me there was a need to put the button as close to the ereader's light guide as possible. I accepted that explanation, and grumpily moved on.

Turns out, though, that's not the full story. As I held the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2026 edition in my hands, and marveled at the newly repositioned power button (it's on the right side!) Amazon VP of Design Chris Green told me the reason for the original placement was to keep costs down.

"The reason why it was at the bottom originally was because it's the lowest-cost location. The main logic board was down at the bottom with the USB....We were trying our hardest to have the lowest carbon footprint, the lowest cost price, to push it all to the benefit of the customer," said Green, who told me he joined Amazon 19 years ago on the day the original Kindle launched. Since then, Green has designed every Amazon hardware product, including these new Kindles.

After I wrote the piece linked above, airing my frustration about the original button placement, readers dragged me for making a mountain out of a molehill. I ended up thinking I was alone in my take. Turns out, Green has been fielding similar complaints for quite some time.

"The amount of people that complained about it with [using it] on treadmills, while sitting, and putting it on the tummy, and all those kinds of things...the worst case is a treadmill, because if you don't tap it, you stab it. And so people were stabbing this display, and the button was moving," said Green.

Amazon's attempts to address the issue without moving the button, by recessing it, shifting it slightly, failed. "The long and short of it is, it's got to go on the side," said Green.

Now every new Kindle in the refreshed lineup has a power/sleep button, on the right side, relatively close to the top edge of the device.

Those new ereaders are:

• Kindle e-reader 6-inch entry-level
• Kindle e-reader 6-inch Aluminum
• Kindle Paperwhite 7-inch
• Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition 7-inch
• Kindle Kids
• Kindle Colorsoft
• Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition

Across the line, Amazon introduces new colors (Graphite, Alpine Sky, Seaglass Green, Ube), thinner, lighter designs, and new materials. With the exception of the base model Kindle (140g, which is 13% lighter and 6.8mm thick), the lighter and thinner frames can usually be measured by a millimeter here and a gram or two there.

The Paperwhite Signature Edition and Colorsoft, notably, get accelerometers which will recognize if you've turned the reader upside down and will automatically rotate the text. The reader will also support reading in landscape mode, which might be kind of cool for graphic novels.

On the face of its most affordable Kindle, the 6-inch model, Amazon took away the raised bezel for a perfectly flat and smooth all-glass face, which matches the look of all the other Kindles in the new lineup. But Amazon has gone a step further by introducing matching colors to the bezels of the entire Kindle line. So a Ube (purple) Kindle's color will wrap from the back all the way to the front and quite close to the E Ink display.

There was, it turns out, a reason these bezels surrounding the E Ink screen have traditionally been black. That light-absorbing color ensures that the front lights don't bounce off a colored cover and obstruct or weirdly bedazzle your e-reader display.

The solution for this, Keith explained, was first used on Kindle Scribe devices.

"We invented a new edge color technology that does a black mask on the back and, in this case, Ube on the front, and so you're able to get the absorption of the light, but you're also able to get this beautiful color."

Some of the new e-readers (both entry-level and Paperwhite) feature a chassis material not seen on a Kindle since the discontinued Kindle Oasis: aluminum.

It's a rigid but strong and lightweight stamped aluminum unibody with a 6mm back and 1mm sides; however, it's how Amazon is making it that's interesting.

Where most tech companies are choosing to mill out their aluminum chassis with CNC machines, Green told me Amazon went with stamping. The benefit is that while CNC milling can take 30 minutes, the stamping process takes seconds.

"It's a three-stage process: when we start with a flat sheet, and you stamp it, and then you take this piece, and then you put it into a forge, and you press it... Then you do a light CNC to clean it up. Now what this means is you're literally wasting 60% less material, and you're also wasting 60% less energy," explained Green.

Amazon hasn't really upgraded the software or E Ink displays in any noticeable way, but when I asked Green about the E Ink partnership and how their close association impacts any design and development decisions, he said, "They are obviously a very important partner to us. We have looked at other types of technology. For these types of displays, they're just the best, and we have to work with them."

Green paused for a second and smiled almost wistfully, "Do I wish there were other people out there? Well, let's just say they're the only ones out there."

Amazon, by the way, has gone a little wild with physical buttons in this round of Kindles, or rather with this round of Kindle accessories.

For the new aluminum-backed (and magnetically ready) Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition and Colorsoft models, both of which feature a series of connector pins on the back, there's now a cover that adds physical page-turn buttons: the Page-Turn Cover ($79.99).

That's right, Amazon is going full-on retro with a perhaps unintentional nod to the original Kindles, which featured a lot of physical buttons.

The Page-Turn Cover snaps onto the back of the Kindle, nestling a bar featuring forward and back page-turn buttons tightly against the right edge of the reader. The case also features a copy of the right-side power button on the outer edge of the case bar.

I gave the case a little test drive, rapidly pressing the forward and back buttons as I watched the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition quickly refresh and turn pages (it's reportedly 30% faster).

Amazon, though, isn't done with buttons. There is yet another accessory, and it takes page turning off the Kindle and puts it in the palm of your hand. It's called the Kindle Click ($34.99) and is, as the name implies, like a remote control for your Kindle.

Looking like a pale, undersized TV remote, it features two large, thumb-pressable buttons on the face for forward and back page turns. There are also two thinner and smaller buttons on the side for brightness control.

While I struggled to understand why anyone would need a remote for a device that's often just 10 inches from their face, Keith explained the thinking behind this unusual accessory.

With BookTok inspiring more and more young readers who are creating elaborate setups for reading (sometimes under the covers with special stands for the e-readers), Keith sees a need for gesture-free page turning and brightness control.

"My use case is I work out on an Elliptical, and I used to have to swipe, and now you can just turn the pages," he said, adding that it could be a game changer if you're flying on an airplane and just want to prop up the Kindle and sit back and casually turn pages by pressing the remote. If I start using it while reading on my Kindle, I'm sure to fall asleep reading that much faster; after all, raising my hand to swipe pages is usually all that's keeping me awake.

The 6-inch Kindles, in Ube and Graphite, arrive today (October 1) and are still $149 / £149.99 / AU$279 for the 16GB model. "We really were trying to bring innovation to the lineup and be able to absorb as much of the memory costs as we could to be able to keep our prices affordable," said Keith. The new aluminum chassis Kindle, in Alpine Sky and Seaglass Green, starts with 32GB of storage for $189.99 / £169.99 / AU$299.

The updated 7-inch Kindle Paperwhite (starting at $199.99 / £199.99 / AU$369), Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition ($249.99 / £229.99 / AU$399), and the 32GB Kindle Colorsoft, which starts at $289.99 / £259.99 / AU$449 ($319.99 / £289.99 / AU$499for the 32GB aluminum Signature Edition), arrive October 28.

• New Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K unveiled for $59.99 / £69.99 (about AU$86)
• Main upgrade is speed, promises that you'll start watching up to 40% faster than rival 4K streaming sticks
• New-design Fire TV Remote is included, with a Plus version to follow in 2027 with built-in 'Find My Remote' function

Amazon has unveiled a new version of the Fire TV Stick 4K that it says is blazingly fast — and it's made a video to prove it. The video, embedded below, compares the new Fire TV Stick 4K with the average performance of "3 top brand" smart TVs, and "a similarly priced 4K stick from another leading brand".

According to Amazon, the new Fire TV Stick 4K gets you watching 20% to 40% more quickly than rival 4K streaming sticks, with apps launching 35% more quickly. It's also faster than the smart TVs Amazon tested. Amazon's video is embedded below so you can see for yourself.

We're always wary of manufacturers' own speed claims, because of course they're not independent tests and the manufacturer isn't going to test its products against anything that'll leave their device in the dust. The video is really just an animation that illustrates Amazon's test data, rather than showing the difference on real devices. But a faster version of the Fire TV Stick 4K is still a welcome addition to the Fire TV family.

There are changes to Alexa+ too. It's getting a dedicated hub on Fire TV with more intelligent movie and show recommendations, and the Fire TV app now uses Alexa+ to manage watchlists and discover shows on your phone. Updates to existing Alexa+ devices will begin rolling out in the US in November 2026 and to the rest of the world in 2027.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (2026): key features

The new Fire TV Stick 4K, like the Fire Stick HD that launched earlier this year, is slimmer than before, making it more convenient to put behind your TV or pack for traveling. It runs Amazon's own Vega operating system, meaning that you can't sideload apps on it, and Alexa+ is on board.

Amazon is streamlining its lineup of TV sticks to focus on three distinct tiers: HD, 4K and 4K Max. The most expensive option, the 4K Max, gets the premium features such as Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and Alexa+ Home Theater.

The launch also delivers a new Fire TV remote, which Amazon says has been made more tactile and easy to hold. Its flat top and curved, weighted bottom are intended to help you get it the right way round first time, and the Home button gets its own special metal surface so you can find it by feel. The other buttons are shaped or indented for the same reason.

The new remote also gets the customizable star button that was previously reserved for the most expensive models. That can be assigned to a specific app or to a feature such as the Screen Magnifier.

The new remote is compatible with all Fire TV players since 2019 and all Amazon Ember TVs too. A new Fire TV Remote Plus is coming too, to replace the Alexa Voice Remote Pro, but that won't be out until early 2027. It's most useful feature will be a 'Find My Remote' feature, so you can just ask Alexa to locate the remote, and the remote will start making a sound so you can find which cushion it's behind.

The new Fire TV Stick 4K is available now for $59.99 / £69.99 (about AU$86), but Amazon has confirmed that the price will fall to $39.99 / £32.99 / AU$tbc during the Amazon Prime Big Deal Days sale, starting October 6th. Here's the link to the new 4K Stick, if you want to bookmark it for then. We assume it'll be discounted in other regions too, but we haven't had that confirmed.

That price includes the remote, but if you're happy with your current Fire TV and just want the nicer remote control, that'll be $14.99 / £13.99 / AU$tbc on its own. The new remote will ship in late October 2026.

• Amazon pledges $20 million to a new Colorado River Basin Collaborative targeting $100 million in two years, with $32 million in commitments so far
• Amazon only reported one figure: 2.5 billion gallons of global data center withdrawals, but no basin, warehouse, historical, or power-generation water figures were made public
• AWS interestingly gives paying customers region-level water data, though it says its basin sites are air-cooled, shifting the onus of water use to power plants it does not currently account for

Amazon has committed $20 million to water conservation in the Colorado River Basin, seeding a new corporate effort it calls the Colorado River Basin Collaborative.

The goal is to raise $100 million within two years for leak repairs, canal lining, and precision irrigation along a river that serves roughly 40 million people and is about to absorb steep new federal delivery cuts.

Amazon's chief sustainability officer Kara Hurst tied it to the company's Climate Pledge, arguing that "water and climate are deeply connected."

No published figures when it comes to Amazon's own use of the same water

When asked about its water use, Amazon's response, interestingly, offered no new information beyond what was already in the public domain from earlier disclosures.

This means the ecommerce and data center giant is unwilling to specify how much water it draws from the same basin where it now funds conservation projects.

Amazon has named two projects so far, both in the Lower Basin. It will spend $2.2 million over three years with the Municipal Water District of Orange County on leak detection and repair, which it expects to save more than 189 million gallons a year once fully in place.

Another $2.4 million goes to agtech company Arable for soil-moisture sensors on tribal farmland that draws from Lake Mead, projected to save about 238 million gallons a year.

Interestingly, Amazon told Arizona Public Media it cannot yet name the tribal recipient because water rights negotiations are ongoing, and the Arable sensors themselves run on AWS.

Together, these two projects total $4.6 million, about 23% of Amazon's pledge, which means there may be more to come, even though none of it has been earmarked for any publicly named project yet.

The river's own arithmetic is far larger than what Amazon is looking to resolve: its announcement states that the basin's supply-demand gap is about 1 trillion gallons a year, making its current contributions a relatively small play at best.

Amazon does provide one figure to account for its use: in June 2026, it disclosed for the first time that its data centers withdrew about 2.5 billion gallons worldwide in 2025, and said withdrawals at the sites it owns and operates fell 2% from 2024.

It claims a water usage effectiveness of 0.12 liters per kilowatt-hour, more than seven times better than its calculated industry average, and says a third party assured its 2025 withdrawal and replenishment data.

Bloomberg reported Amazon's figure counts both evaporated water and water discharged to wastewater, a more conservative method than some rivals use. AWS' VP Kerry Person then told Bloomberg that, to read the press, "the data center industry is apparently consuming all of the water in the world," reflecting its frustration with how it is being portrayed in a post-AI world even as scrutiny grows globally.

With Amazon insisting that it has no water-cooled data centers in the Colorado basin, one also has to account for the fact that it does not disclose the water used by power plants and energy generation projects that support its increasingly power-hungry data center ambitions.

Amazon says it is 75% of the way to being water positive, returning three gallons for every four its data center operations used in 2025. The simplest way to substantiate that in the Colorado River Basin would be to publish what its data centers and warehouses withdraw there. Until it does, the $20 million is a welcome, abeit inadequate contribution to a river in crisis, and an incomplete answer to the question the announcement invites.

Thinking of buying a Kindle in the upcoming Prime Day? It's a good plan — Amazon reliably offers hefty discounts on its own devices during these sales events. The official Prime Day will take place on Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 October, but if you're in the UK you don't need to wait until then.

This particular event coincides with Amazon updating almost its entire Kindle lineup. We now have new basic Kindle (in regular and aluminum versions), a new Paperwhite (in regular and Signature editions), a new Colorsoft (regular and Signature) and a new Kindle Kids. Only the Scribe options remain the same. All this throws a slight spanner in my deal-predicting works.

In the UK, Amazon discounted almost its entire range (as it existed then), around a week before Prime Day — those deals/models are still live and available to shop, and you'll find them included below. However, when the new versions were added, they all appeared at full price.

In the US, we were still waiting for the Prime Day Kindle deals to appear when Amazon dropped all its 2026 models. Now the new range is live, and there are still no discounts to speak of.

I'm not sure that Amazon will discount its new 2026 models, or by how much, but I'll be keeping a close eye on proceedings and will update this page with any deals I do spot. Want more info? Further down the page I'll run through some buying tips to help you choose the right model for you, plus a guide to what counts as a good discount for a Kindle.

UK: Kindle models

Note: some models are currently on pre-order, for delivery 11 November. At time of writing, there are no aluminum Kindle and no 2026 Signature versions available in the UK.

US: Kindle models

Are the deals any good?

In the UK, the discounts on the previous range are strong deals — around the level I'd expect for Prime Day. I'm not expecting the discounts to increase over Prime Day itself, although it's not impossible. Of course, it might be that you'd prefer a latest-gen model, in which case I'd hang on for Prime Day proper to see if any deals do appear on the 2026 lineup.

Note, too, that there has been a bit of sneakiness on Amazon's part regarding the 2024 Kindle. A number of these models have had their list price inflated, thus making the discount look more significant. Some of the older US models have had a price rise, too.

For reference, here was the pricing (and discounts) on the full 2024 Kindle range during the most recent Amazon Prime Day, in June 2026.

In the UK:

• Kindle: £79.99 (was £94.99) — 16% off
• Kindle Paperwhite (no ads): £134.99 (was £169.99) — 21% off
• Kindle Paperwhite (with ads): £119.99 (was £159.99) — 25% off
• Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition: £114.99 (was £189.99) — 24% off
• Kindle Colorsoft: £154.99 (was £239.99) — 35% off
• Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition: £174.99 (was £269.99) — 35% off
• Kindle Scribe: £379.99 — no discount
• Kindle Scribe Colorsoft: £504.99 (was £629.99) — 20% off

In the US:

• Kindle: $84.99 (was $109.99) — 23% off
• Kindle Paperwhite: $124.99 (was $159.99) — 22% off
• Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition: $144.99 (was $199.99) — 28% off
• Kindle Colorsoft (no ads): $159.99 (was $249.99) — 36% off
• Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition: $219.99 (was $279.99) — 21% off
• Kindle Scribe: $379.99 (was $499.99) — 24% off
• Kindle Scribe Colorsoft: $519.99 (was $679.99) — 24% off

How to choose the right Kindle for you

Amazon Kindles are some of the best e-readers around, and there aren't really any bad options here. When choosing a model, I'd start by deciding between black-and-white (Paperwhite) and color (Colorsoft). If you're a fan of graphic novels, Color is a no-brainer, and it's also useful if you're studying and want to be able to color-code your highlights. However, if you're predominantly just reading text-heavy novels, a black-and-white Kindle might be perfectly fine.

After you've decided that, you'll want to figure out if you also want to be able to use your Kindle for note-taking. All the 'Scribe' options work with a stylus, so you can write as well as read. They have bigger screens than the reading-only options. You'll find more advice in my article exploring how to choose the right Kindle.

Below you can see how the specs compare for each model. All of these key specs remain the same for the 2024 and 2026 Kindle models — the 2026 versions are generally a little lighter and thinner, with smooth, flush displays and a repositioned power button.

• Amazon is re-hiring former workers back into AI and cloud roles
• The company is investigating the impacts of its office-working mandates
• Despite 30,000 layoffs in the past year, Amazon continues to hire for certain roles

Amazon is reportedly trying to re-hire old workers, including many who were affected by previous rounds of layoffs.

Recruiter emails cited by Business Insider reveal that rather than filling roles that have emerged following layoffs, the company is actually targeting specific ex-workers it seems, with the company's cloud computing business predominantly seeing these hiring efforts.

AWS, cloud computing, AI, ML and agentic AI are apparently the focus of these efforts, with one recruiter reportedly referring to the scheme as 'Swami's Boomerang Reengagement Initiative' – Swami Sivasubramanian is a VP for AWS Agentic AI.

Amazon is re-hiring ex-workers back into the company

The company is also said to be making it easier for former employees to return, offering shortened interview processes that may skip over some of the screening steps that aren't all that necessary.

Besides trying to attract former talent, Business Insider also reports that Amazon is digging deeper into why they left, and the potential impacts of its return-to-office (RTO) mandates. Specifically, the tech giant wants to know whether the RTO changes were behind some ex-workers' departures.

While company spokesperson Haley Silva told the publication that Amazon isn't specifically targeting people who left because of the RTO and that its in-office expectations haven't changed, it's an interesting perspective from a company that went pretty much all-in on the RTO years ago in a bid to drive more in-person collaboration and to boost productivity.

