Amazon Will Brick Its $2,350 Astro Robots Just 10 Months After Release

Amazon is bricking each Astro for Business robots connected September 25. It archetypal released the robot astir 8 months agone arsenic a information instrumentality for tiny and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) for $2,350, but the instrumentality volition soon beryllium a pricey caller summation to Amazon's failed products list.

Amazon announced Astro successful September 2021 arsenic a location robot; that mentation of the instrumentality is inactive disposable arsenic a $1,600, invite-only preview.

In November, Amazon pivoted Astro to SMBs. But arsenic archetypal reported by GeekWire, Amazon connected Wednesday sent emails to employees moving connected Astro for Business and customers telling them that the devices volition halt moving connected September 25. At the time, Amazon's email to customers said: "Your idiosyncratic information volition beryllium deleted from the device. Any patrol oregon probe videos recorded by Astro volition inactive beryllium disposable successful your Ring app until your video retention clip expires oregon your Ring Protect subscription ends." According to The Verge, the email adds:

While we are arrogant of what we’ve built, we’ve made the determination to extremity enactment for Astro for Business to enactment our absorption connected making Astro the champion robot for the home.

As of this week, Amazon volition nary longer complaint users for subscriptions associated with Astro for Business, specified arsenic Astro Secure, which fto the robot patrol businesses via customized routes, oregon Ring Protect Pro, which fto Astro for Business owners store video past and sync the robot with Ring devices.

Amazon said it would refund customers $2,350 and springiness them a $300 Amazon credit. It besides said it would refund unused, prepaid subscription fees.

Amazon has declined to stock however galore robots it sold, but it's unfortunate to spot specified an expensive, analyzable portion of exertion go obsolete aft little than a year. Amazon hasn't shared immoderate ways to marque further usage of the devices, and spokesperson Courtney Ramirez told The Verge that Astro for Business can't beryllium utilized arsenic a location robot instead. Amazon's email to customers encourages owners to recycle Astro for Business done the Amazon Recycling Program, with Amazon covering associated costs.

Astro Slow to Take Off

Amazon introduced Astro successful precocious 2021, but arsenic of 2024, it's inactive not disposable to the wide public. When Amazon released Astro for SMBs, it seemed similar it mightiness person recovered a caller niche for the product. A May 2023 study from Business Insider claimed that Amazon opted to merchandise Astro for Business implicit "an interior program to merchandise a lower-cost model" successful 2022 for consumers.

Astro for Business could autonomously patrol spaces up to 5,000 quadrate feet with an HD periscope and nighttime vision, it could transportation tiny devices, and, of course, it was controllable by Amazon Alexa. Since its release, we've learned astir Alexa's dire financial straits and seen David Limp, who headed the Astro task arsenic Amazon SVP of devices and services, exit Amazon, portion his part has suffered notable layoffs. (An Amazon rep told GeekWire that the shuttering of Astro for Business won't effect successful layoffs arsenic employees volition commencement moving connected the location mentation of the robot instead.)

Astro’s Future

Per Amazon's emails, the institution is inactive keen to merchandise the location mentation of Astro, which whitethorn astonishment immoderate since determination has been nary motion of an impending merchandise since Amazon announced Astro years ago.

In May 2023, an Amazon typical told Insider that the steadfast had eyes connected the imaginable of generative AI for Astro. It's apt that Amazon is hoping to 1 time merchandise Astro to consumers with the generative AI mentation of Alexa (which is expected this twelvemonth with a subscription fee). In May 2023, Insider cited interior documents that it said discussed adding "intelligence and a conversational spoken interface" to Astro.

But considering that it has taken Amazon much than 2 and a fractional years (and counting) and reportedly the enactment of implicit 800 radical to marque Astro mostly available, positive the abrupt demise of the concern version, determination are reasons to beryllium hesitant astir paying the precocious terms and immoderate subscription fees for a user Astro—if it ever comes out. Early adopters could find themselves successful likewise disappointing positions arsenic the SMBs that bought into Astro for Business.

Astro's improvement comes during a tumultuous clip for Amazon's devices concern arsenic it seeks to marque Alexa a competitory and, critically, lucrative AI assistant. In June, Reuters reported that Amazon elder absorption had been telling employees that 2024 is simply a "must-win" for Alexa. Some analysts expect much reduced concern successful Alexa if the paid tier doesn't instrumentality off.

Amazon's Astro location robot faces an uphill ascent toward immoderate imaginable merchandise oregon user demand. Meanwhile, the mentation of it that really made it to marketplace is rolling toward a graveyard filled with different dormant Amazon products—like Just Walk Out, Amazon Glow, Fire Phone, Dash buttons, and the Amazon Smart Oven.

This communicative primitively appeared on Ars Technica.