Latest devices from Amazon, Meta, Google, and more

Three years after the introduction of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, more devices powered by generative AI technology are hitting the market in time for the 2025 holiday shopping season, many of which are offering Black Friday deals.

Shoppers can choose from more advanced smart glasses, genAI-powered smart speakers, and pendant AI friends that act as their best friends.

These latest gizmos are available from megacaps such as: Amazon, alphabet and meta And then there are smaller players like Friend and Plaud.

Despite the arrival of this new wave of products, many devices have received mixed reviews and no one has emerged as a clear leader.

Part of the reason is that much of the spending on artificial intelligence is focused on other things.

Since ChatGPT was released in late 2022, much of the tech industry has pivoted to prioritizing building language models at scale, with the goal of achieving artificial general intelligence (AI) with human-like or even superhuman capabilities.

So far, much of the development in Silicon Valley has focused on AI apps, including chatbots like Anthropic’s Claude, image generators like Google’s Nano Banana, and feeds of AI-generated short videos like OpenAI’s Sora. You can access everything on your existing smartphone without having to buy a new fancy gadget.

But the world of AI hardware is growing rapidly.

If you’re looking for the latest AI devices, here’s what you can get this holiday season.

Amazon wants to make sure its Alexa voice assistant and Echo smart speakers don’t get left behind in the genAI era.

The company announced Alexa+ in February, promising a smarter, more conversational and personalized version of its 11-year-old digital assistant. In September, it launched a new Echo speaker and display set that will soon become the first device to include Alexa+.

The lineup includes the $100 Echo Dot Max, $180 Echo Show, $220 Echo Studio, and $220 Echo Show 11.

The Echo Dot Max is an entry-level multipurpose smart speaker, while the Echo Studio is larger, more expensive, and offers better sound quality. The main difference between Amazon’s smart displays, Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11, is the size of the touch screen.

All devices feature improved sensors, speakers, and microphones.

Amazon is offering 11% off the price of the Echo Show 11 and 10% off the price of the Echo Dot Max as part of its Black Friday promotion.

With the upgrade, Amazon aims to allow users to use the device more frequently than with previous products. Consumers frequently complained that Alexa was becoming outdated, and Echo devices offered little utility beyond controlling smart home accessories such as setting timers, spitting out weather forecasts, playing music, and turning lights on and off.

Amazon’s latest Alexa ad attempts to paint a different picture.

Comedian Pete Davidson was walking through his kitchen when his Alexa-enabled Echo Show silently announced, “Your coffee’s ready, your Uber is on its way.” Davidson then casually jokes with Alexa about his preferred nickname.

This interaction is intended to introduce you to some of Alexa+’s biggest selling points. Users don’t have to repeat the so-called “wake word” with every command, allowing conversations to flow more naturally.

Devices can now connect to external services to perform actions on your behalf. At this time, you can make reservations using Alexa+. Uber Make reservations with OpenTable, generate songs through Suno, plan a trip with Fodor’s, schedule a repair shop visit, and buy concert tickets with Ticketmaster. Amazon said it plans to add more features soon.

Alexa+ is not yet generally available. Consumers will have to wait until they receive early access or purchase and use a new Echo model.

Amazon is offering Alexa+ for free to early access users, but at some point the company plans to start charging non-Prime members a $19.99 monthly fee for the service.

The company is also working in the wearable field.

In July, Amazon announced plans to acquire AI company Bee for an undisclosed sum and hinted that the technology could be integrated into more hardware in development. Bee is known for its $50 wristband that uses AI and microphones to listen and analyze conversations and provide to-do lists, summaries, and daily task reminders.

— Annie Palmer

Gemini-powered Google Home speakers won’t be available until spring, but alphabet This year we have delivered several generative AI technologies.

The Pixel 10 smartphone, launched in August, thoroughly integrates Google’s AI into several features, including live translation, text-based photo editing, and the built-in Gemini assistant.

Baseline pricing for the Pixel 10 starts at $799, and the Pro lineup includes the $999 Pixel 10 Pro, $1,199 Pixel Pro XL, and $1,799 Pixel 10 Pro Fold. The Pro line offers higher quality cameras and displays, as well as additional video features.

Among our AI products is Magic Cue, which connects data from different apps to reveal relevant information and suggest helpful actions. For example, if a user receives a message asking where to make a dinner reservation, Magic Cue can find the answer from the calendar app.

To snap photos, Google offers an AI “camera coach.” It scans your photographic scene and provides recommendations on framing, lighting, and other techniques to improve your images.