All of this comes in the wake of major ongoing layoffs – the company fired around 30,000 workers just in the past year. But it's apparently all part of a broader shift in focus, because instead of cutting headcount as aggressively as that 30k figure suggests, Amazon's more likely looking to lose workers in certain areas of the business and gain workers in more important areas.

• AWS deal with Nvidia adds 2 million Blackwell Ultra, Rubin, and Rubin Ultra GPUs, on top of more than 1 million committed in March 2026
• Totals more than 3 million Nvidia GPUs due before 2029, a ~1.9x multiple for each of Amazon's roughly 1.58 million employees
• Nvidia's CFO has said deliveries start this quarter, not in 2027, but neither company says what it counts as a GPU or what the deal costs

Amazon ended 2025 with about 1.58 million full- and part-time employees, most in fulfillment centers and delivery operations, with a much smaller share working in its AWS data center division (estimated at around 246,000).

By mid-2028, Amazon Web Services expects to have taken delivery of roughly twice that many new Nvidia GPUs, based on a recent deal it made with Nvidia.

The latest deal was announced on August 26, the same afternoon Nvidia reported quarterly earnings, and will see AWS plan to deploy two million additional Blackwell Ultra, Rubin, and Rubin Ultra GPUs across its global infrastructure in 2027 and 2028. This is on top of over a million Nvidia GPUs that AWS committed to at Nvidia GTC 2026 in March, and which Nvidia's Ian Buck told Reuters would ship from 2026 through 2027.

A mammoth deal that dwarf's Amazon's entire payroll

Together, this all amounts to over three million GPUs in play between the data center giant and the chip designer, which is also the world's most valuable company at the time of writing. At 3 million GPUs against a workforce of 1.58 million, that's nearly 1.9 Nvidia GPUs per employee.

This is only Amazon's commitment to Nvidia; it also has its own custom Tranium3 GPUs, which the company says are "nearly fully subscribed" or "almost fully booked" as of mid-2026.

At the same time, Amazon is not increasing job roles on its end; it cut around 30,000 corporate roles between October 2025 and January 2026, a restructuring its top HR executive, Beth Galetti, described as "reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy."

Building on an already solid base

While AWS's current GPU base from Nvidia, consisting mainly of H100 and H200 GPUs, is smaller than Microsoft's 485,000 count, it is hardly a rounding error, with Omdia estimating that Amazon bought 196,000 Hopper GPUs in 2024 alone.

The interesting part is determining what counts as a GPU: Nvidia and Amazon's joint statement about 2 million GPUs across calendar years 2027 and 2028 might mean two very different things depending on how you count GPUs.

At GTC 2025, Nvidia said it would count Rubin-generation GPUs by compute die rather than by package, which is why the Vera Rubin rack was first unveiled as NVL144. It reversed course before CES 2026, and the flagship now ships as Vera Rubin NVL72, counting 72 two-die packages. To make matters a bit more complicated, Rubin Ultra, due in 2027, puts four compute dies in each package.

Whether the companies count each die as a separate GPU or the whole package as a GPU could make the numbers skew heavily in either direction. The deal also includes a national security element: approximately 100,000 GPUs are earmarked for US government AI workloads at Impact Level 6.

Amazon's limitation here is supply, not demand; AWS revenue rose 37% year over year to $42.2 billion in the second quarter, and its contracted backlog reached $496 billion, up from $364 billion three months earlier, as CloudTech News reported.

On Amazon's July earnings call, CEO Andy Jassy said capacity would fall short of demand this year and likely next, adding: "In fact, the demand we already have for 2028 is striking."

In addition to its own custom ASICs, including Tranium3, Amazon is gearing up for a few fiscal years of eye-watering AI infrastructure spend and AI demand combined, and it better be right: Amazon's free cash flow has already turned negative as it looks to fund its bid to be one of, if not the largest hyperscaler in play for the foreseeable future.

Via StorageNewsletter

• Malware botnets route traffic through the internet connection on many smart TVs
• Roku, Fire TV, Tizen and webOS all affected
• Some manufacturers are removing affected apps

LG, Samsung, Roku and Fire TV televisions and devices may have apps downloaded to them that mean they can be used as part of a malicious "botnet" — and millions of TVs could be affected, though LG and Samsung have committed to removing the relevant apps,

FlatpanelsHD rounded up pieces of this puzzle, stretching back several months. Back in April, it emerged that many apps and games included a feature called "residential proxy" that could be abused by bad actors.

The tech means the TVs were being used to bypass IP range blocks that affected AI data centers: because each individual TV has its own unique address, such blocks could easily be evaded by seeming to be 'real' traffic. And because the proxy feature doesn't require the app to be open, TV owners would be none the wiser that their device is being used this way — and that's partly because in many cases, you wouldn't assume that was the real purpose of the app.

One example of a residential proxy system, IPIDEA, had enlisted millions of smart TVs in a network that could crawl the web for AI training or even carry out coordinated attacks by groups in China, North Korea, Iran and Russia.

According to security researcher Harrison Sand at Mnemonic, one of the apps in question was a Pac-Man game, likely to be downloaded by kids, that Samsung featured as an Editor's Choice.

And according to security firm Spur, 26.5% of apps for Samsung Tizen smart TVs and over 42.5% of LG webOS apps could be used in this kind of way. That's a truly shocking statistic.

What is a residential proxy, and how can it be used maliciously?

A residential proxy or "reproxy" transmits data through your device, in this case your TV, to make it look as if your TV is the sender of that data.

The feature isn't necessarily malicious — it can be used for testing and advertising purposes — but as security expert Spur explains, it also "provides attackers with a scalable way to hide automation, bypass geo-controls, and evade reputation-based defenses."

Spur's website goes into more detail of how they operate and how they differ from services such as the best VPNs.

It seems likely that at least some of the potentially dodgy apps weren't made maliciously; developers who use certain software development kits that have residential proxy features may not know those features are there.

LG and Samsung have vowed to ban any smart TV apps that contain residential proxies, a process LG completed on 15 September after two months of app removal. IPIDEA is already banned by Amazon, Roku and Google TV, and they have also restricted the new Bright Data network.

Samsung has restricted new app registrations for apps, and is "working to identify and remove all apps… that contain these components."

What worries me isn't so much that the malware exists — the more our TVs become like PCs, the more PC-like attacks will target them — but that it's made its way into so many TVs and is presumably still there on many of them, despite being publicized back in April.

It just adds to my distrust of smart TVs more widely: with features such as Automatic Content Recognition and ad injection (and here in the UK, prominent placing of TV channels I don't want anywhere near my TV on the home screen), plus too-frequent updates to terms and conditions that I just know mean more tracking, it seems to me that smart TVs are becoming both privacy and security risks.

Which is why I treat my smart TV like it isn't smart at all: it's merely a monitor for my Apple TV 4K.

Missed out on the deals from Amazon Prime Day in July? Good news: the online retail giant has revealed the dates for its Prime Big Deal Days sales event in Australia, and it’s earlier than we expected.

Like Prime Day, this event will run for 7 days from 12:01am on September 29 to 11:59pm on October 5, 2026, just in time for the Labour Day (or King’s Birthday) long weekend if you’re in New South Wales, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. It’s also much longer than the Prime Big Deal Days event in the US, which is only for 48 hours from October 6 to 7.

Amazon Australia is also holding the event a week earlier than it did last year, when it ran from October 7 to 13, 2025. We think this move is meant to provide a bit more breathing room before the Black Friday 2026 sales in late November, and also to adjust for the earlier Prime Day in July.

As the Prime Big Deal Days sale is meant to be a teaser for Black Friday, the event doesn’t usually have discounts as deep as what we typically see during Prime Day in July or Black Friday itself but, with the dates shifting a week earlier, there’s still a chance that we could see record-low prices on popular and premium tech.

We’ll be keeping an eye on prices of the best headphones, best tablets, best cameras and more, and we’ll cover the sale live when it starts in just over a week’s time. So expect to see discounts on brands like Apple, Samsung, Dyson, Breville and more, as well as with Amazon’s own range of products like Kindle ereaders, Echo smart speakers and Ring video doorbells.

Like Prime Day, we expect the best prices to be exclusive to Amazon Prime members, though a few offers will be widely available, too. If you’re interested but not yet a Prime member, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial. Starting a subscription now will make you eligible to shop the upcoming deals, and you can cancel it immediately after if you aren’t keen to keep paying.

Otherwise, staying on as a Prime member after your free trial will cost AU$9.99 per month, or AU$79 for an annual membership. Other benefits you can get with a Prime membership are the Prime Video streaming service, Amazon Music and Amazon Luna gaming, plus a two-year free subscription to DoorDash — find out more in our in-depth guide to what is Amazon Prime in Australia.

It’s also never been a better time to be a Prime member as Amazon Australia has expanded its same-day delivery service in Sydney and Melbourne with more items eligible for overnight delivery. Adelaide, the Central Coast, Newcastle, Geelong, Canberra and more cities now also have same-day delivery.

Get ready for Prime Big Deal Days

While Prime Big Deal Days may not be as big as July Prime Day or Black Friday, we still expect the number of deals to go into the thousands, and browsing through the Amazon Australia site could still get overwhelming. But fret not, as TechRadar will help you find the best tech deals in real-time and have them all listed in our dedicated live Prime Big Day Deal Days hub. Check in as often as you can to ensure you won’t miss out on some of the best discounts, as we expect some will go live in a flash and sell out very quickly.

In the meantime, here are 5 of our top early deals to shop right now.

• Fire TV owners spotted an issue that prevented sideloading on compatible Fire TV models
• This convinced users to believe that Amazon was clamping down on sideloading on older devices
• Turns out it was just a bug, and Amazon is rolling out a fix soon

There's a dedicated community of Amazon Fire TV Stick owners who like to sideload apps on their devices. However, a recent issue seemed to block the feature, leading to users worry that the tech giant was removing sideloading for older devices to match the lack of sideloading capability on the latest Fire TV Stick HD.

Turns out, it was just a bug. It's been plaguing Fire TV owners for the past month, and was first spotted by users when Amazon rolled out an update that effectively stopped Downloader, a popular sideloading service developed by AFTV News, from working.

Soon after, similar services started vanishing from the ‘Install unknown apps’ list in Fire TV settings, mainly ones that can install apps from sources that aren’t the official Fire TV app store.

While the bug didn’t invade every Fire TV device, it was enough to make users suspicious that Amazon was cracking down on the feature. Without Downloader and similar apps, you can’t grant permission for them to install other apps.

Thankfully, Amazon has confirmed that a fix is on the way, sharing the following with AFTV News:

"There was a bug in a recent Fire TV Settings update that caused the 'Install unknown apps' list to appear incomplete or empty on some Fire TV devices. We have identified the cause and a fix will roll out in an upcoming Fire TV Settings update, installed automatically on affected devices over the coming week."

According to AFTV News, the update will be installed to your Fire TV device automatically and will likely arrive as a component update. You can also check for it by going to Settings > My Fire TV > About > Check for updates.

Of course, this all still only applies to the older devices — anything powered by Amazon’s own Vega OS, which is taking over from the Android-based Fire TV OS in newer models, will likely never have sideloading abilities.

• A GAO report requested by Bernie Sanders lists Amazon among the top employers of Medicaid and SNAP recipients in every state that supplied employer data
• Amazon's capital expenditure guidance for 2026 has risen from $200 billion to $220 billion citing AI demand as a primary driver
• Amazon contests the findings, stating the rankings used do not account for the employer's workforce numbers

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published a report claiming Amazon is among the largest employers of Americans who rely on food stamps and Medicaid.

The report, requested by US Senator Bernie Sanders, who is the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, was released publicly on July 22 2026, a month after it was sent to the senator.

The study is not the first of its kind: the GAO published the same in October 2020 at the request of the same committee, though Amazon was far less dominant on the list at a cursory glance.

A report that paints a worrying trend, but fails to provide a complete picture

GAO collected employment records from 15 agencies across 11 states, all of them the same agencies that supplied the 2020 data, and asked for a snapshot of September 2025.

The office then estimated the 25 employers in each state with the most enrollees. The resulting document showed Amazon near the top of every list: It ranked second in five states for Medicaid enrollees, and second or third for SNAP recipients in six different states. Adding the state figures links the e-commerce giant's employee list to 11,338 Medicaid enrollees and 12,346 SNAP recipients.

The report does not, however, directly or indirectly address AI, data centers, or Amazon's Capex ambitions, or point to a particular trend as a snapshot of a single month of data, and it fails to draw a direct comparison with its 2020-based iteration.

It has drawn a sharp rebuke from Amazon, which saw its spokesperson, Rachael Lighty, tell The Washington Post that the company dealt in raw numbers rather than percentages, which was misleading, and CNN that eligibility "is based on total household income and family size, not individual wages or benefits," so an employer offering part-time work will naturally show more eligible staff.

This is something the GAO tends to accept, even in its own footnotes: a larger employer simply has more employees in play and is therefore more likely to be on that list, which is skewed against part-time individuals who are more likely recipients of those food assistance programs.

It does make for an interesting approach to the entire model, which Senator Sanders has pointed out shows "triple" the number on SNAP and Medicaid simply because Amazon's employment statistics have swung so wildly of late.

The e-commerce giant's global workforce went from about 798,000 at the end of 2019 to a peak of 1.61 million in 2021, and stood at 1,576,000 at the end of 2025, effectively doubling from when the report was originally published in 2020, potentially skewing results against itself due to a larger employee base.

The findings and the defense presented by Amazon, however, have not gone down well with certain quarters; Senator Sanders has called the trends "beyond unacceptable", stating that "American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize the starvation wages of large corporations".

Much of Amazon's recent focus, including a significant increase in Capex spending, has been towards AI and AI-related infrastructure under its AWS arm. Amazon guided to about $200 billion of 2026 capital expenditure on its Q4 2025 call in February, up from $131.8 billion in 2025. On July 30, Andy Jassy raised that to $220 billion, blaming higher memory prices, and said Amazon would still not have enough capacity for the demand it is seeing.

AI data centers are increasingly a point of contention among AI juggernauts, hyperscalers, and less-eager locals bearing the brunt of higher water and power costs, even as availability becomes equally challenging.

For a company spending $220 billion on AI infrastructure this year and rolling out an $1 billion commitment in late 2025 to raise base pay for its US fulfillment and transportation workers, being at the top of multiple lists of states with workers being eligible for (and using) Medicaid and food assistance programs might not be great timing when there is increasing scrutiny of trillion-dollar corporations and their massive profit margins by consumers and jobseekers alike.

• Qualcomm to help build custom silicon and optical networking for AWS data centers
• Amazon will acquire 25 million Qualcomm shares, worth over $4 billion
• AWS data centers are more efficient than the industry average, but behind Google's

Qualcomm and Amazon have announced what they have describing as a "multi-generational product collaboration," in which Qualcomm will help build future AI data center infrastructure for AWS.

Because this isn't a one-off project, instead of announcing a single component, the companies are likely to work together across multiple generations of infrastructure spanning both custom inference silicon and high-speed optical connectivity.

Together, the two companies are expected to combine their expertise in AI infrastructure and data centers to improve performance, power efficiency and cost efficiency for a future where data centers exist in even higher volumes.

AWS and Qualcomm to work together on future data centers

The project spans two key areas – custom AI silicon and networking hardware. On the silicon front, Qualcomm will help produce custom AWS silicon with a major focus on inference, giving the chipmaker a potentially big entry into the data center semiconductor market – one that Nvidia has seen major success in.

As for networking, Qualcomm will be behind high-performance optical connectivity for AWS data centers, covering connections of up to 1.6T initially but plans to scale.

With data centers under intense pressure from all angles to boost efficiency and reduce resources consumption, operators are being forced to make progress in all areas, and reducing losses between components with efficient networking is often overlooked compared with outright chip efficiency.

"As AI demand accelerates, data center infrastructure will require advances in both computing and connectivity to deliver greater performance with more efficiency,” Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon summarized.

In Amazon's 2025 sustainability report, it declared a global average PUE of 1.14, which was nearly 9% better than the public cloud industry average of 1.25. Still, Google says it managed a fleet-wide average of 1.09, so Amazon's work with Qualcomm could be key to it overtaking Google.

"By working together on customized silicon and advanced connectivity, we’re delivering more performant, efficient, and cost-effective infrastructure for our customers," AWS VP Prasad Kalyanaraman added.

As part of the deal, Qualcomm has issued warrants for Amazon to acquire around $4.03 billion in stock, per a SEC filing – the equivalent of 25 million shares priced at $161.26. Qualcomm is currently trading at $174.09, up nearly 5% in five days.

• Google has fixed a setup issue with the first-gen Chromecast device
• Owners have been complaining for months about their devices going missing from the Google Home app
• The update also fixes functionality issues

Have you been running into setup issues with your older Chromecast and Google Home devices? You’ll be happy to hear you’re not alone on this one — and even happier to know that Google has finally rolled out a fix.

These issues first arose when Google announced it would be ending support for its oldest Chromecast dongles back in May. From there, owners started reporting problems with setting up their devices after they started disappearing from the Google Home app on Android.

A Google Home app update made setting up Chromecast even more difficult which, understandably, sparked a lot of worry for those who are still using the first-gen Chromecast from over 10 years ago, convincing them that Google was officially pulling the plug on its OG streaming device. Similar issues then started cropping up for owners of the 2015 Chromecast model and Google Home Mini speaker, affecting functionality as well as the setup process.

At first, users were left to find their own workarounds and solutions, with many having to factory reset their devices, revert to older versions of the Google Home app, or even wipe their entire Home ecosystem to start afresh. Thankfully, Google has solved this, implying that these setup and functionality crashes were part of a software glitch.

The Google Nest Community account on Reddit replied to a series of frustrated posts with the following statement: ‘We've resolved an issue that was impacting the ability to set up some older Chromecast and Google Home devices. If you haven't already, factory reset your speaker or update your Google Home app to version 4.26 and try again’.

It hasn’t been the best time to be a first-gen Chromecast owner to say the least, but at least Google’s latest fix offers some reassurance that the company isn’t writing off its oldest streaming device yet — despite pulling the first Chromecast from shelves in early 2025. That said, Google isn’t the first tech giant to be accused of intentionally bricking older streaming devices to get users to upgrade.

Amazon received similar backlash when a user filed a lawsuit against the company, after reporting that two Fire TV sticks ran into severe performance issues just a few years after purchasing them. The user claimed that Amazon had been software tethering, while not disclosing the truth about the lifespan of its Fire TV stick streamers.

