Dave Limp, Amazon's senior vice president of devices and services, just announced more new products and features in one mile-a-minute launch at Amazon's The Spheres HQ in Seattle than most execs get to announce in a decade. We were verklempt – verklempt! – just sat there listening to it all. In a good way.

If 2018 was about putting Alexa in everything, 2019 is about putting Alexa everywhere: in your ears, on your face, on your hands. But wait, also in your plugs, in more cars, in your garden... please make it stop. No Alexa waffle maker, though, for which Limp found time to apologise.

Here's everything Amazon announced at the #AskAlexa event, hardware and software, ranked by how exciting we've decided it is.

1. Echo Frames

One of two 'Day 1: Editions' products that essentially make up Amazon's new experimental device series, the Echo Frames are a pair of glasses that let you chat to Alexa or your phones's assistant. Available in invite only "limited volumes" for $179.99 to start (then $249.99), they're both US only and androids only to launch – they connect to your phones via Bluetooth 5.0 and require a Wi-Fi or cellular connection to work.

There's only one thick, black acetate style right now but they'll take prescription lenses and they weigh just 31g. We had a brief demo and thought they were rather fetching, the frames are noticeably thicker than regular 'dumb' glasses, bordering on chunky, but the best design we've seen so far in this space, similar to Bose's neat smart sunglasses. From the front you wouldn't know.

An Amazon rep told us that they're not optimised for music but that beta testers have ended up using them for tunes. The hands-free Alexa wake word – there's also a button – swiping on the right-hand frame and speaker all worked nicely in the demo. Battery life is... OK: 40 Alexa queries, 20 minutes of phones calls or 45 minutes of media playback.

Price: $180

2. Echo Buds

The most intriguing mainstream device of the bunch is this neat pair of wireless earbuds. We've seen earbuds with Alexa in before – Bragi, Bose etc – but this pair of £120 true wireless buds will worry a lot of the audio brands getting into this space with affordable options.

The Echo Buds are IPX4 sweat and splash proof, with a five-hour battery life (20 hours including the compact sized case), three sizes of ear tips and a Galaxy Buds-style design that does stick out of your ears a bit but not offensively so. Aside from hands-free Alexa, the real selling point is the Bose active noise reduction tech - you double tap to move between 'passthrough' mode where you can hear what's going on around you and the genuinely impressive noise-reduction mode, which works pretty much flawlessly. Plus, in the Alexa app, there's an additional slider with five levels to personalise NC.

What this does mean, though, is that there's no play/pause or volume tap controls, which could get annoying. We were impressed with the audio from the dual armature drivers inside each bud too, though. On first listen, these are much better than they have the right to be at that price. (The Echo Buds are listed as 'coming soon' on Amazon UK).

Price: £120 | Amazon

3. Auto Delete Alexa Voice Recordings

When Amazon puts up a slide saying 'privacy is foundational', it's difficult not to snigger. But it is slowly, slowly, making progress on the specific issue of more granular controls for Alexa users.

The biggest one is that, in addition to options launched earlier this year to delete that day's recordings via voice, you can now set your account up to auto delete your recordings on a rolling three- or 18-month basis. We'd like it to be monthly but this is better than nothing. The feature is rolling out "later this year".

Also of note: Amazon says its wake word engine is 50 per cent more accurate so false wakes should be reduced. You can also ask Alexa why it did an action e.g. started playing music and ask the assistant 'Alexa, tell me what you heard.' Limp added at the launch: "We will continue to invent on privacy controls."

4. Echo Studio

The best sound you can now get from Echo speakers is two paired Echo Studioses plus a subwoofer. The Studio is the new £190 high-end Echo with three mid-range tweeters, a directional tweeter and a 5 1/4-inch bass driver. There's Dolby Atmos support and, another Echo first, a new Trueplay-like room adaptation feature that uses the mics to aim for the cleanest response depending on where it's placed, on shelves etc. The Studio runs this automatically unless the mics are muted and it takes about ten seconds each time you reposition the speaker.

Amazon says it's good value and claims people have commented it could be on a par with a $400 speaker. We'll see. It's certainly got a design reminiscent of the Apple HomePod. In our quick demo, it sounded warm, balanced and easily filled the mid-sized room with just one device. This one is perfectly timed to the launch of Amazon's hi-res Music HD and all 4K Fire TV devices will be able to stream to a Studio or two.

Price: £190 | Amazon

5. Amazon's bold Sidewalk network

Ring has a new 1080p Stick-Up Cam (£89) and a dinky Indoor Cam ($60), with a home mode that shuts off video and audio recording, which appears to be US only, as well as a new Retrofit Alarm Kit.

Much more ambitious, though, is Amazon Sidewalk, a new protocol on the 900MHz band, that came out of the Ring team's attempts to build smart garden security lights that connect securely to the rest of the ecosystem without using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or 5G which all have limitations.

Limp explained that Amazon wants to explore this protocol for low-cost devices with long battery life, starting with the Fetch pet tracker that takes advantage of the c.500m range and could be used to geofence your dog to your garden.

He also suggested the network could be used for water sensors for growing tomatoes, mailbox sensors – very American – and weather sensors. But the real clue is a map that popped up showing the huge coverage when a bunch of Amazon employees in California were given a gateway. Limp says it's "very early" and Fetch will ship next year but that it shows "a vision of how Sidewalk might be used". Between this and Apple's U1 chip, anyone who's anyone is building their own Bluetooth alternatives these days.

