Amazon announced a series of new Echo and Alexa products and initiatives this week -- from smart glasses to wireless earbuds to a new neighborhood wireless initiative --  extending the reach of its devices and services well beyond the home, while attempting to address consumer concerns about privacy at the same time.

 

Here's our coverage from the week.
Why Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sees new opportunity in the yard, on the sidewalk, and beyond
Everything Amazon announced at its devices event — Echo Buds, Echo Frames, Echo Studio, and more
Bezos: Facial recognition ‘a perfect example’ of the need for regulation, and Amazon is working on it
Amazon unveils new Alexa-powered Echo Buds, undercuts Apple’s AirPods with $129.99 price tag

Amazon announced a series of new Echo and Alexa products and initiatives this week -- from smart glasses to wireless earbuds to a new neighborhood wireless initiative --&nbsp; extending the reach of its devices and services well beyond the home, while attempting to address consumer concerns about privacy at the same time.
&nbsp;
Here's our coverage from the week.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-sees-new-opportunity-yard-sidewalk-beyond/">Why Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sees new opportunity in the yard, on the sidewalk, and beyond</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/live-updates-amazon-unveils-new-alexa-powered-devices-media-event-seattle/">Everything Amazon announced at its devices event &mdash; Echo Buds, Echo Frames, Echo Studio, and more</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/jeff-bezos-facial-recognition-perfect-example-need-regulation-amazon-working/">Bezos: Facial recognition &lsquo;a perfect example&rsquo; of the need for regulation, and Amazon is working on it</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/amazon-unveils-new-alexa-powered-echo-buds-undercuts-apples-airpods-129-99-price-tag/">Amazon unveils new Alexa-powered Echo Buds, undercuts Apple&rsquo;s AirPods with $129.99 price tag</a></li>
</ul>

GeekWire brings you the week's latest technology news, trends and insights, covering the world of technology from our home base in Seattle. Our regular news podcast features commentary and analysis from our editors and reporters, plus interviews with special guests.

GeekWire reporters John Cook, Todd Bishop and guests talk about the latest tech news and trends.

GeekWire

Alexa leaves the house

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: we take the show on the road — or rather, on the rails — recording on Sound Transit's 2 Line as we ride the world's first light rail on a floating bridge from Seattle's Northgate neighborhood to Microsoft's campus in Redmond.

Along the way, we talk tech news, chat with fellow passengers, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the engineering from Sound Transit's Henry Bendon.

After arriving in Redmond, we sit down with Microsoft President Brad Smith to talk about the company's two-decade role in making the Crosslake Connection a reality — and hit him with a trivia question he didn't see coming.

We also discuss Anduril's autonomous warship facility on Seattle's ship canal, golf star Bryson DeChambeau's acquisition of Bellevue-based Sportsbox AI ahead of the Masters, and more.

With GeekWire's John Cook, Todd Bishop, and Kurt Schlosser. Edited by Curt Milton.

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: we take the show on the road &mdash; or rather, on the rails &mdash; recording on <a href="https://www.soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/routes-schedules/2-line">Sound Transit's 2 Line</a> as we ride the <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/microsoft-lime-and-others-helping-to-celebrate-opening-of-new-light-rail-line-from-seattle-to-eastside/">world's first light rail on a floating bridge</a> from Seattle's Northgate neighborhood to Microsoft's campus in Redmond.
Along the way, we talk tech news, chat with fellow passengers, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the engineering from Sound Transit's <a href="https://www.instagram.com/henryonboard/">Henry Bendon</a>.
After arriving in Redmond, we sit down with Microsoft President&nbsp;<a href="https://news.microsoft.com/source/exec/brad-smith/">Brad Smith</a> to talk about the company's two-decade role in making the <a href="https://www.soundtransit.org/crosslake">Crosslake Connection</a> a reality &mdash; and hit him with a trivia question he didn't see coming.
We also discuss <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/defense-giant-anduril-is-quietly-building-autonomous-warships-on-seattles-historic-ship-canal/">Anduril's autonomous warship facility on Seattle's ship canal</a>, golf star <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/golf-star-bryson-dechambeau-leads-acquisition-of-seattle-area-startup-sportsbox-ai/">Bryson DeChambeau's acquisition of Bellevue-based Sportsbox AI</a> ahead of the Masters, and more.
With GeekWire's John Cook, Todd Bishop, and Kurt Schlosser. Edited by Curt Milton.

Riding the rails — over a floating bridge: GeekWire Podcast takes the train across the lake to Microsoft

This week: Rec Room, the Seattle-based social gaming platform once valued at $3.5 billion, is shutting down — and Snap is picking up some of the pieces.

Todd talks about what it was like fielding calls from distraught users on the night of the announcement. John offers his thoughts on what the shutdown says about the VR hype cycle, and whether everyone betting on the AI boom should take notes.

Plus: Major League Baseball's new automated ball-strike system is already exposing umpires and creating a whole new kind of showboating — including one player who was so confident the robot would overrule the ump that he just started walking to first base.

Also on the show: Todd road-tests Amazon's new FedEx Office returns partnership (pro tip: don't ask for stamps), OpenAI makes a head-scratching move into media by acquiring tech talk show TBPN, John gets fooled by an April Fools' prank, WSU researchers take on the torpedo bat, and our weekly trivia segment ties Apple's 50th anniversary to a piece of Microsoft lore.