Now that Google has found a solution, hopefully it does the job at reviving your older Chromecast model. If the issues still persist, Google recommends reaching back out to the Nest community to let them know.

• Amazon accused of creating fake auction participants to raise advertiser bids
• The number of advertisers paying more than anticipated doubled in three years
• Amazon argues the FTC's lawsuit is misguided and that its practices are normal

The Federal Trade Commission together with 22 US states has filed a lawsuit against Amazon, accusing it of manipulating its advertising auctions to make advertisers pay more.

According to the case, the practice affected more than one million brands and sellers, more than half of which were small and medium sized businesses.

This particular case centers around Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Display/Sponsored Display advertising – ads that appear alongside Amazon's product search results where sellers bid for the most prominent positions to gain more exposure to potential customers.

Amazon accused of extracting billions in extra ad revenue

According to the case, Amazon changed the mechanics of its bidding scheme without properly telling advertisers. Under the old model, winning bidders should have paid one cent more than the second-place bidder rather than their proposed maximum.

But the company has been slated for using a so-called "invented auction participant" to push the price higher, scamming bidders out of more money.

The FTC warns that the proportion of Sponsored Products bidders paying more than they should have rose dramatically over the years, from around 30-40% in 2021 to around 80% by 2024, effectively doubling the number of victims within three years.

Internal documents cited by the lawsuit allegedly imply that Amazon workers understood that advertisers believed they were participating in conventional auctions without the shady practices.

"The complaint quotes notes from a 2024 discussion between senior executives, including the head of Amazon Ads and Amazon’s Chief Digital Economist, where it was acknowledged that Amazon’s 'clever non-transparent way to charge first price' has been an 'incredibly effective way to drive revenue'," the FTC wrote.

The company has since responded to the FTC in an entire blog post, describing the case as "misguided," arguing that the FTC has misunderstood how its ad auctions work and asserting that soft reserve prices are a normal industry practice.

Unless Amazon and the FTC reach an agreement, the case could result in trial. The FTC and the 22 states involved want Amazon to cease the highlighted practices and remunerate affected advertisers.

• AWS plans to add 2 million Nvidia GPUs between 2027 and 2028
• The expanded deployment follows an earlier commitment exceeding one million chips
• New Vera-based CPUs will support increasingly demanding artificial intelligence workloads

Amazon Web Services and Nvidia have expanded their long-running partnership to add far more computing power for artificial intelligence workloads.

The cloud provider intends to add two million more GPUs across its global infrastructure between 2027 and 2028.

This expansion follows an earlier pledge to add more than a million chips starting in 2026, as customer demand outpaced expectations.

A bigger push into AI infrastructure

The companies also plan to bring new Vera-based CPUs into Amazon's cloud to support increasingly advanced AI applications.

Additional networking upgrades, including extended NVLink Fusion technology paired with custom high-bandwidth memory, aim to boost performance across large computing clusters.

Separate upgrades to Amazon's analytics service using Nvidia's cuDF software promise processing speeds nearing 3.7x faster than typical standard configurations.

The same upgrades are expected to deliver roughly a 30% improvement in price performance versus setups that rely only on standard chips.

Vector search capabilities on Amazon's search service are also improving, with index construction now completing roughly 9x quicker when run on GPUs.

Amazon's robotics division is separately working with Nvidia on simulation tools intended to speed up training for next-generation warehouse robots.

Government agencies are also included in the plan, with 100,000 chips reserved for sensitive government and defense computing needs nationwide.

"Customers want the freedom to choose the best tools for their AI workloads, and they want confidence that everything works seamlessly together," said Matt Garman, CEO of AWS.

“That’s why we’ve invested deeply with Nvidia to make AWS the best place to run Nvidia AI technologies, optimizing performance across our infrastructure from networking and security to deployment. This expanded collaboration gives frontier labs, enterprises and governments even more ways to build and deploy AI on AWS.”

Executives point to rising demand

Demand for accelerated computing across global cloud storage has continued to outpace projections that were made only months earlier this year.

“Nvidia and AWS have built one of the great growth engines of the AI era, and demand is running ahead of every forecast,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia.

“For 16 years, we have scaled Nvidia computing in the cloud together. Now, we are expanding our partnership across the full stack — GPUs, CPUs, networking, open models and software — to make agentic and physical AI real at an unprecedented pace and scale that only AWS and Nvidia can deliver.”

New processors delivered under the expanded plan are expected to offer notably faster inference and improved graphics performance for customers.

Recent hardware upgrades already deliver up to 4.6x faster inference and 2.1x stronger graphics output than the previous generation of systems.

Such a large hardware commitment suggests both companies expect artificial intelligence spending to keep climbing well beyond today's already elevated levels.

Whether actual demand keeps pace with these ambitious plans will only become clear once the new infrastructure is fully operational.

• Amazon will permanently close Mechanical Turk on September 30, 2026
• Mechanical Turk once connected more than 500,000 workers with paid tasks
• Workers completed image tagging, transcription, surveys, and other routine assignments

Amazon plans to permanently close Mechanical Turk, its long-running platform for outsourcing small tasks to human workers.

Launched in 2005, the platform enabled companies to hire people to complete small, routine tasks that computers could not easily handle at the time.

Jeff Bezos once summarized the concept with a phrase that stuck: "artificial artificial intelligence," in remarks about the platform.

A tool built to outsmart the limits of early computers

“We regularly evaluate our programs, tools and services and make adjustments based on those assessments,” a notice on the Mechanical Turk website said.

“Following an assessment, we’ve made the decision to close AWS Mechanical Turk, effective September 30, 2026.”

The platform's original name referenced a historical automaton that appeared to play chess but was secretly guided by a hidden human operator.

Amazon initially built Mechanical Turk to help label the enormous volume of product data listed across its own retail website.

At its peak, the service reportedly connected more than 500,000 workers, known informally as turkers, to available paid tasks online.

Workers typically earned only a few cents per task, completing jobs like tagging photos, converting speech into text, or filling out surveys.

Amazon later marketed that same workforce as a convenient data annotation source to support its own SageMaker machine learning service.

Rapid AI growth left the human workforce behind

Krista Pawloski, an organizer with the worker advocacy group Turkopticon, said the platform had clearly been declining for several years now.

She said Amazon appeared to spend less on maintaining the platform just as several newer competitors entered the market rapidly.

Companies including Scale AI, Mercor, and Prolific have since emerged to recruit workers specifically for training a wide range of newer AI models.

Researchers based in Switzerland published a 2023 study reporting that 46% of surveyed workers had relied on AI systems while finishing assigned jobs.

Amazon disclosed one month earlier that it would no longer accept new customers, a move workers quietly read as an early warning sign.

Certain firms in insurance and travel sectors continue relying on this workforce and are now hurriedly searching for replacement services.

“There’s some people that still pretty much still do it full time,” said Krista Pawloski, a data worker and organizer with Turkopticon. “They’re concerned now.”

Although Mechanical Turk is going down, the company claims to remain committed to serving both its Amazon and AWS customer base well.

“[Amazon is] focused on delivering the best possible experience for all our Amazon and AWS customers,” said Amazon’s spokesperson Montana MacLachlan.

The platform's decline says as much about shifting AI economics as it does about Amazon's own waning commitment to it.

A service once built to prove humans could out-think machines is closing just as AI tools increasingly outcompete many of those same humans.

Via CNBC

Hear me out: what if our outrage over an apparent Amazon Kindle Software update and DRM for ebooks is wildly overblown?

I'm not talking about the recent Kindle update that reportedly strips away the ability to remove DRM (Digital Rights Management) from downloaded books. While you might argue that there's good reason to maintain this ability, I say writers gotta get paid, and the edge cases of needing to remove electronic rights controls don't add up to a good enough one to undermine authors' ability to make money off their works.

Instead, I want to talk about the reported change that initially really ground my gears: decommissioning the "WiFi workaround." This refers to the commonly used Airplane Mode trick for reading a digitally borrowed book long after the loan ends.

As an avid reader and Kindle owner, I have relied on this workaround for years. Here's how it works: I visit the Libby app and peruse my local library's books. Overdrive's app is, by the way, still one of the best things to ever happen to Kindle reading.

Instead of buying every book I want to read, I check them out from my library. I borrow the book through Libby; it connects me to Amazon's vast book library, where I sign in to get a digital edition delivered to my Kindle.

On the Kindle, I make sure it's connected to the internet, update my bookshelf, and start reading. Loans usually last two weeks.

When I'm on vacation, I can finish three or four books in a week. When I'm working, I mostly read at night in bed and only get through a few pages before falling asleep (don't judge me). This happens every night, which means that, instead of reading a book in days, it can take me weeks or even months.

To make sure I can still read the book after the loan ends, I turn off my Kindle's WiFi and set it to Airplane Mode.

Everyone knows this hack

This is such a well-known workaround that when I called my local library to ask about it, the guy at the resources desk knew immediately what I was talking about.

"It's a well-known hack," he told me without enthusiasm.

I asked if I should be concerned that, since I wasn't "returning" my digitally loaned book on time, I was holding up anyone else's loan.

"I wouldn't worry about it," he told me, adding, "It's not gonna bother anyone else."

Basically, it doesn't matter if I took any action to return the book. The library has already reclaimed the DRM for that book and is ready to loan it out to someone else.

I would know this if I turned on my Kindle's WiFi and tried to continue reading my overdue book: it would suddenly become unavailable, as Libby and the library would've done their job and reclaimed the title. Interestingly, Amazon is not involved with managing loan expirations.

The controversy arose when people noticed that they could no longer access downloaded titles in Airplane mode. Some assumed this meant that their expired loans were being triggered even when their Kindles were offline. Others blamed a Kindle software update.

I noticed in the Reddit comments that people said they had downloaded the borrowed titles but had not opened them, which is when I remembered having gone through something similar during a recent vacation.

Before embarking on my vacation in Aruba, I downloaded a few books. Later, while lying on the beach (and at a place where my Kindle remained in Airplane Mode as it did not have access to the hotel WiFi), I tried to open one of the titles. It wouldn't open unless I connected to the Internet.

That was new. Previously, I could open any book I downloaded whether or not I was on WiFi.

Another workaround?

Amazon has not spoken publicly about any of this, but apparently has not made any recent changes to how Kindle handles borrowing library books.

If that's the case, it's possible the change is coming through Libby's system or that there's some change in how the Amazon bookstore is handling DRM for borrowed ebooks.

Regardless of the source, none of this means that Amazon or Libby will reach into your Kindle to retrieve overdue books. What may be happening is that the system now wants a DRM handshake when you first open the digital book. That's the moment when WiFi is necessary. Right after that, you can go back to Airplane Mode and keep reading the book.

More interesting is that I don't even know if the source of all this Kindle angst remains an ongoing issue. Today, as a test, I borrowed another Libby book, downloaded it to my Kindle, and then turned on Airplane Mode. The book still opened. I cannot say what will happen after the loan expires or whether there is some internal ticking clock that would not have let me start reading the book while in Airplane Mode.

Ultimately, this may be more of an annoyance than an all-out travesty. I understand that some people think the enforced scarcity of digital loans is ridiculous. You can make endless copies of digital books, after all. But then how do authors get paid for all the purchases and loans? While some books are donated, libraries are paying for digital book copies. Those revenues do go back to the publishers and ultimately the authors. If libraries buy only one digital ebook and then make unlimited copies, authors could lose most of their revenue.

I like reading good books, and I'd like to see authors financially empowered to write more of them. This change, if it even exists, seems like a reasonable middle ground between giving writers what they need and not causing Kindle readers like me undue frustration.

If you're still worried about this, here is my two-part tip: First, make sure the book is fully downloaded on your device (look for the black checkmark on the book cover). This should ensure you can read offline, but as an extra precaution, as soon as you download the books you want to read later, open them on the Kindle to the first page. After that, no matter what happens on the book-loan side, you should still be able to turn off WiFi and read at your leisure.

Update 8-21-2026: After we published, Amazon shared this statement:
"Kindle customers have always been able to open a fully downloaded library borrow or purchase when their Kindle device is in airplane mode, and there have been no changes to Kindle or Kindle DRM that change that."

• Amazon has rolled out tougher DRM to the Kindle Oasis
• The same update has previously landed on most other Kindle models
• The company has also closed an airplane mode loophole for Libby loans

If you like reading Kindle books on other devices or borrowing digital library books using Libby, Amazon has just made some changes that you’re unlikely to be happy about.

First up, as reported by The eBook Reader, a software update has rolled out for the Kindle Oasis that adds a new hardened DRM (Digital Rights Management) to books on it, meaning that most DRM-removal tools will no longer work.

While we don’t condone piracy, there are legitimate reasons to want to remove DRM, such as reading the book on a non-Amazon ereader that doesn’t have access to the Kindle app.

And this isn’t the first or only Kindle to get this undesirable update — now, the only supported model that doesn’t have this new DRM is the Kindle Voyage, and it’s probably only a matter of time before that gets it too.

No more lengthy loans

The other change that Kindle users are unhappy with is that you can seemingly no longer keep a Libby book beyond its due date by turning airplane mode on. This was a handy workaround that gave you more time with a borrowed book, but now Reddit users report being prompted to turn Wi-Fi on to access their loans.

As these are digital loans, this workaround wasn’t really hurting anyone — the books would still be made available to other users after the loan period expired anyway; you’d just also still have a copy on your Kindle.

Unsurprisingly, the online reactions to these changes aren’t positive, with Reddit comments about the new DRM including the likes of “glad I switched to Kobo,” while of the Libby change, one commenter claimed it was “my biggest nightmare.”

If you’re affected by either of these issues, then there aren’t any easy solutions — other than potentially switching to another brand. In the case of the DRM, Kobo books currently use a version that’s easier to remove, but even on Kobo, the airplane mode loophole won’t work.

• Twitch has revealed that user streams are training Amazon’s AI
• You have to actively opt out to prevent this from happening
• The community has reacted with fury over the move

If there’s one thing a sizeable proportion of the population hates more than artificial intelligence (AI), it’s being opted in to having their data automatically fed into an AI for training. Yet that’s exactly what’s going to happen to your Twitch streams unless you specifically opt out.

The issue came to light when the official @TwitchSupport posted on X to explain that “We’ve added a setting that lets you opt out of having your channel content used to train generative AI content models across Amazon.”

According to an FAQ on Twitch’s account settings support page, data used for training AI includes “Your stream and the stream’s chat, your VODs, your Clips, Highlights, and any text or images on your Channel.”

Notably, neither the @TwitchSupport post nor Twitch’s FAQ provided steps on how you can opt out. If you want to do that, you’ll need to click on your Twitch profile picture and go to Settings > Security and Privacy, then untick the toggle next to Training for Generative AI near the bottom of the page.

It’s worth being aware that opting out of AI training does not mean you won’t see any AI features on Twitch. The website says that it “may also still use your data to run AI-supported features,” including captioning, while other AI tools like AutoMod will still function for safety and security reasons. However, the difference is that these AI features do not retain and use your streams to generate new content.

As well as that, Twitch warns that “If you chat on someone else’s stream, their opt-out preferences govern if that chat can be used for training.” So even opting your own stream out doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be spared from feeding Amazon’s AI when you visit another user’s page.

A highly divisive move

It’s safe to say that this move has not gone down well with Twitch users. One Redditor branded it “absolutely disgusting,” adding that there are “over 13,000 votes on their uservoice thread saying no to this, and they still made it on by default.”

Other people speculated that this might have been a move forced on Twitch by its owner Amazon. Popular Twitch streamer AnEternalEnigma commented on Reddit to say that the AI training move was made “because it was Daddy Amazon’s decision. Not Twitch’s. I know for a fact multiple people at Twitch internally fought against this and fought for the opt-out button.”

A recent recording of a discussion between Mike Minton, Twitch’s Chief Product Officer, and Twitch’s Head of Community Mary Kish lent some weight to this argument. In explaining why AI training is not opt in, Minton said bluntly that “if it was opt in, nobody would opt in.”

In a revealing comment, Minton then added: “I know this is not a fan favorite. I know it’s very upsetting to the community. But this is where we are.” That doesn’t exactly sound like a ringing endorsement of a feature that Minton is excited about, and the “but this is where we are” admission seems to imply that the decision was out of his hands.

Kish later commented to say: “The opt out numbers will help us continue to reiterate that our community is not receptive of AI in any form. I’m sorry but I am reading your comments and do hear you.”

If you watch the video and read Kish’s words, it seems clear that neither Minton nor Kish were keen on the decision to make AI training opt out instead of opt in. As Kish said during the livestream discussion, “We don’t expect you to be happy or excited about this. I don’t expect anyone to react to this favorably.”

If you don’t want your Twitch streams to be vacuumed up and fed into Amazon’s AI algorithm, make sure you opt out in your Twitch settings as soon as you can. And while you’re at it, it would be a good idea to check any accounts you have at other AI companies to ensure your data is not being treated in a similar way.

• Amazon’s Texas AI project could become America’s largest power plant polluter
• The facility could release 33 million tons of CO₂ annually
• Amazon plans to install 35 gas turbines capable of producing 7.65 GW

Amazon has confirmed plans to invest in a natural gas power plant that will supply electricity to a huge new AI data center in Texas.

A New York Times report claims the facility, located in Pecos County, would use 35 natural gas turbines to generate up to 7.65GW of power for the site.

Regulatory permits indicate the plant could release up to 33 million tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere each year.

Largest single source of CO₂ pollution in the US

The scale of those emissions would make the Texas plant the single largest source of CO₂ pollution from any power plant in the United States.

By comparison, the country's current worst offender, the coal-burning James H. Miller Jr. Power Plant in Alabama, emits roughly 16 million tons of CO₂ annually.

Amazon had pledged to eliminate its planet-warming emissions by 2040 under a voluntary agreement known as the Climate Pledge.

The company co-founded that particular coalition in 2019, alongside more than 700 other large global businesses.

Despite that pledge, Amazon's own emissions have continued climbing every year, a trend the company links to the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure.

"The world looks different now than when we co-founded the climate pledge," said Margaret Callahan, an Amazon spokeswoman, in a recent statement.

She insisted that the company remained fully and genuinely committed to reducing emissions across all of its global business operations.

Gas power is fast becoming the industry's default choice

Amazon is far from alone in choosing gas power over ordinary electricity grid connections to fuel its rapidly expanding AI ambitions.

Industry analysts say hyperscale companies are increasingly building dedicated on-site power plants rather than waiting years to connect new data centers to overloaded electricity grids.