Price: £89 (Ring Stick-up Cam) | Amazon

6. Echo Dot with clock

This £60 Echo Dot has an LED clock on the front. It's really that simple. We can confirm you can easily see it across the room, as Amazon promised, plus you can tap the top of it for a nine minute snooze if you use as a bedside Echo, ask Alexa to show the temperature outside and display timers and alarms. Perfect for anyone against Echo devices with screens. We like it.

Price: £60 | Amazon

7. Alexa Connect Kit

Alexa's Connect Kit, which with some tinkering turns regular devices into Alexa compatible ones, is now available for anyone to buy, following successful experiments from Crock-Pot (slow-cooker coming soon), Proctor & Gamble, Mister Christmas (who made an Alexa-controlled Christmas tree) and more. With some basic coding know-how and elbow grease, this is an advanced DIY home project.

Price: $196 | Amazon US

8. Echo Flex

Amazon's £25 plug-in Alexa device is kinda ugly but it's a) super cheap for voice-controlling smart-home kit and b) has a USB port and 3.5mm aux output for charging, connecting to speakers or adding accessories. A company called Third Reality has made two of these for launch, a motion sensor and a night light (with an ambient light sensor) and Amazon says third parties can get in touch to build add-ons as long as they're the right size and not too heavy.

This makes a lot of sense in the bathroom, where you don't want trailing cables, or in rooms where you already have connected speakers and want an extra device for say, Alexa Announcements intercom. The Flex can do everything an Echo Dot can do and it does have a speaker for the assistant's responses but it's not really for music.

Price: £25 | Amazon

9. Samuel L Jackson plays Alexa

Alexa got a few more interesting upgrades too. First, Amazon has now reached the point with neural text to speech tech where it can mimic celebrities' voices rather than use pre-recorded clips. So for instance, there will soon be the option to switch your voice assistant to Samuel L Jackson, in an explicit or non-explicit version, with queries and jokes. It's unclear whether this is going to be available outside of the US.

Alexa is also getting a multi-lingual mode, starting with Spanish and English in the US; French and English in Canada and Hindi and English in India. And "over the coming months and years" a more expressive Alexa model will be rolling out across things like news and sports with, say, the cadence of a news anchor voice for bulletins.

10. Echo Glow

A $29.99 "companion device" i.e. there's no mic or speaker inside, the Echo Glow is a nightlight with "millions" of colours and the ability to tap to cycle through hues. The idea is to pair it with an Echo Dot Kids Edition - we do like that rainbow fabric cover - to ask for 'camp fire' and 'dance party' modes. Cute. (But not coming to the UK for now, from the looks of things).

11. Echo Loop

The second 'Day 1' invite-only device is one we're slightly less convinced by than the smartglasses. The Echo Loop is a $130 smart ring made from black brushed titanium and stainless steel with two mics, a speaker and a piezo haptic motor for vibrations. It's a bit convoluted but when you get an alert, your finger buzzes then you hold the ring up to your ear to hear the notification. Or you press the button with your thumb to activate Alexa and hold it up again.

The Loop is very 'out there' and that's to be applauded, but the large size - there's four sizes - was quite big and not at all stylish. Plus we would have liked to see a couple of other useful features, that have cropped up on indie smart rings, like contactless payments.

12. Eero routers come to the UK

Amazon is bringing a couple of eero mesh Wi-Fi routers over to the UK. The eero, which comes as a £99 unit or £249 for a three pack, and the eero pro – £179 or £429 for three – arrive in November. When Amazon bought the company, there were questions raised about its intentions with all that extra household data so it will be intriguing to see how Brits respond especially as Amazon has just added Alexa integration that it says aims to simplify Wi-Fi controls so you could say "Alexa, pause the PlayStation Wi-Fi."

Price: From £99 | Amazon

13. Alexa Smart Oven

Remember last year's Alexa Microwave? Well apparently it's now the bestselling microwave on Amazon – we're sure the algorithms have nothing to do with that. Regardless, Amazon is back with a new kitchen-focused reference design, the $249 Alexa Smart Oven which adds convection cooking, an air fryer and the ability to scan some packaged stuff via the Alexa app or Echo Show for preset settings. Each one comes with a free Echo Dot.

14. Echo Auto expands to more car makers

In a very alpha move, Amazon stuck seven cars next to a cycle lane outside its HQ to demo its Echo Auto program, which now includes GM, Cadillac, Chevrolet and Buick alongside Ford, Lexus, Toyota and more. The all-electric 2020 Rivian R1T-Silver demo (0-60 in three seconds) showed off the 'Alexa, open the hood' command.

15. Echo (2019)

Probably the most boring of the Echo launches was the original Echo. The 2019 model is £90 in the UK with an audio upgrade to match the Echo Plus with better bass, clearer mids and highs according to Amazon. There's also a new Twilight Blue colour too.

Price: £90 | Amazon

16. Echo Show 8

Ditto the new £120 8-inch size of Amazon's smart display, aimed squarely at the kitchen. As you'd expect, there's a HD display and a built in camera cover. BBC Good Food handles the video recipes in the UK; Food Network Kitchen in the US. It's out on 21 November in the UK.

Price: £120 | Amazon

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This article was originally published by WIRED UK