Thanks to this week's sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Microsoft, proud to call Washington state home and committed to strengthening the communities that made its growth possible — investing in infrastructure, workforce development, education, and nonprofit partnerships to help ensure innovation drives broad-based prosperity across the state. Read more.

With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Edited by Curt Milton. 

This week: <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/snap-acquires-assets-from-rec-room-as-social-gaming-platform-announces-shutdown/">Rec Room</a>, the Seattle-based social gaming platform once valued at $3.5 billion, is shutting down &mdash; and <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/snap-acquires-assets-from-rec-room-as-social-gaming-platform-announces-shutdown/">Snap is picking up some of the pieces</a>.
Todd talks about what it was like fielding calls from distraught users on the night of the announcement. John offers his thoughts on what the shutdown says about the VR hype cycle, and whether everyone betting on the AI boom should take notes.
Plus: Major League Baseball's new <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/abs-challenge-system-mlb-2026">automated ball-strike system</a> is already exposing umpires and creating a whole new kind of showboating &mdash; including one player who was so confident the robot would overrule the ump that he just started walking to first base.
Also on the show: Todd road-tests <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/amazon-and-fedex-together-again-this-time-for-e-commerce-returns/">Amazon's new FedEx Office returns partnership</a> (pro tip: don't ask for stamps), <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/02/openai-acquires-tbpn-the-buzzy-founder-led-business-talk-show/">OpenAI makes a head-scratching move into media</a> by acquiring tech talk show TBPN, John gets fooled by an April Fools' prank, <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/wood-is-wood-wsu-research-finds-yankees-viral-torpedo-bats-perform-the-same-as-traditional-bats/">WSU researchers take on the torpedo bat</a>, and our weekly trivia segment ties&nbsp;<a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/on-apples-50th-recalling-the-time-a-microsoft-engineer-drove-steve-jobs-so-crazy-he-invented-the-ipad/">Apple's 50th anniversary</a> to a piece of Microsoft lore.
Thanks to this week's sponsor:&nbsp;This episode is brought to you by Microsoft, proud to call Washington state home and committed to strengthening the communities that made its growth possible &mdash; investing in infrastructure, workforce development, education, and nonprofit partnerships to help ensure innovation drives broad-based prosperity across the state.&nbsp;<a href="link">Read more.</a>
With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Edited by Curt Milton.&nbsp;

Rec Room, the Seattle-based social gaming platform once valued at $3.5 billion, is shutting down — and Snap is picking up some of the pieces. Todd broke the news, fielded calls from distraught users, and connects the VR bust to lessons for the AI boom. Plus: MLB's new automated ball-strike system is exposing umpires and creating a whole new kind of showboating, Todd road-tests Amazon's FedEx Office returns partnership, OpenAI makes a head-scratching media acquisition, and the trivia question ties Apple's 50th anniversary to a word Microsoft tried and failed to make happen.

Rec Room shutdown, robot umps, FedEx meets Amazon, and OpenAI's odd media buy

Fresh off the big GeekWire AI summit this week, Todd and John unpack what they heard from Microsoft EVP Charles Lamanna, OpenAI applications CTO Vijaye Raji, and other speakers at the Agents of Transformation event in Seattle, presented by Accenture.

The big thread: the economics of AI, from token budgets becoming a hiring negotiation point to startups running on subsidized credits that may not last.

Plus, a startup founder whose engineer burned through $5,000 in AI tokens over a single weekend of vibe coding, OpenAI shutting down Sora amid $15 million-a-day processing costs, and why one panelist says the metrics most companies are tracking are "watermelon metrics" — green (profit) on the outside, red (losses) on the inside.

Also: how Todd used a Claude project over several months to prep for the event, John's experience bouncing between Gemini and ChatGPT, and why the simplistic chat era may be over. 

And in this week's trivia: Sound Transit's light rail starts crossing Lake Washington on a floating bridge — but when did the original I-90 floating bridge open?

With GeekWire co-founders John Cook and Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

Fresh off the big GeekWire AI summit this week, Todd and John unpack what they heard from Microsoft EVP Charles Lamanna, OpenAI applications CTO Vijaye Raji, and other speakers at the <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/beyond-the-chatbot-at-geekwire-summit-ai-leaders-say-the-era-of-autonomous-agents-is-already-here/">Agents of Transformation event in Seattle</a>, presented by Accenture.
The big thread: the economics of AI, from <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/microsoft-exec-charles-lamanna-on-how-ai-is-creating-an-expensive-new-request-from-job-candidates/">token budgets</a> becoming a hiring negotiation point to startups running on subsidized credits that may not last.
Plus, a startup founder whose engineer burned through $5,000 in AI tokens over a single weekend of vibe coding, OpenAI shutting down Sora amid $15 million-a-day processing costs, and why one panelist says the metrics most companies are tracking are "watermelon metrics" &mdash; green (profit) on the outside, red (losses) on the inside.
Also: how Todd used a Claude project over several months to prep for the event, John's experience bouncing between Gemini and ChatGPT, and why the simplistic chat era may be over.&nbsp;
And in this week's trivia: Sound Transit's light rail <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/geekwire-rides-the-worlds-first-floating-bridge-train-seattle-tech-commutes-will-never-be-the-same/https://www.geekwire.com/2026/geekwire-rides-the-worlds-first-floating-bridge-train-seattle-tech-commutes-will-never-be-the-same/">starts crossing Lake Washington on a floating bridge</a> &mdash; but when did the original I-90 floating bridge open?
With GeekWire co-founders John Cook and Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

Alexa leaves the house

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