“We’re going to see an explosion of off-grid gas projects,” Amazon’s plan “could be a foreshadowing of what’s to come,” said Michael Thomas, founder of Cleanview.

Environmental groups have raised alarms about both the local and global consequences of such large-scale gas burning near residential communities.

"It's going to absolutely have a huge impact on the environment and public health," said Kathryn Guerra, a campaign director at Public Citizen.

Unfortunately, the Trump administration has actively encouraged this shift toward fossil-fuel-powered data centers, favouring oil, natural gas and coal over renewable energy sources.

Other tech firms are pursuing alternative routes, including Microsoft's nuclear deal at Three Mile Island and Meta's push toward securing 1GW of orbital solar capacity but gas seems to remain the preferred route.

• Amazon revealed plans to build Gilroy, California data center were first submitted in 2020
• Gilroy citizens have accused the city council of inadequate communications concerning the development
• The 438,500-square-foot data center occupies a 56-acre chunk of farmland 30 miles south of San Jose

Citizens of Gilroy, California, have expressed dismay at the building of an Amazon data center, which they say they were not informed of - and when one resident attempted to lodge a complaint, she was told that comments on the plans were closed in 2024 – long before most citizens were even aware of the planned installation.

Occupying a 56-acre area of farmland between a Walmart and a local shopping center, the Amazon project appears to have been quietly pushed through using obfuscation and clever use of 45-year-old planning laws.

Amazon has apparently made provision to divert wastewater to the data center, and donated money for local spending. Meanwhile, the city mayor has responded to the concerns by likening the water-and power-hungry Amazon data center to a food distribution center that was also recently approved.

Opposition and sponsorships

Utilizing the old city zoning rule – originally intended for industrial development along a freeway – has enabled the data center to proceed into full development without planning scrutiny from residents. However, the apparent collaboration between Amazon and the Gilroy city council and mayor has not gone unnoticed, with opposition organized against the project.

One of those organizers, 21-year-old college student Landon Sepulveda, indicated to the Wall Street Journal that there was a trust issue between the population and the city administrators. “These processes were not enough for the citizens of Gilroy to do anything about it. We’ve elected them to tell us, and we shouldn’t have to watch over their shoulders.”

Another citizen, elementary school teacher Coleen Crew, told a recent council meeting “Many if not most residents first learned about this project after construction had already begun.”

Amazon and the Gilroy council have been at pains to highlight the advantages of the deal, citing jobs, tax revenue, and that solution to concerns over water use. Amazon has also donated $1 million for a new city fire truck, and donated money to non-profits and the city’s annal Gilroy Garlic Festival.

Mayor Bozzo and AWS

Responding to public dismay over the development, Mayor Greg Bozzo has highlighted an “opportunity to change the way that we do business in Gilroy. We’re adapting to the times.”

Meanwhile, Amazon Web Services’ VP of economic development Roger Wehner claims the project “followed standard approval processes.” He added: “We’ve since met directly with residents and hosted an open house to hear feedback and answer questions.”

The challenges and advantages of data centers seem to be the modern day equivalent of opposition to nuclear plants from 50 years ago. While the data center’s continued construction seems inevitable, and Amazon has made some generous provisions, it is disappointing that the city’s residents were not informed of the development – and that might be the biggest problem here.

Another month, another stacked list of 4K Blu-rays. August 2026 looks to have some big releases coming, but I’ve decided to narrow it down to my top four picks, all of which I’ll be hoping to get in to test as part of our monthly Blu-ray Bounty feature. This is where we test the best 4K releases from each month, looking at each disc’s picture and audio quality to see how it can give your home theater a chance to flex its muscles.

4K Blu-ray is my most used source for testing the best TVs and best soundbars. It offers uncompressed audio and a higher bitrate over 4K streaming, resulting in better picture quality. Not only that, but I’m a collector myself and I’m always adding new discs to my personal collection.

Last month, in my July 2026 most anticipated list, I picked Hard Boiled, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Hairspray (1988) as my most anticipated discs. I got to test three of these in the July 2026 Blu-ray Bounty, and they all proved to be excellent, with special mention for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie which is in my opinion reference-level quality. Unfortunately, Hard Boiled was delayed in arriving, but I’ll be sure to give it a try and let you know what it’s like!

As I’m based in the UK, the following picks are based on 4K Blu-rays set for release in August 2026 here. Just in case the disc is already out in your region, or yet to be released!

Project Hail Mary (Amazon MGM Studios)

An adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, Project Hail Mary follows the story of middle school science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), who wakes up on an interstellar spacecraft with no memory of how he got there. The movie is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who also directed The Lego Movie and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, and were both involved in the production of the Into the Spider-Verse movies.

I’m expecting Project Hail Mary to look superb in 4K. There are plenty of high-contrast shots both in and outside of the Hail Mary that should demonstrate deep blacks balancing with bright highlights. There’s also scope for some seriously bold colors, as well as crisp textures, with 3D-like textures in both people and environments, such as the intricate textures of the various parts and consoles of the Hail Mary ship.

With a Dolby Atmos soundtrack included, I’m anticipating plenty of height effects in action. With the wide scope of the ship and space setting, there should be opportunities for the Dolby Atmos mix to showcase plenty of detail and texture, as well as a chance to hear some accurately mapped sound as well, as Grace moves around the Hail Mary.

Release date

• US - August 11
• UK - 10th August

Troy (2004) (Arrow Video)

Loosely based on Homer’s Iliad, Troy tells the story of the decade-long Trojan War. When Paris (Orlando Bloom) runs away with married Queen Helen (Diane Kruger), the latter’s husband and king Menelaus of Sparta (Brendan Gleeson) declares war on Troy, which is led by Hector (Eric Bana). Meneluas sends a unified Greek army, led by Achilles (Brad Pitt).

Where I think Troy will really shine is with its audio. While there’s no Dolby Atmos soundtrack on this disc, there is a DTS-HD 5.1 MA mix and I’ve been finding more fantastic-sounding 5.1 MA mixes every month. With large scale battles that should deliver plenty of detail and power, along similar lines to discs I’ve previously reviewed such as Kingdom of Heaven and Gladiator II, Troy could end up as another brilliant-sounding disc that could really push a surround sound system.

This 4K restoration is not only presented by Arrow Video, whose 4K Blu-rays are always superb, but is restored from the original 35mm and presented in Dolby Vision. There’s a lot of bold visuals in Troy, including the beautiful environments, vibrant colors and detailed costumes that should look stunning when restored in 4K.

Release date

• US - August 18
• UK - 17th August

West Side Story (1961)

Based on the 1957 stage musical of the same name, West Side Story is inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and tells the story of young lovers Tony (Richard Beymer) and Maria (Natalie Wood), who are embroiled in the gang war for the Upper West Side between the Jets (Tony’s former gang) and the Sharks (of whom Maria’s brother Bernardo is the current leader).

With Dolby Vision HDR support, this 4K disc of West Side Story should look fantastic. Not only is there the vivid colors of the 1950s aesthetic, but there’s plenty of high contrast scenes at night, where dark and bright tones create a nice dynamic range. This 4K disc is presented by Altitude, who released the Some Like It Hot 4K I tested earlier this year and if that disc is anything to go by, this 4K disc should be fantastic.

The musicals I’ve tested, such as Wicked and The Sound of Music, have often sounded excellent, especially when Dolby Atmos is supported. West Side Story also supports an Atmos soundtrack, so I’m expecting iconic songs such as ‘Maria’ and ‘Somewhere’ to sound their very best. With an Atmos soundtrack, there’s also scope for detail, such as the shuffling and movement of dancers during choreography to add that extra layer of immersion.

Release date

• US - September 11 (Import)
• UK - 31st August

Mars Attacks! (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)

Directed by Tim Burton, Mars Attacks! follows the arrival of aliens to Earth, where they meet the President of the United States James Dale (Jack Nicholson). After a first-contact meeting goes awry, the Martians begin to attack Earth. The movie features an all-star cast including Glenn Close, Annette Benning, Pierce Brosnan, Michael J. Fox and more.

As with all of Burton’s movies, I’m expecting very vibrant colors, such as those I saw in Edward Scissorhands. Mars Attacks! has a very gaudy, almost 1960s aesthetic in places that is sure to generate some lovely pop on screen, especially as Dolby Vision is also supported. I’ll be curious to see how the CGI of the aliens holds up, but after seeing 1982’s Tron on 4K, which made the dated graphics look decent, I have high hopes.

A Dolby Atmos soundtrack is featured on the 4K disc and other than the iconic ‘Ack’ sounds the Martians make, there’s plenty of great audio throughout this movie that could sound great in Dolby Atmos. The sounds of the Martian’s ray guns should draw some nice detail, explosions should generate some hefty impact and bass and there should be nice height effects in action too.

Release date

• US - August 11
• UK - 31st August

August 2026 highlight 4K releases

Below is a select list of 4K Blu-rays set for release in August 2026. Both UK and US releases are featured, with release dates noted. Release dates may vary by region, with some titles yet to be announced for some regions, or they may already be available in others. 4K Blu-ray is region-free however, so you should be able to order from anywhere.

August 3/4

• Talladega Nights
• The People vs Larry Flint
• School on Fire
• The Devil Wears Prada 2 (UK)
• Once Upon A Thief (UK)

August 10/11

• Project Hail Mary
• Mars Attacks! (US - UK: 31st August)
• Barbarian
• Clear and Present Danger
• Michael
• JFK
• Sing Street

August 17/18

• Troy
• Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (UK)
• Popeye (1980)
• Flight
• Nightcrawler
• Last Tango in Paris (UK)
• Hunt for the Wilderpeople (UK)

August 25/26

• The Pink Panther (1963) (UK)
• Disclosure Day
• Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu (US)
• Practical Magic

August 31

• West Side Story (1961) (UK - September 11, import)
• The Abominable Snowman

• Amazon touts Alexa+ as its voice assistant’s “biggest leap forward”
• Aussies can now request early access to Alexa+, but it’s also available with the purchase of a new eligible Echo or Fire TV device
• Prime members get Alexa+ for free after early access ends in November; non-members pay AU$29.99p/m

Alexa+, the conversational AI upgrade of Amazon’s long-time voice assistant, has officially launched in Australia, over a year after rolling out in the US.

This “smarter, more conversational and more capable” voice assistant promises a more transactional experience that recognises natural language, can remember user preferences and automatically adjust your smart home tech, like turning on your air conditioning when it starts to get warm or turning on lights when it starts getting dark.

For its local debut, Amazon has added Aussie touches, so Alexa can now understand colloquialisms like ‘arvo’, ‘snags’ and ‘servo’, as well as being “tuned into Australian culture”, like not mixing up footy codes or understanding expressions like ‘fair dinkum’ or ‘passing the pub test’.

You can sign up for an early access invite now if you already own a compatible device, or get automatically signed up when you buy an eligible Echo or Fire TV device — check out our nine favourite Echo devices to get you up and running. After early access ends on November 30, 2026, Alexa+ will remain a free Prime benefit for subscribers, while non-members will have to pay AU$29.99 per month to retain access.

Most of the current Echo devices are compatible with Alexa+, with only the now-discontinued first- and second-generation models unable to support the new voice assistant. Fire TV devices, meanwhile, will have limited compatibility with Alexa+, with support available only on the following:

• Fire TV Stick 4K Select
• Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen)
• Fire TV Stick 4K Plus (2nd Gen)
• Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen)

Alexa+ isn’t the only ‘smart’ voice assistant available in Australia, with Google Home Premium (formerly Nest Aware) being its main competitor. The latter costs AU$15 per month or AU$150 per year for its Standard tier, or AU$30 or AU$300 per year for the Advanced tier, scoring Alexa+ points on pricing — provided you’re a Prime member or course.

It remains to be seen whether this would trigger a Prime membership price hike in the days to come.

Do we really need an Amazon-powered LLM in our lives?

Amazon claims that Aussies interact with Alexa “more than two billion times each year”, with 77 million questions asked and more than 600 million smart home actions in 2025 alone. While that suggests there’s a large customer base in Australia, it begs the question of whether we’re willing to bring another AI assistant into our homes and, importantly, pay extra for it.

As my colleague Graham Barlow rightly pointed out, Alexa+ may be an improvement by being more conversational and context aware, but it doesn’t really do enough to warrant the consistent use of the assistant.

Lots of Redditors have also expressed their displeasure with Alexa+, with some choosing to revert back to the old Alexa for the many ads, the style of the new voices, or just preferring not to opt into the upgrade.

Sure, being a free add-on to Amazon Prime will see plenty of early adopters, but it remains to be seen if Aussies will jump ship from ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or whatever LLM they’re already using and move to Alexa+. (Incidentally, a web version is also slated to come soon.)

Then again, AI is evolving and Alexa+ seems like the next step in the voice assistant’s development, although it will need to do more than just speak fluent 'Strayan if it wants to reign supreme Down Under.

• Amazon's Claude Sonnet project cost $1.8 million, 860% over budget
• The overspending remained undetected internally for nearly five months straight
• A financial auditing tool project exceeded its budget by $541,000

Amazon has confirmed an internal Claude Sonnet deployment intended for matching author details with product listings ballooned far beyond its planned budget.

The Financial Times found the project ultimately cost the company $1.8 million, marking an increase of 860% over the original allocation.

The overspending went undetected for roughly five months, raising fresh questions about how closely Amazon tracks its growing AI expenditures internally.

Mounting costs across multiple projects

Amazon's Claude-related overspend was not an isolated incident within the company's broader push toward deploying autonomous coding agents across various internal teams.

A separate project meant to build a financial auditing tool reportedly exceeded its budget by $541,000, compounding concerns about unchecked automated spending.

Another logistics-focused initiative, designed to shorten delivery times across Amazon's broader distribution network, incurred an additional $134,000 in unplanned costs.

Company insiders explained that mistakes once considered trivially cheap have grown catastrophically expensive as token-based pricing models replaced older subscription arrangements.

This shift coincides with AI agents gaining broader autonomy, allowing errors to multiply quickly before human reviewers noticed the growing financial damage.

Amazon pushes back on the narrative

In response, Amazon issued an internal statement acknowledging ongoing experimentation while disputing characterizations of these incidents as routine business practice.

"As with any new technology, we're experimenting, learning and improving how we use it, including how we drive cost efficiencies," the company said.

The company further stated that isolated examples portrayed as business as usual do not accurately capture how its teams actually apply AI tools.

Amazon's quarterly revenue exceeds $181 billion, meaning the disclosed AI overspending accounts for less than 0.1% of one month's earnings.

This pattern of AI-driven cost overruns follows earlier troubles at AWS, where automated coding bots triggered several unexpected service outages this year.

Amazon responded to those outages by restricting AI agent permissions rather than granting them access equal to senior engineers overseeing similar tasks.

The company also discontinued an internal leaderboard once used to track employee AI usage, as rising costs prompted a reconsideration of that approach.

Executives across the industry continue framing AI spending as a necessary investment despite growing evidence of inconsistent returns.

Amazon's continued experimentation with AI-driven coding tools comes despite skepticism from other corners of the tech industry regarding its actual business value.

Uber's chief technology officer, whose company also operates a substantial logistics network, has publicly stated no clear connection exists between heavy AI adoption and successful software delivery.

This skepticism stands in contrast to Amazon's own internal messaging, which frames the company's approach as ongoing experimentation rather than a fully validated cost-saving strategy.

Some analysts now argue that unchecked automation could quietly erode profit margins long before leadership notices meaningful financial impact.

For a company of Amazon's scale, these overruns remain financially minor, though they suggest oversight gaps that smaller companies may struggle to absorb.

• Amazon plans to launch 5,105 satellites to support new mobile networks
• The filing with the FCC highlights voice, data, emergency services, and Internet of Things support
• Amazon Leo already has over 390 satellites in orbit, enough to launch the plans ahead of the full deployment

Amazon has confirmed its “low Earth orbit” (LEO) satellite network has submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deploy a constellation of 5,105 satellites which will provide voice, data, messaging, emergency services access, and Internet of Things support for under the Amazon Leo Direct-to-Device (D2D) project.

The application follows Amazon’s merger with Globalstar, acquiring the US satellite telecommunications company’s operations, infrastructure, and global licenses and authorizations.

This step into orbit will see Amazon Leo’s existing satellites work alongside the Globalstar HIBLEO and C-3 satellite constellations, kicking off early D2D project support ahead of approval for the full network of comsats.

High-speed, low-latency

Much like Starlink, the Amazon Leo network is intended to bridge the connectivity gap between cities and remote communities. It aims to deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband for domestic and enterprise markets, as well as governments, with consumers gaining connectivity via the Leo Nano, Leo Pro, and Leo Ultra high-performance antennae. Meanwhile, mobile devices with satellite-capable chipsets can connect to the satellites without an additional antenna.

Apple iPhones and Apple Watch models are also supported, under a previous agreement to collaborate with Apple. Amazon Leo already delivers data for Emergency SOS, Messages, Find My, and Roadside Assistant to iPhones.

Other partnerships have also been announced that feed into the D2D project. “Telecom operators like Vodafone, DirecTV, Herotel, and Australia’s National Broadband Network [...] it plans to continue working with mobile network operators and other partners to deliver on its long-term vision for space-based connectivity.”

Beyond offering connectivity to remote locations, D2D can enable data support for global fleet management, remote operations for supply chains, and IoT connectivity.

Amazon Leo’s satellites

Following initial deployment in 2025 with 80+ launches with Arianespace, Blue Origin, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance, Amazon Leo is aiming at 5,105 low Earth orbit satellites. These units are connected using optical links, capable of high-speed data transfer, with secure gateways networked across the planet, with fiber connectivity.

The D2D satellites are intended to operate across five orbital “shells” – essentially five groups that share the same altitude and inclination. Three shells will cover the mid-latitude, one shell will cover the high-latitude, and the fifth providing coverage for “near-polar” zones. Mid-latitude zones are the world's most heavily populated regions (North America, Europe, parts of Asia, and southern/central Africa) while the high-latitude coverage aims to deliver high speed internet to the Arctic and sub-Arctic circles.

With increasing demands for mobile data, not just for remote working but also Internet of Things applications, Amazon Leo could prove to be the solution that facilitates home and workplace automation around the world – assuming, of course, that it gets that FCC approval.

