5 Electronics Retirees Should Buy On Amazon Before Fall Ends

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It's only a matter of days or weeks before the last autumnal leaves hit the ground, at which point we'll be on our way into the chilliest of the four seasons. For many retirees, that means spending many days indoors, keeping in touch with loved ones remotely, and finally catching up on all the reading that couldn't be done when the 9 to 5 life was the priority.

Fortunately, Amazon is home to all kinds of user-friendly, essential smart home gadgets that retirees can take advantage of. These run the gamut from security gadgets that are designed to safeguard our house and belongings to smart speakers that act as digital companions that hang out on the kitchen counter. 

These electronics are generally cost-effective and straightforward to use, making that much-earned solace all the more enjoyable — especially once that first blizzard rolls into town. So, without further ado, here are five of the best electronics retirees should buy on Amazon before fall ends. Each one is meant to make life a little easier and much more entertaining.

Learning how to use a smart speaker is less intimidating than it sounds, and once you start firing off voice commands, leaning on Alexa can quickly become a staple of everyday life. To that end, one of the best investments retirees can make in an Amazon product is the latest generation of the Amazon Echo Dot. Small, budget-friendly, and packed with incredible features, this Amazon device can deliver news and weather updates, play music, set reminders and alarms, control smart home devices, and so much more.

Available in Charcoal, Deep Sea Blue, and Glacier White, the latest version of the Echo Dot boasts enhanced audio tech, delivering cleaner vocals and a solid bump in bass for all your favorite tunes and podcasts. You'll also be able to pair the Echo Dot with other Amazon ecosystem devices in your home, and with skills like Ask My Buddy, you can keep family and friends on speed dial for emergencies.

For only $50, the user-friendly Echo Dot is simple to set up, and the Alexa app provides plenty of insight on new skills, personalization features, and device management. Combining practicality, peace of mind, and entertainment, the Echo Dot is an excellent purchase for retirees, and it's often on sale, too.

If you love sitting down to read for hours on end but can't stand the bulk of a heavy hardcover, one Amazon device you should grab before the fall is over is the newest version of the Amazon Kindle (11th Generation). Featuring a 6-inch anti-glare display and an adjustable backlight, fine-tuning your Kindle display is as easy as a couple of taps and swipes.

The latest Kindle also boasts the e-reader's fastest page-turning yet, which bodes well for those of us who can finish multiple books in a week. You'll also have up to 16GB of storage to work with — enough for thousands of books. On a full charge, you can expect the Kindle to last close to six weeks without replenishing the battery, too, with recharging handled via USB-C.

Built for comfort and convenience, the Kindle can also be customized to best suit your reading needs. Whether you need larger fonts or dark mode for nighttime e-books, the Kindle has got you covered. Lightweight and long-lasting, it's the ideal companion for retirees who want to catch up on their reading — many are even choosing to ditch their iPad mini for the Kindle for a more streamlined user experience.

You can't put a price on home security, even though devices like the Tapo 4K Outdoor Security Camera are relatively affordable. Before the cold winter months move in, retirees looking to add extra peace of mind to the exterior of a home or business should purchase and install the SolarCam pronto. With its 360-degree panning, 98-degree vertical views, and fast-acting motion detection with auto-tracking, no peculiar activity goes unnoticed.

The SolarCam features an integrated solar panel for hassle-free charging, and just 45 minutes of sunlight is enough to keep the cam powered for a full day. There's also a rechargeable 10,000-milliamp battery built into the SolarCam, so you'll seldom have to worry about the camera running out of juice. And thanks to crisp-clear 4K visuals, it'll be easy to distinguish between family, friends, wildlife, and other visitors.

Once you install the Tapo app on your phone or tablet, you'll be able to receive alerts when the SolarCam detects motion, and you can also check in on your property (as long as you have an internet connection). There's even a two-way audio feature for communicating with couriers, family, and friends remotely. For retirees looking for simple-to-use security devices, the Tapo C660 SolarCam should be a top consideration.

On the surface, the Apple Watch SE 3 may seem like your run-of-the-mill smartwatch — but dig a little deeper, and you'll find that it's an incredible health and wellness device that every retiree should own. Thanks to the SE 3's advanced fitness tracking, you'll be able to check in on everything from daily steps and heart rate to sleep cycles. You'll even be able to share your results with loved ones to loop them into your goals and progress.

The SE 3 has a couple of godsend features, too — specifically, fall detection and emergency SOS calling. Once your Apple Watch responds to a fall or severe crash, the SE 3 can immediately inform family and friends that you've been in an accident. And thanks to the crystal-clear Always On Retina display with OLED, you won't have to struggle to make out the time or to read a text message.

When fully charged, the SE 3 should last up to 18 hours (or up to 32 hours in Low Power Mode), which makes it easy to stay on top of recharging. You'll also be able to use the SE 3 to answer calls, check and set reminders, and send emails, all without having to touch your iPhone.

You've spent your entire life vacuuming on the weekends, so how about leaving the deep cleans up to a robot vacuum in your retirement years? Enter the Roborock QV 35A, a phenomenal bot vac with cutting-edge cleaning features and a ridiculous amount of in-app customizations. Delivering up to 8,000Pa of suction, the QV 35A is designed to capture deep-seated dirt, spills, and other detritus from pretty much any surface.

Thanks to its tangle-free brush system, you won't have to worry about the main brush or side brush getting bogged down by pet or human hair. Powered by Roborock's PreciSense LiDAR navigation and mapping, the QV 35A does a phenomenal job at building a blueprint for homes with up to four stories, with all maps saved to the Roborock app for manual customization. Create No-Go Zones, label certain rooms, build an automated cleaning schedule, and more.

The QV 35A even includes a mopping function and comes with two rotating mop heads and 30 adjustable water levels. The included docking station is also designed to clean and sanitize the mop heads, on top of emptying the robot's internal dust tank and recharging the device.

At BGR, we do our best to keep our fingers on the pulse of the latest and greatest tech. Fortunately, there are all kinds of retiree-friendly electronics, and we've had the opportunity to test and research most of these products for years. We do our best to stick with recognizable brands, but we will gladly spotlight a third-party device if it meets or surpasses our strict standards. We've also written extensively about the five main tech devices featured in this roundup: smart speakers, e-readers, security cameras, smartwatches, and robot vacuums.