The Pixel 10 Pro smartphone comes with a one-year subscription to Google’s “AI Pro” plan, which typically costs $19 per month and offers multiple AI tools, including writing assistant NotebookLM and video generator Veo 3.

The company says all Pixel 10 models are on sale for $200 to $300 off until December 6th, except for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, which will be discounted by $300 until December 2nd.

— Jores Yip

Partnership between Meta and eyewear giant Essilor Luxotticaoriginally inked in 2019, created an unexpected hit with the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses that both companies want to boast about.

With the Meta AI digital assistant, users can command camera glasses to take photos, play music, and answer questions about nearby landmarks.

In September, the companies announced the latest version of the glasses called Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2).

The new model has double the battery life of its predecessor and an improved camera. The price is $379, which is $80 more than the previous version.

Meta and Luxottica launched two smart glasses aimed at athletes this year under the Oakley brand.

The $399 Oakley Meta HSTN glasses are marketed toward casual athletes who want to take photos while playing sports like golf, while the $499 Oakley Meta Vanguard smart glasses are made for fans of action sports like skiers.

Vanguard glasses feature a flashier wraparound design and two buttons on the underside of the frame that allow helmet-wearing athletes to easily take photos, videos, and perform other actions.

For those willing to spend a lot of money to test new technology, Meta and Luxottica also launched the $799 Meta Ray-Ban Display Glasses in September.

These are the first glasses Meta sells to the public that include a display, albeit a small one, built into one of the lenses. The display is intended to show small pieces of information to the user, such as navigation instructions. The glasses also include a neural-powered wristband that allows users to command the device with gestures, such as rotating a finger to adjust volume.

However, buying $799 glasses isn’t easy.

Meta requires you to sign up for an in-person demo at one of our stores: best buy The company warns, “Due to inventory availability varying by store, you may not be able to purchase a pair immediately after the demo.”

Early reviews of the display glass were mixed.

Some reviewers praise the device’s color display, camera, and innovative wristband. Still, some criticize the high price and say the lack of an app limits functionality.

Meta is currently offering several Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday deals on some of its various AI-powered smart glasses that last until December 1st.

At Best Buy, you can get 20% off all versions of the Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 1). targetAmazon, Meta’s website, Ray-Ban’s website and stores. Meta is also offering a 20% discount on prescription lens prices for those who purchase Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) and Oakley Meta HSTN glasses through its website.

— Jonathan Bunyan

Most AI chatbots aim to improve user productivity. The makers of this smart pendant want AI to be your friend.

Users wear the Friend, as the product is aptly named, around their neck, and the $129 device listens to conversations happening around them.

Friend’s chatbot is powered by Google Gemini and provides commentary on your conversations and life. These comments will be displayed as notifications through the corresponding smartphone app on your device.

For example, when one reviewer played Taylor Swift’s new song for an AI friend, the device commented through a notification that it “didn’t think it was bad at all” and “pretty typical for pop.”

The device is at the center of societal debates about the rise of AI.

Friends posted ads in New York subway stations this fall suggesting that the pendants were better than real friends, promising to “never bail on our dinner plans.”

The posters were soon defaced with messages such as “AI doesn’t care if you live or die.”

Anyone who wants to experience what it’s like to wear it with an AI friend should order now.

The company’s website currently says the product will ship in “winter 2025/26,” but Friend founder Avi Schiffman told CNBC that devices ordered early enough will ship before Christmas.

— Kif Lesswing

Although the Plaud Note is more like a credit card than a voice recorder, it’s an ideal purchase for meetings, lectures, or note-takers who want to record dictation.

With over 30 hours of recording time and a 60-day standby battery, this slim device can create transcriptions in 112 languages. The transcription includes tags for each speaker on the audio.

The recorder’s companion apps include OpenAI’s GPT-5, Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4, and Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro. The app uses these AI models to generate detailed summaries and notes. Users can choose from over 3,000 summary templates, including phone Q&A and seminar notes.

Plaud App’s basic plan allows for 300 minutes of transcription per month, but users can upgrade to a pro plan with 1,200 minutes for $8.33 per month or a more expensive unlimited plan for $19.99 per month.

This recorder easily attaches to any phone with a MagSafe magnet (all Apple smartphones starting with the iPhone 12 series, or any phone case with a similar magnet).

The company also offers the Plaud NotePin, a small, pill-shaped version of the recorder that can be worn as a magnetic pin, clip, wristband, or necklace.

Regularly priced at $159, both devices are currently on sale for 20% off during Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday, with an additional 15% discount planned for Christmas, the company said.

— Jores Yip

Watch: Google releases Gemini 3.0 model, closes the gap with ChatGPT