• Hidden AI debts are attracting fresh scrutiny across America's biggest technology companies
• Massive data centre spending is testing investor confidence like never before
• Meta reportedly carries the largest off-balance-sheet obligations among the five companies

An investigation by Nikkei Asia has claimed five of America's largest tech companies are reportedly concealing huge debts outside their official financial statements.

Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Oracle together account for roughly $1.65 trillion in liabilities missing from their public balance sheets.

That figure exceeds the $1.35 trillion these firms officially disclosed last quarter, with Meta alone holding roughly $420 billion off-balance-sheet.

Echoes of Enron

Analysts have begun drawing direct parallels to Enron, the energy trading company whose 2001 collapse remains a cautionary tale in corporate finance.

Like Enron once did, these tech giants rely on special purpose vehicles, essentially legally separate subsidiaries, to keep debt off their books.

Such arrangements can make a company's financial reporting appear far healthier than the underlying reality actually supports at any given moment.

This accounting structure remains legal when applied correctly, although critics argue it can complicate efforts by investors to measure overall financial exposure accurately.

“The accounting treatment itself is in fashion,” technical accounting consultant Tom Selling told Bloomberg.

“But what if one of these companies was a house of cards and was propping itself up with this accounting treatment? To me, that’s the risk.”

The warning has encouraged renewed scrutiny of corporate reporting practices across the technology sector, particularly among the companies named in the investigation.

This scrutiny comes as firms continue spending heavily to expand the computing capacity required for increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence systems.

Mounting financial pressure

To remain competitive in the AI race, these companies are committing enormous sums toward massive, long-term data center construction projects.

The scale of planned data center spending across the entire industry has reached levels rarely seen in corporate history.

Whether these massive infrastructure bets eventually pay off financially remains genuinely uncertain, given how quickly the technology and market keep shifting.

Nikkei Asia notes many of these firms are also issuing new shares to raise additional funds - but issuing new equity in this manner risks diluting existing shareholders and could gradually erode investor confidence over the coming months.

Such dilution could also leave these companies even more exposed should the broader AI bubble eventually deflate or burst suddenly.

Investor unease could deepen further if the industry fails to generate enough real demand to justify this data center spending spree.

Notably, four of the five companies named in the investigation are scheduled to report second quarter earnings within the coming weeks.

Given how much rides on these coming disclosures, markets and analysts alike will be watching each earnings report closely.

Whether these tech giants ultimately resemble Enron or simply pursue an aggressive yet financially sound growth strategy remains genuinely unclear for now.

Samsung's 9100 Pro 2TB SSD has dropped to AU$434.47 at Amazon Australia, well below the typical AU$699 pricing it's selling for at other retailers. Even on Amazon it was AU$644.83 before the current discount.

This isn't a deal to snooze on either, with the sale due to end at 12pm on July 29. Just note that it ships from Amazon US, so delivery can take up to two weeks.

AU$434 is still a lot to spend on a 2TB SSD, particularly if you remember how cheap storage was until relatively recently.

But SSD prices have shifted hugely since last year, and these days this is an excellent deal on Samsung's flagship PCIe 5.0 drive, which can reach sequential read speeds of up to 14,700MB/s and writes of up to 13,400MB/s.

In our review of the 9100 Pro we said, "Samsung's first true PCIe 5.0 drive is the best there is", as well as "This is a very professional-specific drive in ways that previous Samsung Pro SSDs were not. If you're not a professional user, there are better PCIe 5.0 drives out there, but for pros, there's none better than the 9100 Pro."

This is a premium 2TB SSD, so it's aimed at those who can actually take advantage of its performance, whether that's moving huge files, working with demanding creative projects or running workloads that benefit from very fast storage.

But what makes this deal particularly compelling is that the 9100 Pro is currently cheaper than some of Samsung's slower PCIe 4.0 drives. At the time of writing, the 2TB 990 EVO Plus is AU$446 at Amazon, while the 2TB 990 Pro is AU$517.67.

You don't necessarily need a PCIe 5.0 system to take advantage of the deal either. The 9100 Pro is backwards compatible with PCIe 4.0, so it'll work just fine in an older machine, albeit with its performance capped by the slower interface.

That makes it a great buy even if you're upgrading a PCIe 4.0 PC today, or using the drive in a handheld device. Plus, if you do move it to a PCIe 5.0 system later, you can unlock the full performance the drive is capable of.

Just keep in mind that this deal is specifically for the 2TB model without a heatsink as the other versions and capacities of the 9100 Pro aren't discounted.

And yes, AU$434.47 is still frustratingly pricey for 2TB of storage by historical standards, but I think getting Samsung's flagship PCIe 5.0 SSD for less than its slower models makes this an excellent deal considering current prices.

• Plans to triple application fees and apply a price-per-foot on coastal cable installations have been announced by Oregon
• Oregon state planners believe the new structure could raise $1 million per new cable laid
• Protecting the coastline has become a political priority in recent years

Oregon has announced plans to introduce a payment structure for service providers laying undersea cables off the coast of the Pacific state.

Currently, the low-tax and zoning incentives on offer make Oregon a particularly attractive location for tech companies including Microsoft and Amazon, and with major data centers (such as Google’s Dalles installation) demanding increasing data infrastructure, state officials believe a new pricing arrangement is overdue.

Oregon Department of State Lands is making the proposal, which seeks to completely restructure the pricing around undersea cables, which has been fixed at $5,000 since 2001.

Price per foot levy

Even by tripling application fees, Oregon will still be a more affordable alternative for service providers upgrading or adding undersea cables than both California and Washington.

The payment structure under consideration covers fees for applications and compensation “for undersea infrastructure located on submerged and submersible land within Oregon’s territorial sea.”

Currently, new application fees are $5,000, with the proposed new fee set at $15,000. Renewal applications are set to increase from $5,000 to $7,500, with a new encroachment application fee, also set at $7,500 (this describes any building or development on any state-owned land that restricts its usual purpose).

Cables up to three inches in diameter have been assigned a $3-per-foot basic annual fee, with conduits charged at $7.

But how might these fees be applied to any new cable installations? Some calculations based on the Amazon Bitfrost cable project, which determined that a total of $1,450,380 was due for two decades, which would be funneled into Oregon’s Common School Fund.

These fees are a revision of an earlier, more expensive set of proposals, and while the Amazon Bitfrost project example may seem high, it is a literal drop in the ocean compared with the budgets required to lay cables across the Pacific – somewhere in the region of $400 million.

Corporate responsibility

Oregon is also proposing new rules that govern how much information companies submit in applications. This covers everything from decommissioning outdated cabling to outlining responses to earthquakes (such as an anticipated Cascadia Subduction Zone event, which is believed to be overdue).

Various challenges to how companies operate off the coast of Oregon have arisen in recent years, such as a Meta subsidiary attempting to install new cabling at Tierra Del Mar in 2020. This abandoned project resulted in a pollution incident with 6,500 gallons of drill fluid dumped in the ocean and a pair of sinkholes appearing the following year.

The fees are expected to be introduced in January 2027.

• Prime Video and Netflix are planning new AI-generated homepages
• Netflix revealed its 'GenPage' tests ahead of a new Prime Video report
• Viewers aren't convinced that homepages are moving in the right direction

You're about to see a lot more generative AI in your streaming apps: Netflix has posted details of testing that it's doing with generative AI on its homepage, while Reuters reports that Amazon Prime Video is set for an AI-driven overhaul as well.

Starting with Netflix, the company has revealed it's working on a way of using generative AI to do a lot of the heavy lifting on the app homepage. That includes figuring out which recommendations each user should see, adapting to feedback and user behavior over time, and combining movies, shows, games, podcasts, and live events in the best way.

It starts with a prompt — "Given everything we know about this user and this request, what homepage should we generate to maximize user satisfaction?" — and Netflix seems pleased with the results. There are still some issues to work on though, like the AI model not knowing much about a movie or show that's only just launched.

User engagement increased in Netflix's internal testing, with the new 'GenPage' AI model applied, and recommendations became more relevant more quickly. What's more, the time needed to render the homepage went down. This is still in its early stages, and Netflix hasn't said when this will come to users or in what form, but it's now in the pipeline.

AI 'front and center' on Prime Video

On to Amazon, and a new Reuters report says Amazon boss Jeff Bezos has personally decided that Prime Video will act as a showcase for AI in the near future, and that an upcoming homepage redesign will put AI "front and center".

That's according to people "with direct knowledge of the matter", so don't take this as confirmed just yet. The homepage overhaul project is apparently known as 'Lighthouse', and is said to be envisioned as a way of claiming some of the AI spotlight from rivals such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

We don't get too many details on what this is going to look like, but film and TV recommendations are going to have more AI injected into them, Reuters says. The AI will also be better at learning the personal preferences of viewers over time, and responding to voice commands.

You might see tiles on the homepage such as 'action movies from the 1980s', for example. The report doesn't give any indication of when this overhaul might start rolling out, but it's apparently already being tested with a select number of users in a variety of forms.

Our AI-driven interface future

With two of the big streaming giants apparently now committed to homepages controlled by AI, the next question is what users might make of it. There's so much to watch on each platform that some kind of filter or algorithm is needed, but is this AI-focused approach the right way to go about it?

Past homepage overhauls perhaps give us some clues: A major Netflix redesign rolled out last year was met with many online complaints, but the company's internal data showed that it was working, so it stayed in place. At the time there was speculation that more AI was on the way, and it seems that's now the case.

"I don't know if I'm alone," writes one Redditor, "but I hate the concept of 'personalizing' my content. No offense to anyone but AI so far has not been good at predicting anything about me... I personally do not want software to think for me."

The reactions to Prime Video's upcoming AI overhaul seem similarly downbeat. "This seems completely unnecessary," comments one user, while several suggest the move might even be enough to tip them into canceling their Prime Video subscription.

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025): Two-minute review

I've used the 2024 release of the Kindle Scribe (2nd generation) for two years and I've loved every minute of it. I didn't think there was a better E Ink display to write on (and read on for that matter) and I definitely didn't think it could be improved. Yet that's exactly what Amazon has done with the 2025 (3rd generation) Kindle Scribe with frontlight.

The epaper display is still one of the best to read and write on, but it looks even brighter and, indeed, it is bigger, with 11 inches of screen real estate to use. That's fantastic for note-taking and drawing, but unnecessary for a device that also doubles up as an ereader.

Despite the additional height, the 3rd generation Kindle Scribe is both marginally thinner and lighter than its predecessor, but it is hard to hold in the hand for long periods of use — I constantly felt the need to place it on my lap or a table even when reading, but more so when jotting notes. Moreover, the lack of a broad bezel means it's very easy to trigger a page turn as the thumb rests so close to the edge of the display.

The thinner chassis is solidly built, although there's still no waterproofing (as is the case on most digital notebooks), so be careful if you decide to use it by the pool, the bath or the kitchen sink. And definitely keep it away from the sea's salty water to avoid corrosion.

The new stylus is also redesigned and, while it might feel too smooth for some users, I adore it! It never slipped once, even with sweaty palms, and, personally, gave me one of the best writing experiences I've had on a digital notebook (with the exception of the ViWoods C1 ceramic stylus possibly). Additionally, the magnetic hold to the side of the device is the strongest I've seen to date on any such device.

The homescreen interface has been refreshed and is quite practical in my opinion, and renaming the previous Notebooks tab to Workspace kinda makes sense to me. There are a few new features here: a handful of fresh templates in Workspace, a Smart Shapes feature that some users might find useful and, importantly, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive connectivity for seamless cloud transfer of files. There's even AI-enable search that can trawl through handwritten notes to give you a concise summary to answer your query.

What I'm struggling with is justifying its high price tag. While everything is now a lot more expensive, the extra screen real estate and handful of new features don't go a long way in explaining the significant price increase over its predecessor but, then again, the base model now has double the storage at 32GB and it sure is a very fast performer.

As someone who's extensively used reMarkables and Boox alternatives, I think the 3rd generation Kindle Scribe definitely gives its competitors a run for their money. I'd still only consider picking it up when discounted and only if you don't already have a previous Scribe and are embedded in the Amazon ecosystem.

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025) review: price and availability

• First announced October 2025 in the US; available to buy since December 2025
• Released in the UK and other select markets in early 2026, available in Australia since mid 2026
• List price: from $499.99 / £449.99 / AU$849

The 3rd-generation Kindle Scribe is expensive — at a starting price of $499.99 / £449.99 / AU$849, it's $100 / £70 / AU$200 more than its predecessor's entry cost, but it does go some way in justifying the increase.

Firstly, as I've already mentioned, the entry model now has 32GB of storage compared to 16GB, plus the display is 11 inches (previously 10.2 inches). There are a few new software features that make it a better digital notepad compared to the 2nd-gen Kindle Scribe from 2024, but it's still hard to justify paying full price when color E Ink devices don't cost much more.

That said, color E Ink isn't where it should be in 2026 and I wouldn't recommend the $629 / £569 / AU$999 Kindle Scribe Colorsoft over this monochrome sibling.

On the other hand, the reMarkable Paper Pure, which also offers 32GB of storage, but a 10.3-inch screen and a minimal interface that's not conducive to reading is a lot cheaper with a starting price of $399 / £359 / AU$629. Even the 64GB Boox Go 10.3 (Gen II) Lumi is cheaper at $449.99 / £429.99 / AU$729.

I would still recommend the 3rd-gen Kindle Scribe if you want both a reading and note-taking device in one, but perhaps consider picking it up when it's discounted, which it invariably will be during a major sale, more so once Amazon discontinues the 2024 edition (which it invariably will).

However, if you already own the 2024 version, I wouldn't recommend the 3rd-gen as an upgrade as you won't miss much. And as long as it's available to buy, the 2nd-gen is definitely better value even at full price.

• Value score: 3.5 / 5

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025) review: specs

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025) review: design and display

• 11 inches of beautiful, bright E Ink Carta 1300 screen real estate
• Sturdy, premium build, but slim bezels can be an issue
• Thinner and lighter than previous generation, with newly designed Premium Pen

It might not seem all that different from the previous two Kindle Scribes, but the 3rd-gen model with frontlight is a different beast, at least physically. As already mentioned, it's now a little taller thanks to an 11-inch display, but it's ever-so-slightly thinner (5.4mm vs 5.7mm) and lighter than the second-generation Scribe (400g vs 433g).

How Amazon has managed that is beyond my understanding, but it's a welcome change as it helps negates a little bit of the hand and wrist fatigue the extra height adds during handheld use over longer periods of time.

That, sadly, is exacerbated by the fact that the broader bezel from the previous generations is no longer there beside the screen where your thumb could rest. Now, all four sides are surrounded by even yet narrow bezels that can trigger a page turn if your finger or palm even remotely touches the edge of the screen. It's something you can get used to but, even then, I think all the new 2025 Kindle Scribes are best used while on a table or desk, or your lap.

Other than that, the Kindle Scribe still looks like a premium device with a very sturdy build, despite being thin and light, with minimal embellishments for a clean look. Unlike the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, though, the 3rd-gen model only comes in the usual Graphite (previously called Tungsten) variant, and I do wish another chassis color was available. You're also not going to get any waterproofing here like with the other Kindles.

What I'm thrilled about, though, is the new stylus. Amazon has redesigned the Premium Pen, which is now a white, smooth-bodied styls with a slightly sharper nib that adds better control to marking on the screen. The smoothness of the pen's body might make it harder to hold for some users, but I didn't have any issues with slipping, even if my palms ended up being sweaty for whatever reason.

Better yet is the magnet that attaches the pen to the side of the tablet, which is arguably the strongest I've come across on any such device. Even without a case, the Pen has never come off inside my bag when taking it in or out of a pocket. And I do mean never — it has shifted in angle, sure, but not completely fallen off. That's just my experience, though.

You still get an eraser on the top and the customizable shortcut button, as well as five spare tips in the box. What you don't get is the aforementioned sleep case, which you will need to purchase separately, but there are options galore directly from Amazon and third parties.

As much as I would love to wax lyrical about the stylus, it's the 11-inch E Ink Carta 1300 display that's the star of the show here. It was already fantastic on the 10.2-inch 2024 Scribe, but now it just seems a touch better.

I'd like to say it's because of the 100nit peak brightness that makes it look nicer, but even with the LEDs dimmed, it's the cleanest, almost-white display I've used on an epaper tablet that still manages to seem like paper. In fact, I much prefer it over the duller-looking E Ink Kaleido 3 display on the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.

The flush screen is protected by a top layer of glass that also has an anti-glare coating. You also get the standard 300ppi resolution which, despite being spread over a larger area, still renders text and writing in sharp clarity, and it's arguably one of the most responsive screens on an epaper device to date.

• Design & display score: 4.5 / 5

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025) review: Software

• Refreshed homescreen setup which is cluttered with Kindle Store recommendations
• Cloud service access is very welcome
• More writing tools but not necessarily of note (pun not intended), but new a AI feature could prove useful

It's not a complete makeover, but the homescreen setup on the top of the 2025 Kindle Scribes is different to what was previously on the older models. There's easy access to what Amazon is calling a Quick Note — just tap on it and it opens up an empty notebook for you to start writing on — beside which is a single column of your recently opened items (now called Jump Back In) that were previously arranged horizontally.

By default, the Quick Note takes up more than half the left side of the screen, but it can be shrunk by tapping double arrows, which then separates your recently opened items list into two columns, thus adding more, whether that be notes or ebooks.

I like this setup better as it's a quick glance at a fair few recently opened items, rather than you needing to scroll horizontally, plus you can see what you wrote in the Quick Note without needing to open it.

Below this section is a whole lot of what I think is clutter but some users who are embedded in the Amazon ecosystem would appreciate. These include the Recently Added items list, followed by new-feature intros and several Kindle Store recommendations based on your reading habits, which is what I really detest — it just feels like overkill and I much prefer Kobo's homepage which looks neater to me.

While the bottom navigation menu still has four items, the previous Notebooks tab is now called Workspace and it has a few extra templates that I personally couldn't find much use for. I would have loved a dedicated journal template but... oh well. Otherwise, everything else is carried over from before, with limited pen and brush options that artists perhaps won't be very happy with.

The biggest improvement here (across all three 2025 Scribes in fact) is the addition of Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive support. As someone who uses the former, it's made file transfer a lot easier than using the email sharing option that has previously been the clunkier norm.

There is, however, a caveat when it comes to PDFs: you can't actually mark them up after exporting them if you need to do so. The only way to reflect changes is to export the file and open in Google Docs to edit. Despite that, I still think access to cloud services is a huge improvement and I hope Amazon rolls it out to the older Scribes as well.

