Amazon todayannounceda new set of Echo Buds, promising improvements to the sound quality and noise-canceling abilities of the original while maintaining a low price of $120 — less than half the price of the AirPods Pro, its most obvious competitor. That’s cheaper than most earbuds with ANC in general, too. The earbuds have a sleeker design available in either black or white, and, crucially, are 20% smaller than their predecessor. It also uses shorter nozzles that are less likely to dig up earwax and is vented to reduce pressure on the ear....

Amazon isoften accusedof treating staff like expendable robots. And like machines, sometimes employees break down. A2019 surveyof 145 warehouse workers found that 65% of them experienced physical pain while doing their jobs. Almost half (42%) said the pain persists even when they’re not working. That’s a real shame — for Amazon. Those pesky injuries can slow down the company’s relentless pace of work. But the e-commerce giant may have found a solution....

Amazon’s Astro robot was certainlythe most eye-catchingannouncement from its hardware event last night.However, the ecommerce giant also launched a new version of its Halo fitness band, along with health-related services, including workout and nutrition guidance. The new $80 Halo View has an AMOLED screen to display time, notifications, and fitness stats. While that’s the biggest upgrade fromlast year’s screen-less Halo band, Amazon has also dropped the always-listening mic. This means you can’t use the weird-as-hellemotion detecting featuredirectly from the band, but it still lives in the app....

Amazon today announced the latest version of its Kindle Paperwhite ($140) — it’s most popular Kindle — with at least four major updates that might actually make the Paperwhite a better buy than the more expensive Oasis. Actually, Amazon announced not just one new Kindle Paperwhite, but three: there are new ‘Signature’ ($190) and Kids ($160) models too. More on these in a bit. A bigger, warmer display The new Kindle Paperwhite goes from a 6-inch screen to a 6....

Amazon is trying to capitalize on the growing market for serialized fiction. The company today launched Kindle Vella, a mobile-first platform that lets readers buy stories in episodic chunks. Despite the name, Kindle Vella is not available on Kindle devices, or Android, for that matter. Users currently have to access the platform on Amazon.com or the Kindle iOS app. It’s also initially only available in the US. Background:Serialized fiction has been on the comeback trail in recent years....