Update: Amazon's event live blog is here.

Amazon will host its annual Devices & Services event this afternoon to unveil its latest Alexa-enabled devices and new voice assistant features. Traditionally, this means new Echo speakers and devices from Amazon-owned companies like Ring and Eero. And occasionally, Amazon announces something really wacky, like a flying indoor security camera drone or a robot that patrols your house.

The event will take place later today (September 20), and for the first time, it will be held not at Amazon's headquarters in Seattle, but at HQ2 in Arlington, Va. According to Bloomberg, the last Amazon event led by Dave Limp, who ran Amazon's Alexa division for years event. Limp is retiring and will be replaced by Microsoft's Panos Panay.

Tom'sGuide will be onsite to cover the event, but before we do, here are some guesses as to what we might see at the event.

This year's Amazon Devices and Services event will begin today (September 20) at 11:00 AM ET / 4:00 PM PT. In previous years, the event had started an hour later because the event was held at Amazon's Seattle headquarters on the West Coast. This year, the event will be held on the East Coast, so attendees will not have to wake up as early.

The event itself typically lasts about an hour.

Unlike many of its competitors who stream live, Amazon's event is by invitation only. However, Tom's Guide will be live-blogging the event.

Unlike Apple's events, where the company announces a small number of products, Amazon typically crams everything into a tight presentation and announces a dozen or more devices.

Last year's Amazon event featured the Kindle Scribe, Halo Rise, Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED, new Blink and Ring security cameras, new Eero Internet capabilities, updated Echo Auto, Echo Dot and Echo Dot with Clock refresh, new Fire TV Cube, and a major update to Amazon Echo Show 15.

This year may be a bit more subdued, as Amazon laid off about 2,000 people from its Devices and Services division earlier this year. This is the part of the company behind its smart speakers and Alexa. The company is also cutting back quite aggressively on devices and services that are not performing well, such as Amazon Halo, Amazon Glow, and Amazon Drive.

Regardless of what we see, we expect most, if not all, products to be in stores by the Amazon Early Access Sale (aka Prime Day 2) in October and by Black Friday. And regardless of what Amazon announces, Amazon is expecting a big holiday shopping season.

Based on what we know from past events and our familiarity with Amazon's lineup, our guess is what we'll see this year.

Lately, Amazon has been updating its flagship smart speakers every other year, and last year they updated the Echo Dot and Echo Dot with Clock, so we expect this year to see an update to the larger Amazon Echo, which has been around since 2020.

Sound quality.

Sound quality may be slightly improved, but we do not know what other improvements Amazon will make as it already has a built-in Eero repeater and acts as a Matter hub. Since the Echo Dot with clock is one of our favorite smart speakers.

Amazon has not updated its streaming sticks since 2021: the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Stick Lite, and Fire TV Stick are all at least two years old, and the Fire TV Stick 4K Max is sold It appears to have been discontinued. It is also possible that new TVs with built-in Fire TV, such as the flagship Omni TV, will be available.

Another Amazon product that is a bit dated is the current Echo Show 8, which was released in 2021, as well as the Echo Show 10 and Echo Show 15, which support Matter, but not Eero mesh networking; the Echo Show 15 is a newer version of the Echo Show 8, which supports Matter, but not Eero mesh networking. This would be a fairly small update, however.

Amazon just refreshed its smallest smart display, the Echo Show 5, so don't expect anything new on this front.

Earlier this year, Amazon released the $49 Amazon Echo Buds, two years after updating its Echo Buds 2 earphones with active noise cancellation. At only $120 at the time of release, the Echo Buds were far less expensive than many of the best wireless earbuds, but offered surprisingly good ANC. If Amazon does release a new version, expect better battery life this time around.

Although there is a lot of development on AI, Amazon, Apple, and Google have not incorporated or promoted new AI models in their voice assistants. If Amazon can do this with Alexa, it would be a major shift for the company. However, given that the use of voice assistants has reached a plateau - most people only use voice assistants to turn on their smart home devices, listen to music, set timers, and check the weather - there is not a great appetite to devote more resources to Alexa. There may not be a great willingness to pour more resources into Alexa.

Along with Ring and Blink, Amazon also owns Eero, which makes one of the best mesh routers. However, the company's last router was the Eero Pro 6e, which came out in 2022; given that Wi-Fi 7 routers are becoming more prominent, it would not be far-fetched for Amazon to announce a similar device.

While it doesn't happen often, Amazon occasionally announces very random products: in 2019 there was an Alexa-enabled microwave oven, and in 2021 there was the Ring Always Home Cam. This is a flying indoor drone that reacts to the sound of glass breaking or other events in the house and can zoom in to see what the commotion is.

Amazon also announced Amazon Astro, a small robot that patrols your home; Astro has a large tablet on its front screen that can be used for video calls; both Always Home Cam and Astro are part of Amazon's Day 1 Edition program, and you have to be invited to get your hands on the products.

These are just a few of the things you can expect to see at the Amazon event. There could be new Kindle tablets, Fire tablets, or even other products from Ring and Blink. We'll know more in just a few days, so don't miss our live blog of the event.