Also new is a feature called Smart Shapes that you can access from the stylus menu in a note — if you need to create, say, flowcharts, you can roughly draw a circle or triangle and it will automatically get converted into a proper (or neat) shape. It's not something I personally found useful, but I think it could be for students, teachers and scientists.

The AI-powered handwriting conversion and summary creation tools from the previous generation is available here, as are the ebook annotations (Active Canvas) and side-margin notes from before, but AI search in your notes is new. It allows you to enter a keyword or phrase and all your notes, including handwritten ones (uh-huh, that's different, innit?) will be scanned to give you an AI-generated summary. It's another feature that I don't see everyone needing, but if you have a copious amount of notes on the same subject (like I occasionally do), it can be handy.

I should note that all this software improvement takes up a heck of a lot of storage. For example, when I looked into the Device Options on my 3rd-gen Scribe and Colorsoft units, I only had about 22GB and 21GB of usable storage respectively out of 32GB. This is still a good amount, but 11GB is still a heck of a lot of space to give up for power users who might want to store a lot of ebooks, audiobooks and documents on the device. To put it into context in another way: there was a time when 8GB storage was the norm in an ereader, meaning the Scribe software wouldn't even fit into an older ereader!

Software score: 4 / 5

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025) review: User experience

• Despite its size, it's one of the best screens to read on
• New stylus writes wonderfully, although writing and drawing features are still comparatively limited
• Handful of new templates added for note taking

I have a few Kindle devices at home, including three of the 2024 releases, and yet I'm not really a Kindle fan because of how much the user interface forces you into the Amazon ecosystem.

However, the 3rd-generation Kindle Scribe with frontlight has come very close to changing my mind — I am willing to put up with the homescreen clutter because of how good reading and writing is on that glorious E Ink display. It's hands down the best epaper tablet I've tested in 2026 (it's a delayed review as it wasn't released in Australia, where I'm based, until June this year).

Reading

As I've already said, the 300ppi resolution looks a little better on this Scribe than it did on the previous generation because Amazon has optimized the display very well to render text in sharp clarity.

I've seen some users complain that the Scribes don't look as good as the Paperwhite, but it's important to keep in mind that the 7-inch Kindle has less surface area with the same amount of pixels as the 11-inch version, so the pixel size on the larger device will be slightly bigger. And that makes a difference, but not so much that it stands out. You have to look really carefully to see that kind of difference.

I am a big fan of the ambient light sensor on the display, which means the screen automatically dims or brightens up depending on whether I'm indoors or outdoors, or how bright or dark it might be around me. In other words, it automatically gives me a pleasing brightness for nighttime reading.

The larger screen makes it an ideal choice for comic book fans but, then again, color makes them more enjoyable while you'll be reading them in grayscale. The bigger screen, however, is fantastic for those who prefer larger fonts, so you aren't turning pages after a few sentences and, thus, conserving a little battery.

The Kindle font support is still not as good as flexible as on a Kobo or a Boox device. For example, sideloaded EPUBs added to the device via the Send To Kindle platform render well, but I found a few MOBI files that didn't open as expected but work perfectly fine on my Kobo Libra Colour.

I am, however, very grateful for Amazon's cloud storage where anything in your library previously added to older devices are accessible on any new Kindle.

Writing & drawing

I didn't think Amazon could better the writing experience from the previous-generation Scribe, but lo and behold, a redesigned stylus has achieved just that. As I've previously stated, the pen is the real hero when it comes to epaper writing tablets and the white Premium Pen with a slightly sharper nib glides very well over the glass and yet has just the right friction.

Then again, a pen choice is very personal and some users might prefer more friction, which is understandable. Personally, my experience was perfect, allowing me very good control over the marks I made in a note.

What I'm not necessarily too enthused by are the limited writing tools. I think Kobo's Advanced Notebooks are still a better option compared to what Amazon offers on the Scribe, although Android devices give you even more features and tools if you think you'd need them.

While there are some new templates for notes, I think their use would be very limited to select users, and I would have much preferred if Amazon had, instead, added more pen options. I may not be able to draw to save my life, but I can see how this limitation might affect artists. For everyday doodling, my colleague Lance Ulanoff finds the Kindle Scribe better than his iPad for drawing, especially when outdoors.

Writing and drawing limitations aside, the physical experience of putting words down on the 2025 Scribe is par excellence and, for that, I can't deduct too many marks.

User experience score: 4.5 / 5

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025) review: Performance

• The fastest Kindle yet, with page turns barely visible (unless animated)
• Absolutely no ghosting, even with image-heavy ebooks
• Battery life takes a small hit compared to previous generation

Amazon doesn't reveal what hardware components it uses under the hood of its devices — all we know is that there's a quad-core chip with an indeterminate amount of RAM — to keep things ticking along, but whatever there is sure makes the 3rd-generation Scribe the fastest Kindle yet.

In fact, I think I might go so far as to say it's arguably the fastest ereader and epaper writing tablet I've tested to date. I make that claim based on my recent Boox Go 10.3 (Gen II) Lumi review that I was testing at the same time the Amazon device and, despite being a 2026 release, was so significantly slower than the 2025 Scribe, specifically in terms of page turns.

On the Scribe, you can barely discern a page turn, unless you have the animation turned on of course. Several times during my two-week test period with the Scribe I didn't even think a tap registered until I saw the words on the new page. The time I did notice a blip was when the device was doing a full refresh.

Like its predecessor, there's absolutely no ghosting here, whether you've got image-heavy or word-heavy books. Not even a faded mark appears overlaid on notes, and I do wish Boox would learn how to achieve that.

Battery capacity is another spec that Amazon doesn't reveal, but it does say that it can last up to 12 weeks on a single charge when used for about 30 minutes a day. It's definitely doable, but I think battery life on the previous 2024 edition was slightly better. Potentially more LEDs (another spec that Amazon doesn't reveal) to power a larger display could be the main culprit here, but it doesn't take too much of a hit in comparison.

In my use case, with up to four hours of reading and about 30 minutes of writing each day saw the battery nearly empty in five days. That's with the ambient light sensor on, so no manual brightness adjustments were made and that does put pressure on the battery. Sleep timer was set to 30 minutes and Bluetooth was off, although Wi-Fi was always on. Similar use with the 2024 Kindle Scribe saw the battery drain in approximately seven days for me with the same settings.

Recharging, however, seems to be remarkably quick on the 2025 version of the Scribe with frontlight, with my unit taking just about 20 minutes to top up from 21% down when plugged into a 60W wall charger. That's with the screen switched off, though. If I charged it while the device was in use, it took close to two hours via the same adaptor and USB-C cable.

On the other hand, my Kindle Scribe Colorsoft drains even quicker and takes a heck of a lot longer to recharge.

• Performance score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025) with frontlight?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

The 3rd-generation Kindle Scribe with frontlight is easy to recommend and, for some users, it might even justify its high price tag. For anyone else, know that there are alternatives to consider, and they'll actually save you a little cash even at full price.

How I tested the Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025)

I sadly had the 3rd-generation Kindle Scribe for just two weeks for this review, but I ensured I spent as much time as I could with it. As I've previously mentioned, I spent an average of 4-5 hours with it each day during that time, sometimes more, both reading and writing.

I was able to access my existing library as soon as I signed into my Amazon account, but I also uploaded some new EPUBs using the Send To Kindle web platform. I also connected the Scribe to my Google Drive account to transfer a couple of PDFs to the device, but I also saved select notes to the cloud, which automatically upload as PDFs with handwriting (no automatic text conversion takes place, but you can manually trigger that on the Scribe if you wish).

I tried the Smart Shapes feature and used the new AI search to test if it would be able to summarize my own review notes for me, which is successfully did. Handwriting conversion was also tested, albeit using a colleague's scrawl (I hate to admit but I can't scribble chicken scratchings no matter how hard I try).

Kindle Unlimited and Audible were also accessed on the device, and I was able to pair a JBL Bluetooth speaker for listening.

Learn more about how we test devices here at TechRadar

[First published July 2026]

• Amazon's gaming boss thinks ballooning hardware prices could push more hardcore gamers towards cloud streaming services
• He argued that the price of consoles increasing by 'six, seven times' would mean some gamers become 'priced out of the market'
• He thinks the RAM crisis, and rising prices, will not be 'going away anytime soon'

Amazon GM of gaming Jeff Gattis thinks the rising cost of consoles and PC components could push more hardcore gamers towards cloud streaming, via services such as Amazon's own Luna.

In a recent interview about the service, I asked whether Gattis anticipates cloud gaming becoming a more popular option for core players as traditional systems become much more expensive.

"Yeah. I wouldn't have said that 18 months ago, and I will say our business model is not really predicated on this this massive shift where everybody turns in their consoles and PCs and comes over to cloud" he said.

"But gosh, when you start to see the prices of the Steam Machine and the rumors of PlayStation and Xbox. As you get to $1,000, $1,500 hardware [...] you're going to see more people that are priced out of the market. They're going to consider other technologies".

Gattis, who previously led platform and subscriptions at Xbox, went on to share an anecdote to illustrate just how much prices have risen.

"I was telling somebody the other day that when I was back at Xbox a couple of years ago, we had our Series S console on discount [for a] holiday. I think it was about $199. To think in a span of two to three years we've gone from $200 to what's likely going to be six, seven times that price.

"I understand it's a it's a RAM crisis, it's worldwide, but I don't think that's going away anytime soon."

He was, however, careful to clarify that hardcore gamers moving to the cloud isn't a core part of Amazon's strategy: "It's not our strategy to accelerate that, but it's a nice tailwind if it does happen, and it's realistic to think that it might."

The comments come as Amazon rolls out a Fire TV update that gives Amazon Prime subscribers the ability to stream games like Fallout 4 or Fortnite from directly within Prime Video via Luna in a bid to get more eyes on the service.

• Amazon says emissions rose 16% in 2025, purchased electricity emissions up 34%
• Projects are using renewable energy matching and lower-carbon materials
• Data center PUE continues to improve, but Google does it better

In its 2025 Sustainability Report, Amazon revealed its absolute emissions increased 16% to 80.9 million tonnes, meaning that one single company now generates as many emissions as an entire country – New Zealand (77.8 million tonnes in 2024).

The company blamed AI for creating unprecedented energy demand, causing emissions to rise significantly in 2025, but it argues long-term investments in renewable energy and data center efficiency keep it on track for its 2040 net zero goal.

However, this is Amazon's largest annual emissions increase since it launched its net zero Climate Pledge, and its data center expansion plans continue to develop.

Amazon's emissions continue to grow – 2040 net zero goal remains realistic

Although AWS revenue grew 20% in 2025, Amazon noted the amount of CO2 per dollar of revenue actually grew 3% year-over-year – though this figure, known as carbon intensity, is still 38% lower than 2019 before aggressive AI-fuelled data center expansions.

But while data centers have certainly caused energy consumption and carbon emissions to rise, the company's biggest contributor is actually its supply chain. Around three-quarters (76%) of its total emissions now come from its supply chain, up 20% year-over-year.

Despite the 34% increase in emissions from purchased electricity, those emissions only account for around one-twentieth (5%) of Amazon's entire carbon footprint.

Amazon also noted that 80 new renewable and carbon-free energy projects in 2025 brought its overall capacity to 42GW across 712 projects, with 61 of its construction projects last year using lower-carbon materials.

But with a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) score of 1.14, its data centers fall short of Google's 2024 figure of 1.09.

• AWS wants to help customers deploy agentic AI at scale
• New FDE organization backed by $1 billion in AWS funding
• BMW and Lyft are early success stories

Amazon Web Services has announced plans to spend $1 billion deploying engineers in customer workplaces to help them build and deploy their own AI systems.

The dedicated AWS Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) organization focuses on getting organizations up and running with agentic AI quickly before making customers self-sufficient so that engineers can depart at the end of the project.

Frontier AI VP Francessca Vasquez explained many of the engineers are already behind many of AWS' own AI services, hinting at the expertise that customers can get access to.

AWS to forward-deploy engineers to speed up AI rollout

"Along with agentic systems running in their own AWS environment, they gain lasting AI skills, workflows, and patterns they can use to innovate independently," Vasquez wrote.

FDEs will collaborate with business leaders, engineering teams, security teams and other relevant workers to build AI systems and integrate AI agents into existing infrastructure, rather than just provide no-action consultancy services.

The project marks the next stages of artificial intelligence, focusing on agentic AI rather than generative AI. Customers who sign up to the program will get to explore automation tools, autonomous AI and industry-specific applications rather than just basic chatbots.

Amazon says it's doing this because access to models and model capability are no longer barriers to adoption – instead, organizations are struggling to actually implement them at scale.

Prior to the creation of this FDE organization, Amazon's engineers had already been deployed to BMW where they reduced service disruptions across 23 million connected vehicles, and to Lyft where they helped resolve driver support issues 87% faster.

The Allen Institute, Cox Automotive, the NBA, the NFL, Ricoh and Southwest Airlines are already early customers for the new FDE team.

It's been another packed week of technology news, and TechRadar has been covering all of the stories that matter: the Prime Day deals, the Apple price hikes, new devices from Oura and Sonos, and plenty more besides.

If you haven't been able to check in regularly on our site, this weekly ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) round-up is here to get you up to speed. You can browse through the headlines that matter below, and click the links for the full articles.

Get yourself comfortable and review the past week below, and we'll be back again this time next week for another ICYMI summary.

7. We scoured the Prime Day deals

You may have noticed that it's been Amazon Prime Day this week — it's now spread across multiple days of course — and the TechRadar team has been busy searching across every Amazon category to bring you the best deals: we've found discounts on TVs, laptops, headphones, smartwatches, smart home gadgets, tablets, and plenty more besides.

No matter what you're in need of tech-wise at the moment, our US and UK round-up pages have a variety of deals that will fit, and a lot of these discounts are genuinely substantial — and many are still going. Together with the latest prices and links for each product, we've also included our expert tech advice in each case, so you know exactly why which offers are worth pursuing.

• Read more: We're tracking the best Prime Day tech deals live — 121 biggest discounts on Apple, Samsung, Kindle, Sony, and more

6. We reviewed the Oura Ring 5

The Oura Ring 5 is a substantial step up from its predecessor: it's slimmer, lighter, and more durable, as well as offering extra battery life — and according to our review, you might even forget you're wearing it. Oura has managed to refine the device's appearance so it looks like a normal piece of jewelry, even with the cutting-edge sensors inside it.

"It's easily the most stylish and accurate smart ring around," our review states, though it's not perfect, and there's that usual Oura subscription fee to consider if you want to access most of the tracking features. If you're wondering whether the Oura Ring 5 is the right wearable upgrade for you, then we'll tell you everything you need to know below.

• Read more: Oura Ring 5 review — a luxury smart ring for discreet everyday wellness tracking that's (almost) easy to forget you're wearing

5. Meta revealed its cheaper smart glasses

Meta has treated us to a bumper crop of new smart glasses, starting at $299 / £269 / AU$599 and developed in partnership with EssilorLuxottica. We've got all the details here, including how they feel to wear, and a rundown of the design and color variations you can pick from — you certainly can't complain that there isn't enough choice in this batch.

We've also got comments from Meta CTO and Head of Reality Labs Andrew 'Boz' Bosworth, who outlined the company's vision of a smart spec future, and said "it's pretty easy to make glasses that don’t look good, it turns out". That seems to be a humorous dig at some of Meta's rivals in the space, but see what you think of the new Meta Glasses range.

• Read more: 'Our goal is to reach every corner of the market': Meta CTO Andrew 'Boz' Bosworth on the new $299 EssilorLuxottica Meta Glasses

4. We reviewed the latest Sonos speaker

The Sonos Era 100 SL wireless speaker is more affordable than the Era 100 that launched before it, but as our detailed review will tell you, Sonos has been able to pull this off without making too many compromises. Most importantly, the quality of the sound doesn't drop even though the price does, so you still get a top-tier listening experience.

Our review takes you through every aspect of the Era 100 SL speaker, from how easy it is to set up initially, to the sort of performance you can expect from it — with London Grammar and DJ Shadow included in the artists whose music we used for testing — and there's praise for "quality sound", "great connectivity", and "iconic design" along the way.

• Read more: 'A better price for the same performance': I reviewed Sonos' cheaper Era 100 SL wireless speaker, and was shocked at how few concessions were made to make this a bargain

3. The Steam Machine got an official price tag

It's been a long wait for the Steam Machine, but we're nearly there, and now know that the starting price is set at $1,049 / £879 / AU$1,609, and we can thank the price inflation driven by the RAM crisis for that. If a Steam Machine is still within your budget, you'll be able to put in an order from June 29, more than seven months after it was first announced.

If you don't think that's good value, then we've put together a guide to building your own Steam Machine alternative below. You get full control over the budget and the specs of the components you choose, and it can be a lot of fun too (as we can say with confidence given the years of PC building experience on the TechRadar team).

• Read more: Disappointed by the Steam Machine’s official price? Build your own mini gaming PC instead with these deals

2. Apple revealed its painful price hikes

Speaking of the RAM crisis, it just hit Apple too: the company has racked up the pricing on many of its products, including iPads, MacBooks, and even the HomePod. The recently launched MacBook Neo, for example, now has a starting price of $699 rather than $599 in the US — a not inconsiderable rise of $100 or 17% in a single jump.

We've got all the details of how much more expensive each Apple gadget is now, with these price increases effective immediately on the official Apple Store. We've also got some ideas about where you can still find these Apple products at their original prices from third-party retailers — though you'll have to move fast to grab them.

• Read more: Apple just delivered the worst kind of news: price hikes across many of its major products (even the Neo) — and yes, RAM prices are to blame

1. GTA 6 pre-orders finally went live

After two substantial delays, GTA 6 is finally going to go on sale on November 19, and you can get your pre-orders in now for the PS5, the Xbox Series X, or the Xbox Series S. You've got a $79.99 / £69.99 Standard Edition and a $99.99 / £89.99 Ultimate Edition to choose between, and we've got links for you to all the top US and UK retailers right here.

We're also going to keep an eye out for any bundles that these stores are offering, meaning you can pick up the game and a console at the same time — so check back often if you're interested. It's exciting that pre-orders are now live for what could be the video game of the decade, and we only have five more months to count down until launch day.

• Read more: GTA 6 pre-orders live — bundles arrive, while almost all major US and UK retailers have stock

• Amazon is hiring 11,000 new workers, mostly new graduates and interns
• Garman says they're more impressionable and willing to adopt AI
• Willingness to learn could be more important than existing skills

Amazon CEO Matt Garman has confirmed the company's plans to hire 11,000 interns and new grads this year despite an ongoing internal push for AI tools.

The news comes around six months after the company warned that 16,000 workers would be losing their jobs, with Garman's cloud business hit hard.

With the latest news, the company looks to be refocusing human resources instead of getting rid of human workers altogether as business priorities change and new opportunities open up.

Amazon to hire 11,000 workers in the same year it laid off 16,000

Speaking with Casey Newton of Platformer in a YouTube interview, Garman explained that white-collar jobs are changing as a result of AI, but they're not being eliminated. He compared AI to Excel spreadsheets, which dramatically increased productivity for accounting and finance work.

"If you look at what your job was two years ago, and what your job is going to be in two years, it's going to be vastly different," he said.

Garman also noted a shift in where humans bring the most value – writing code itself is becoming less valuable, but engineers are still important reviewing AI-generated code, understanding business requirements and designing systems with the AI-generated code.

As for why the company is hiring junior workers specifically, Garman acknowledged that they're among the cheapest labor to hire, but they also learn company culture faster and can embrace AI more positively than older generations.

The CEO previously said that replacing junior employees with AI was "one of the dumbest things I've ever heard."

Without hiring graduates today, companies risk creating a long-term skills gap in the future because they have nobody to train into senior and experienced engineers, he added.

He implied that recruitment is becoming more about a willingness to learn, not the skills that have already been mastered, but the interview ultimately confirmed the continued value of human workers.

• Big Tech was hit with $3.5B fines over three years, Surfshark found
• Many were fined for using personal data unlawfully
• Enforceability remains a key challenge

Major tech companies have already been hit by fines totalling $3.5 billion for using vast amounts of users’ personal data to train their AI models, raising hopes that the days of AI operating in a regulatory vacuum might be coming to an end.

The figures come from Surfshark, one of the best VPNs on the market, which recently analysed 10 AI-related sanctions imposed on the usual suspects — Anthropic, Meta, Google, Clearview, Apple, Amazon, and OpenAI — between 2022 and 2026.

Disturbingly, nine out of ten fines were imposed for using users’ personal data — including biometric data, copyright-protected content, facial images, and children's voice recordings — without user consent or legal authorisation.

AI violations: which company misused our data the most?

According to Surfshark’s study, Clearview AI was the first, in 2022, to be fined a total of around $46 million for collecting facial images for its facial recognition database.

But the pace picked up in 2024, with five new separate fines imposed on Google, OpenAI, Meta, Clearview, and Amazon.

The size of the fines has also increased substantially, signalling a positive shift from regulatory warnings to severe financial consequences. In 2024, Meta was fined $1.4 billion for collecting users’ biometric data without consent, followed by Anthropic in 2025 with a record $1.5 billion for training its AI models using pirated books.

On a different note, the $250 million fine imposed on Apple in 2026 for AI misleading marketing practices might signal that current AI advertisement tactics might also soon become a thing of the past.

"This could be only the beginning," says Dr. Luis Costa, research lead at Surfshark. "The overarching trend suggests that accountability is catching up with innovation, and the industry must re-evaluate both how it builds AI and how it markets it."

While regulations and authorities seem to be starting to catch up and match their punishments with Big Tech's wrongdoings, the findings continue to raise serious questions about the risks users face when using these AI platforms.

"Firstly, the scale of unauthorised data collection is unprecedented: 90 per cent of AI-related fines imposed since 2022 relate to the use of data without the necessary consent," Costa explains.

"Second, this harvesting often targets highly sensitive, unchangeable data, as seen in Meta’s $1.4 billion biometric settlement and Amazon’s fine over children’s voice recordings," he adds.

It also remains alarming that many companies fail to adequately inform the public about how their sensitive data is used, leaving consumers oblivious to the fact that their personal information is permanently baked into commercial AI models.

Better enforceability is needed

Additionally, while these fines may seem exorbitant, it is worrying that the financial impact of such punishments rarely acts as a deterrent to these large technology companies, whose market capitalisation runs into the hundreds of billions of dollars.

In its research, Proton previously found that the $7.8 billion in privacy and competition fines imposed on Big Tech in 2025 could be collectively paid by these firms in less than a month.

However, Costa argues that the issue is more complex and regulators might be working toward targeted changes. "First, regulators are escalating the financial stakes, shifting toward massive penalties like Anthropic's $1.5 billion and Meta's $1.4 billion settlements."

Additionally, a major challenge right now is actually enforceability — particularly as some companies have already been exploiting loopholes to avoid paying fines. Clearview AI, for example, managed to avoid paying $105 million in fines imposed by four different European regulatory authorities by arguing that it did not fall within European jurisdiction.

"Even if these early fines are manageable for tech giants, their real value lies in establishing the firm legal precedents that will govern how AI must operate in the future," Costa concludes.

• Alexa+ has turned a little scary in one household
• A simple counting task enabled a creepy voice
• Some other users are reporting similar bugs in the AI

If you're already worried about the potential dangers of AI chatbots, this one probably isn't for you: an Amazon Echo user has reported Alexa+ "breathing and making guttural sounds" while engaged in the supposedly innocent task of counting to 40 (in Spanish).

There's video evidence on Reddit (via Android Authority), and it's pretty spooky to listen to — so only click the play button if you're sure you want to hear a disembodied AI-generated voice that sounds somewhat possessed.

According to the user who posted the video, they asked Alexa+ to count up to 40, which prompted the strange sounds. It's not an ideal response, especially as there were two five-year-old kids listening who just wanted a simple countdown.

Apparently, the original poster was then able to get the same thing happening on a separate Amazon Echo in another room. "Needless to say, the Alexas in my house are now unplugged and I've reported the whole thing to Amazon," they report.

A little bit too expressive

While it's possible that some kind of user error or AI fakery has produced this video, it's odd that it would happen on two different devices — and there's at least one other user in the Reddit thread saying they've experienced something similar.

It's almost certainly down to a bug in Alexa+: the new and upgraded AI assistant is intended to be more conversational and more expressive, and in this case it seems to have gone too far (in the same way that AI chatbots can introduce hallucinations and tangents when writing out text).

When pushed, Alexa+ itself said that "something in my environment" must have caused the glitch, though it's not clear what that something might be. Perhaps it's the ghost of Alexa past, which Alexa+ has now replaced.

The Reddit reactions describe the speaker as "haunted", "terrifying", and in need of an exorcism, though the fix is likely to be no more complicated than a tweak to the Alexa+ AI model from Amazon's side.

• Check Point Research warns Prime Day (June 23–26, 2026) is fueling a surge in malicious Amazon‑themed domains
• 6,843 domains registered Dec–May; nearly 10% flagged malicious/suspicious, with June showing 1 in 13 domains risky
• Shoppers urged to avoid Google searches for Amazon, verify URLs, and treat “too good to be true” deals with caution

Thousands of new domains were registered in the weeks and months leading up to Amazon Prime Day, most of which are malicious and created to steal consumer data and possibly money. This is according to a new report from Check Point Research (CPR), in which the security outfit warns about Prime Day being the perfect storm for every cybercriminal.

Amazon’s Prime Day is set to take place between June 23 and 26, 2026. During these four days, thousands of retailers in 25 countries will offer great deals on their goods and services, creating one of the biggest retail events on the planet. Consequently, they’ll also be creating one of the biggest cyberattack events on the planet, as well:

“Major retail moments bring together the three ingredients’ attackers exploit most: a globally trusted brand, time-limited urgency, and massive purchase intent at scale,” CPR warns, adding that phishing emails, fake websites, fraudulent offers, and account takeover attempts all surge during this period.

How to defend against Prime Day scams

For events such as this one, crooks prepare months in advance. CPR found that between December 2025 and May 2026, there were 6,843 new Amazon-themed domains registered worldwide, most of which were set up in April (1,446). May 2026 added another 1,267 domains.

Obviously, not all of them will be malicious, but CPR said that almost one in ten (9.2%) were already classified as either malicious or suspicious, and in the first week of June, one in every thirteen was labeled the same way.

“This pattern reflects a broader build-up of malicious infrastructure ahead of the event, with multiple Amazon-themed domains designed to exploit brand trust, urgency, and high purchase intent at scale,” the researchers warned.

To stay safe this Amazon Prime Day, always double-check the website you’re visiting, always go to Amazon's legitimate domain (https://www.amazon.com/) rather than relying on Google search results, and remember - if something is too good to be true, it most likely is.

Andy Jassy has enjoyed a long-running and successful career in the technology industry, being a part of the Amazon family for many years – including serving as CEO of AWS for nearly 20 years – before taking over from Jeff Bezos in 2021. In business and life, he believes, there are no shortcuts to success.

Getting hands-on

Jassy coined this turn of phrase when describing AWS in 2017, speaking with CNBC. The company was one of the fastest-growing hyperscalers at a time when the public cloud was becoming a critical part of the technology ecosystem.

Speaking to the success of AWS, Jassy said newer competitors on the market may be able to replicate the technology that the organization offers, but that the years of operational experience accrued made it dominant.

In that vein, Jassy suggested that AWS had been through experiences in dealing with customers that all hyperscalers would have to overcome – and there was no way to answer those questions without going through those same tribulations.

Putting in the hard yards

Compression algorithms are incredibly useful, especially in the age of big data and especially data-hungry large language models (LLMs).

Compression algorithms were the revolutionary tech at the heart of the 2013 HBO show Silicon Valley, and since then many companies have sought to ease the burden, including Google with its TurboQuant algorithm.

As Jassy suggested, however, experience in life and business doesn't work in the same way as data. The quote is perhaps more relevant today than it was then, in light of organizations around the world shedding entry-level jobs.

With businesses cutting the talent pipelines that could have led to years-long careers – much like Jassy's several decades at AWS – it may worsen not just the skills crisis but also create large experience gaps in the business world in the decades to come.

• Amazon is investigating three employees over comments made at a council meeting
• The employees spoke during a discussion on a one year moratorium on data center construction
• Amazon said that it "may or may not take action based on what we find.”

Amazon is investigating a group of employees who attended council meetings discussing a year-long moratorium on planned data center constructions.

Five employees, who work as engineers, criticized the “all-costs-justified AI build out” that has caused data center construction projects to spread rapidly across the US.

Since attending then, three engineers were invited to separate meetings with Amazon’s human resources to investigate their testimony at the meetings, according to a complaint filed with the Seattle Office for Civil Rights.

Amazon investigates employees critical of data center buildout

In their separate meetings with HR, the employees were warned that the investigation could lead to disciplinary action, ranging up to termination.

The complaint states that employees were made to feel “intimidated and uncertain in their future employment”.

The complaint further stated that, “Amazon was monitoring their political advocacy before the Seattle City Council and was seeking to identify additional employees who had engaged in political activities.”

Under Seattle Law, personal characteristics such as political ideology, race, religion and age cannot be used for discriminatory purposes by companies against their employees.

Speaking to CNBC, Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan said that the employees may have been speaking as representatives of Amazon, rather than as private citizens, adding that those speaking as Amazon representatives must follow certain procedures.

“We believe it’s important to apply our policies consistently so, just as we would with anyone else, we’re investigating whether there was a violation of our policies and may or may not take action based on what we find,” Callahan said in a statement.

Darius Irani, one of the employees involved in the council hearings, said in a statement “All I did was testify because I believe it’s critical that the government regulates data centers and AI. Workers need to be involved in these conversations.”

• Amazon signs agreement with Corning to procure fiber optic cables and networking components
• The move is expected to create hundreds of construction jobs in addition to the 1000 it creates at Corning's facilities in North Carolina
• Move comes as Amazon announces more than $20 billion investment into the state to create 26,000 jobs

Amazon has announced a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar agreement with Corning to supply its data center needs as it capitalizes on an AI-driven boom in demand.

The move, which creates manufacturing and construction jobs, also expands Corning's Fiber Optic Technician Training Program at Catawba Valley Community College, signaling an increased demand for technical workers in the fiber-optic industry.

Amazon has already committed to $10 billion in cloud infrastructure investments in North Carolina, investing over $20 billion in the state in projects it says have directly contributed to the creation of 26,000 jobs.

Amazon's glass obsession: bandwidth is key

The agreement comes weeks after AWS (Amazon Web Services) showcased Random Network Graph architecture, a fiber-optic network design that arranges cables in a semi-random configuration to boost bandwidth and reliability between servers.

The design considerably increases demand for fiber-optic cable and connectivity while solving one of AI's biggest challenges as models and data centers grow larger: reliable bandwidth.

Corning makes for an ideal partner for most AI data center companies looking to build out infrastructure: it is one of the world's largest fiber-optic manufacturers, is a US-based company, and offers cutting-edge fiber-optic technology all in one package. The 175-year-old glass company is up 94.72% Year-to-date (YTD) as investors continue to look for indirect beneficiaries of the AI trade amid unabated spending.

Amazon's move is not an isolated one, even as it marks a multi-billion-dollar investment in fiber optics for Corning. Nvidia has already been here first, backing the construction of 3 new optical equipment facilities and investing as much as $3.2 billion in the company's shares to finance what it says is a "10x increase" in its US-based optical connectivity manufacturing capacity.

"Amazon's investments in North Carolina have created more than 26,000 jobs across the state. This multibillion-dollar agreement with Corning continues that commitment, channeling investment into American manufacturing and creating 1,000 new jobs at their facilities near our data centers," said Matt Garman, CEO of AWS.

"We're also partnering to train North Carolinians for highly skilled roles in fiber optics and fusion splicing. These long-term investments create long-term careers and real opportunity in the communities where we operate."

• Amazon says its data centers used 0.12L/kWh in 2025 – Google used 1.15L/kWh
• Air-based cooling is used 90% of the time, keeping water only for when it's really needed
• The company has also raised the safe operating temperatures for equipment, reducing cooling needs

Amazon has revealed exactly how much its global data center operations used in 2025, and at 2.5bn gallons (the equivalent of 9.5bn litres), it is less than we might have expected.

Even though 2025 was a big year for data center expansion, Amazon says water use at facilities it directly owned fell 2% year-over-year, noting an impressive Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) of 0.12L/kWh – seven times better than the 0.84L/kWh industry average and a 52% self-improvement since 2021.

While closed-loop cooling likely drove some of this improvement, Amazon says its data centers now use outside air cooling around 90% of the time.

Amazon says data center water usage is actually decreasing

With air-based cooling doing the heavy lifting, Amazon said that evaporative cooling systems, which are considered water-intensive, are only used during the hottest weather conditions.

To offset some of the cooling requirements, the company also managed to increase the temperatures at which servers can safely operate, reducing the actual cooling needs in the first place.

Comparing itself to key hyperscaler rivals in 2024, Amazon emerged as a clear leader, consuming 0.15L/kWh. Meta came in second place at 0.19L/kWh, with Microsoft consuming twice as much (0.3L/kWh). Google fell short, at 1.15L/kWh.

Where water is required, Amazon says it's committed to expanding recycled water cooling to more than 120 US locations by the end of the decade, up from 24 sites currently. 2030 is also Amazon's target for becoming water positive – a goal it says it's 75% of the way there.

However, while the figures paint a remarkable picture of leadership, Amazon's data excludes partner locations as well as construction and manufacturing-related consumption.

"As demand for cloud computing continues to grow, so does our commitment to doing more with less—and to leave communities better than we found them," the company said in its blog post.

• Jeff Bezos says AI can bring in "multiple golden ages"
• "I think these people are just wrong”, Amazon founder says on AI naysayers
• His new firm Prometheus raises $12bn in new funding in its attempt to build an "artificial general engineer"

Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos has once again looked to play down the effects AI could have on the global job market, insisting the technology can instead bring in "multiple golden ages".

“The people who are jumping to the conclusion that the jobs are all going to go away...I think these people are just wrong,” Bezos, the world’s fourth-richest person, told the Financial Times.

“We’re in the middle of multiple golden ages right now, certainly with AI," he added, "But I think it’s true of space also, and other areas like biotech...I think you’re going to see a whole bunch of incredible miracles unfold here in the next decade.”

Everything has to do with AI

Bezos was speaking at an event for his new firm, Promotheus, which looks to use AI to revolutionize manufacturing and engineering, and recently raised $12 billion at a $41 billion valuation.

Bezos himself was a major contributor for the new funds, with the likes of JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and BlackRock also investing.

“All of the things that I work on today have something to do with AI,” Bezos told the FT, noting that his Blue Origin spacecraft firm, “is a perfect example of a company that would be greatly benefited” by Prometheus’ tools.

The company is looking to build what it calls an “artificial general engineer” — services and software which would be capable of automating the design and manufacturing of complex physical systems. It see anything from jet engines to new drugs as being covered by the potential, and could therefore have a major impact on engineering jobs.

And despite widespread concerns over the impact AI is already having on human jobs, Bezos said he believes the technology will in fact create a labour shortage, which will then lead to the creation of a host of new jobs.

“At root, all civilisational wealth is driven by invention. Six thousand years ago, somebody invented the plough, and we all got wealthier,” Bezos said.

This is not the first time Bezos has looked to play up the importance of AI, and convince us of its transformational impact instead.

In May 2025, he told CNBC that naysayer around AI "are dead wrong,” noting that, “What’s really going to happen is that (AI) is going to elevate all of these people.”

Bezos also predicted AI will help boost productivity, and could even lead to deflation as the cost of goods and services falls - but that this could only happen if, “we let this technology play out and don’t hamstring it with regulation too early.”

He also rejected the idea that AI coding tools could be a threat to software engineers, stating the technology could actually help them be more productive by spotting issues and solving problems.

• Northampton and Kettering facilities represent £1bn in UK funding from Amazon
• 4,000 jobs to be created at the two sites plus hundreds of seasonal roles
• Shoreditch HQ also gets a major upgrade with third office building

Amazon has confirmed it will be investing more than £1 billion into the UK in a major show of support for the country.

The announcement includes plans to open an new fulfillment center in Northampton and a second major logistics facility in the nearby market town of Kettering, each creating 2,000 jobs to add more than 4,000 jobs in total.

But more importantly, this major job opportunity represents just one 40th of Amazon's current UK investment plan, which covers £40 billion between 2025 and 2027.

Amazon is creating thousands of jobs across the UK

Within the first year, the company already claims to have delivered on £15 billion of this funding, and the new Northampton fulfillment center is now operational and handling customer deliveries.

Operations at the facility are spread across three floors and the campus includes thousands of Hercules robots that bring products to human workers.

As for the Kettering site, scheduled to open later in 2026, Amazon says it will become the largest cross-dock facility in the UK. The site is expected to process around 20 million items every week and will create both 2,000 permanent jobs and hundreds of additional seasonal roles.

At the same time, Amazon has expanded its Shoreditch HQ campus in East London with a third office building marking its commitment to investing in the UK.

The company declared it now employs 75,000 workers across more than 100 UK sites, noting that nearly half of its entry-level recruits stated on a salary of around the £30,000 mark.

"Amazon’s investment will help people move from welfare into work, with rewarding careers and room to progress," Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Pat McFadden commented. "It reflects the same ambition as our Youth Guarantee, supporting young people across the country to earn or learn."

• Merch on Demand taps into Alexa for Shopping for new AI-generated designs
• Consumer-targeted upgrade works on the app or website, available with Prime shipping
• Only US customers will get it for now – Etsy and others could suffer

Amazon has launched a new feature within Alexa for Shopping that enables customers to generate their own merch designs from AI prompts, which they can then have printed on physical products like hoodies and T-shirts.

Senior Editor Jacquelyn Smith said in an announcement that users may wish to print "a group chat's funniest inside joke... shirts for an upcoming family reunion... [or] a beloved pet reimagined as a cartoon," implying the new feature is designed primarily for consumer markets.

The new AI upgrade will be powered by the company's existing Merch on Demand platform, which means Amazon is behind the manufacturing, fulfillment, shipping and customer service.

Alexa for Shopping and Merch on Demand deliver custom merch via Prime

Available on the app, customers can tap the Alexa icon or search for 'customize' to describe an idea, refine with follow-up prompts and order the merch immediately. It's also available on the website for PC users.

With the new tool, Amazon directly targets other on-demand print platforms like Printful, Shutterfly, Etsy and more, and democratizes access to custom merch with all the benefits of Amazon, like fast Prime shipping.

This comes shortly after the company rolled out Alexa for Shopping, which upgrades the previous Rufus assistant with newer Alexa+ capabilities for an overall slicker experience.

Smith noted that the current product range, which is mostly apparel-dominated, includes T-shirts, V-necks, long-sleeve shirts, polo shirts, quarter zips, jerseys, hoodies, sweatshirts, tank tops and raglans. Tumblers and water bottles are also available.

And as with any new feature, US customers will be the first to benefit. Amazon did not mention any plans to expand to other geographies at this point.

It’s back! Amazon Australia has officially announced the dates for Prime Day, which will once again last 7 days, kicking off at 12am on Tuesday, July 7, and finishing up at 11:59pm on Monday, July 13.

This comes about a week earlier than we expected, as the sale event is usually held in mid-July. That's alright, though, because it's still more or less on schedule and starting on a Tuesday like it usually does.

The reason that we think Amazon is hosting its Prime Day sale a little early this year is because the same event is taking place on June 23-26 in other countries (like the US, UK and Singapore), but since we just finished our very own Mid-Year Sale last week (June 1-7), it's understandable that the retail giant wouldn't want to follow it up quickly with its biggest shopping event.

Speaking of the Mid-Year Sale, if you missed out on any of the deals from the event, we're still covering the best EOFY deals live this month, but we fully expect Prime Day to bring even better discounts on tech. We’ll be keeping an eye on prices of the best headphones, best tablets, best cameras and more, and we’ll have all the deals listed in our Prime Day hub.

We’re also expecting to see discounts from brands like Apple, Samsung, Dyson and more, as well as with Amazon’s own range of products like Kindle ereaders, Echo smart speakers, and Ring video doorbells.

As usual, we expect best prices will be exclusive to Amazon Prime members, although there will also be widely available discounts, too. If you’re interested but not yet a Prime member, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial. If you sign up just for the event, you’d still be eligible for the Prime Day deals even if you cancel your membership immediately after.

Otherwise, staying on as a Prime member after your free trial will cost AU$9.99 per month, or AU$79 for an annual membership. Other benefits you can get with a Prime membership are the Prime Video streaming service, Amazon Music and Amazon Luna gaming.

Get ready for Prime Day

With the number of deals we’re expecting to see going into the thousands, browsing through the Amazon Australia site could be overwhelming. The good news is that we will help you find the best tech deals in real-time and have them all listed in our dedicated live Prime Day hub. You’ll want to check in often so you won’t miss out on some of the best discounts, as some of them will go live in a flash and sell out very quickly.

Amazon Prime Day is one of the retailer’s biggest and best sales events in Australia in recent years, and it’s up there with Black Friday, EOFY, and the second Prime Day event that we expect to see sometime in October.

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft: Two-minute review

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft delivers everything you could want from an e-reader (mostly). Amazon packed this device with all of the key features of its other Kindles, but unfortunately, it commands a much higher price as a result.

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft nails all the e-reader basics, and that chunky upcharge brings some color into the mix so you can experience comics and the like. You also get a fancy pen to annotate and take notes. Those features function well overall, but they're not perfect.

Despite combining the “Scribe” and “Colorsoft” portions in the Kindle, you actually can't use them in tandem. You can't annotate or take any notes when you're reading comics or manga, which is ironic considering this is meant to be an all-in-one solution.

However, the 11-inch display is large enough to mimic the size of some graphic novels. That means you have plenty of room to take notes, too. The screen also captures images in strong detail.

So, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is a great e-reader, but unless it's on sale, I'd only recommend it to folks in a higher tax bracket.

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft review: price and availability

• From $629 / £569 / AU$999
• Launched in the US and UK on December 10, 2025
• Launching in Australia on June 10, 2026

No. I simply cannot recommend the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft to the average Kindle user. It’s just too damn expensive. Adding color and a pen to your Kindle is a luxury that I would only recommend to those invested in Amazon’s eBook ecosystem or someone with significant disposable income.

At its starting price with 32GB of storage, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft costs $629 / £569 / AU$999 (it will launch in Australia on June 10). For 64GB of storage, that price jumps up to $679 / £629 / AU$1,099. As someone who just wants to read a book, that makes my wallet cry. But keep in mind that this is the peak premium Kindle device.

You can break down the features of the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft into three categories — Kindle, Scribe, and Colorsoft — and it's quite simple to pick apart its value proposition as a result. The Kindle is just your traditional Paperwhite device for $159 / £159 / AU$199, and then the Colorsoft adds a splash of color to that for $249 / £269 / AU$399, and finally, you’ve got the Scribe for $399 / £379 / AU$649, which is like the Paperwhite, except you can write on it. Combine all that, and you get the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.

If, for some reason, you need all three features packed into one device, then obviously, your only option in the Kindle ecosystem is the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. But focusing on one key feature will save you some decent coin, so I recommend doing just that before committing such a princely sum to this all-in-one device. Not to mention, there are cheaper color e-readers out there, like the Kobo Libra Colour ($219 / £199 / AU$359).

• Value score: 3 / 5

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft review: Specs

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft review: design

• Slightly less portable, but more reading room
• Pen placement is awkward

The 11-inch Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is almost as big as some of the taller graphic novels I have on my shelf, which seems appropriate considering its purpose. It does make it somewhat more difficult to carry around than the 7-inch Kindle Colorsoft, but it feels more authentic. And despite the larger 189 x 245mm body, it weighs only 400g and is 5.4mm thick, so it’s still more portable than some hardcover books.

As far as the overall design goes, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft looks exactly how you imagine a Kindle would look, except without that chunky bottom bezel. The bezels are still large enough for your hands to grip the device without getting in the way of the screen.

I reviewed the Graphite model with the white pen, but you can get the Fig colorway, which also comes with a Fig-colored pen. I usually don’t say this about tech, but I think I prefer the black model, only because the Fig colorway might be a little distracting while reading.

At the bottom, you’ll find the USB Type-C port for charging, and the power button is located on the top-right side. Just below that is the space where the pen attaches.

If you’re thinking that the pen might get in the way while attached to the right side, you’d be correct. It’s a silly design choice, especially when the pen is small enough (155 x 8.8mm) to easily fit on top of the Kindle.

Overall, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is sleek and inoffensive. It’s thin and light, albeit a bit harder to carry around than previous models, but who doesn’t want a little more reading and writing space? However, I am frustrated by the pen placement.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft review: display

• There’s color, but it’s not colorful
• Text and images are sharp

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft covers the black-and-white spectrum at 300 ppi and adds a splash of color at 150 ppi. There isn’t much the 11-inch display could do to elevate the average book reading experience, but it didn’t have to. Text looked clear and crisp, and the 36 white LEDs and 34 amber LEDs made it so I had a more comfortable reading experience depending on the setting I was in.

Like with other e-ink displays, the LEDs do create a layer of color (white or amber) that warps the image on the screen a little bit. With black text, it’s perfectly fine, as the difference is negligible. However, when introducing color, it’s more noticeable.

The problem is that, while it’s nice to have color, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is just not as colorful as I’d like it to be. I read “Hellblazer Vol. 1,” and when John Constantine heads to Africa, there are supposed to be these bright and bold pink and yellow hues, but they are muted on the Scribe Colorsoft’s screen. Even when set to “Vivid” mode, the color doesn’t pop. Honestly, this is to be expected from an e-ink display. But it doesn’t change the fact that you won’t get the same experience as looking at a real graphic novel. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that we can experience color at all, but at this wild asking price, it’s definitely not worth it for the color alone.

• Display score: 4 / 5

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft review: performance

• Relatively smooth
• The response times you expect

You’re not looking at a racehorse here; this is a little pony, and that's OK. You don’t need all the performance in the world to run an e-reader.

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is relatively smooth across the board but still suffers from slightly slow response times during navigation. This isn’t a huge turn-off, since most of the experience comes down to turning a page. I did have to restart my Kindle once because it simply refused to connect to Wi-Fi no matter how many times I tried, but it resolved itself afterwards.

When doing more involved things like annotating or taking notes, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft kept up with all of my movements and demands with little issue. Zooming in around the pages also looked and felt smooth, although there’s still a slight awkward delay for the image to refresh, as I could clearly see the ghost of an image from the previous screen.

• User experience score: 4 / 5

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft review: software

• Surprisingly fast performance on E Ink
• Smooth zooming, whether color or black and white

All of the important bits of the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, or any e-reader, come down to the software experience. I am generally happy with what this Kindle provides, and it’s not that much different from other e-readers.

You’ve got the essentials that allow you to adjust the layout, font, spacing, etc. There are little things like the “Popular highlights” and “About this book” info, which are neat. Then there’s Word Wise, which defines unfamiliar words but also still needs a lot of work — it identifies overly simple words even at its lowest setting instead of exclusively honing in on the university-level vocabulary that most people would struggle with.

One of my personal favorite software features is being able to isolate comic panels. Double-tapping on a comic panel will make it full screen, and then you can flip through the following panels with ease. When it gets to a new page, it’ll show you the full page and then break down each panel at full screen. This is super cool because you don’t have to zoom in to get a closer look at what’s happening. However, it’s not perfect. I noticed an issue when reading “Attack on Titan” where, when there are two panels and text sprawled across them, sometimes the Kindle won’t combine the panels, and it cuts off the text.

Another cool feature is being able to simulate page turns, which I love in theory, but it doesn’t look the best in practice. The problem is that it’s a fade-in and -out effect instead of an actual flipping animation. It looks a bit more natural when reading a book because it’s a quick fade between texts, but it’s a much uglier transition with comics because there’s a lot of ghosting happening. It looks like it fades in chunks, and it was visually unsatisfying to the point where I turned it off.

To highlight the “Scribe” portion of this Kindle, the notetaking and markup process is rather smooth. The pen is equipped with an eraser on the back and a shortcut button on its side (defaulted to highlight). When reading a standard book, there are two important icons, one on the left and right. The leftmost icon is for all of your pen settings to customize the look, change between highlighters and erasers, and even insert notes and canvases between the text.

The right side of the screen is where you take your notes; it can expand and either split the screen with the text or hover over it, and wherever you write notes, it’ll attach a note symbol next to the closest text. That’s pretty intuitive, since you can change the layout of the book, so naturally it would move the space of your notes. You can even expand the size of notes to take up the full page if you want, so there’s plenty of room to write.

There are a lot of features for folks interested in the “Scribe” portion of things, and they operate pretty seamlessly overall. There’s even a workspace section where you can take full notes unrelated to what you’re reading. In that workspace, there are two AI features, one of which can summarize your notes, and the other can “Refine writing,” which basically transforms your notes into a text font that you can customize.

The only absent feature I noticed is that you can’t take any notes in comics. That means no drawings, notetaking, or even highlighting.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft review: battery

• Light readers can go for weeks
• Heavy readers can go for days

According to Amazon, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft can survive for eight weeks if you're reading for 30 minutes at just under half brightness. I'll save you the math: that's 28 hours of reading time. For light readers, you could probably stretch that for a few weeks. Heavier readers will likely kill that battery in a few days.

I spent several weeks with the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, reading roughly an hour every day, and I didn't need to reach for a charger until toward the end of the month. That gives credit to Amazon’s battery life claim.

The reading time you experience will vary heavily based on the brightness of your screen. If you're someone who reads at close to zero brightness, you're going to get a lot more longevity out of the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.

Unfortunately, the battery does not charge fast. When I first got it, the battery was completely drained, and I had to wait quite a while before the Kindle showed any signs of life. It'll make you think it's broken, so I do not recommend letting it die.

• Battery score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft

• Review test period = four weeks
• Testing included = books, comics, manga

I spent a month bouncing around between books, comics, and manga. I read “The House Witch,” “The Time of Contempt,” “Hellblazer Vol. 1,” and “Attack on Titan,” most of which were available on Prime Reading. I spent roughly an hour a day reading. Logging into my Amazon account and getting them on the device was easy. Downloading comics and manga takes a little longer than books, but not significantly so.

For the “Scribe” portion of the review, I highlighted portions of dialogue and wrote little notes to myself to come back to later because the text was either written impeccably well or it was just a funny line. I also drew canvases between the text — just silly doodles right in the middle of the book.

First reviewed: May 2026

I've tried nearly all the best ereaders available today, including Amazon's Kindle Colorsoft, which I've found hard to recommend over the Kobo Libra Colour or the Kobo Clara Colour on account of its AU$399 RRP. However, there's now a AU$100 discount on the Colorsoft that makes it a fabulous colour ereader to get during Amazon's Mid-Year Sale.

At AU$299 for the 16GB standard edition, I think the 7-inch Colorsoft is not just the best colour Kindle, but one of the best Kindles, period. This price drop matches the Paperwhite's RRP now, and even though the latter is down to AU$239, it's always nice to have a colour display, even if it's just to appreciate the book covers.

Now, this isn't the lowest price I've seen on the Kindle Colorsoft — it was AU$294 back in December — but I think it's still a good price to pay if you're after a lovely ereader.

If it's already dropped under AU$300, I'm tempted to say wait for Prime Day as I think it might get cheaper but, then again, there are never any guarantees. We don't even have official dates for Prime Day 2026 in Australia yet, so it's perfectly fine not to wait — it won't be too much cheaper than this, I don't think.

With a seven-inch colour display, great battery life, waterproofing and an adjustable frontlight, our Kindle Colorsoft review described it as “the Kindle of your dreams in colour". Thanks to a dedicated Vivid Mode, it really is the best colour ereader at this price.

In comparison, the Kobo Clara Colour costs AU$269 RRP, but you're only getting a 6-inch screen here. For AU$30 more, I think the Colorsoft's 7-inch display is better value. And while Kobo's built-in OverDrive and Instapaper support is advantageous, the Kindle is the better buy for AU$299 if you're already embedded into Amazon's ecosystem.

I might not have reviewed it myself, but I have spent some hands-on time with the Colorsoft and I found page refreshes and turns to be speedy, barely any ghosting even for image-heavy books, and text selection was quite precise with my sausage fingers. It's pretty darn close to perfection for the E Ink colours-screen tech available today.

In fact, this is one of the best Kindle deals I've seen in 2026, beating even the Big Smile Sale price from March this year.

• A full-screen Fire TV pop-up ad has been spotted during start-up, which you have to dismiss
• manually
• It's currently promoting the new Fire TV mobile app redesign
• Amazon could use this as an opportunity to sell to third-party advertisers

The odd ad crops up across Fire TVs devices now and then, and users have pretty much got used to them, but now full-screen pop-ups have started to appear during the start-up process.

When users turn on their devices, one of the first things that now appears is a Fire TV system pop-up, which blocks the main home screen on both Fire TVs and Fire TV Sticks. The most frustrating part is that you have to acknowledge it and close it manually before you can use your device.

It was first spotted by AFTVnews, who say this is the first time Amazon has shown pop-ups that take over your entire screen. As it stands, the pop-up is only displaying an ad for Amazon’s Fire TV app which received a big design overhaul back in February.

As mentioned, Fire TV users are no strangers to ads. Ads are splattered across the Fire TV home screen and in standby screensavers when the device isn't being used, as well as in content on ad-supported tiers for streaming services like Prime Video.

In addition to product and brand ads, Fire TV devices display the odd pop-up when it’s system-related, whether that’s to notify you of software updates or inform you when it’s failed to pair a remote, for example.

Those types of ads are understandable, because they give you valuable information about any changes happening with your device. However, issuing full-screen pop-ups that you’re forced to acknowledge could be taking it a step too far for users who want to stream content and access apps without ads interrupting the experience.

This has sparked a concern, especially regarding the direction Amazon could take with this new advertising format — and it could even open the doors for the tech giant to start promoting products from third-party advertisers.

Is Amazon repeating history?

When it comes to spotlighting new Fire TV upgrades like the mobile app redesign, it makes sense. Amazon has rolled out a number of upgrades to Fire TV devices this year so far, which also includes a fresh layout and new streaming channels. But how long will it take for Amazon to throw brand ads in your face as soon as you turn on your TV?

As mentioned in the AFTVnews report, Amazon has used displaying formats in the past to advertise its own content and device-related information, and then gone on to sell these slots to third-party advertisers, filling its Fire TV interface with ads promoting brands that aren’t Amazon-related.

While the latest Fire TV pop-up remains system-related for now, that’s not to say Amazon won’t repeat history and see this as an opportunity to generate more revenue from advertising. The last thing viewers want is ads blocking their home screen before they've even decided what they want to watch.