What did Amazon Glow combine with video calls for children?

Amazon Glow: The Device That Turned Video Calls Into Playtime

When the pandemic separated families across the country, Amazon spotted a real problem: video calls with young kids are awkward. A toddler isn't going to sit still and chat with Grandma for twenty minutes. So Amazon built something completely different — a device that gave kids and faraway relatives something to actually do together.

What Made Amazon Glow Different

Launched in 2021, Amazon Glow was a kids' video-calling device with a built-in interactive projector. That projector beamed an 19-inch touchscreen display onto a flat surface in front of the child — a table, a floor, wherever they were sitting. The person on the other end of the call could see and interact with whatever appeared on that projected surface in real time.

Think of it like a shared digital tabletop. A grandparent in Florida could play a game of Candy Land or read a picture book alongside a grandchild in Minnesota, with both of them able to tap, drag, and interact with the content as if they were in the same room. The projected surface responded to touch from the child's side, while the remote caller could interact through their own screen.

The Tech Behind the Magic

The device itself stood upright, housing both a camera for the video call and the downward-facing projector. Amazon's Glow software platform supported a growing library of apps, games, and books designed specifically for this shared experience. Titles included classic board games, interactive stories, and creative drawing tools — all built around the idea that two people could use them simultaneously despite being miles apart.

The child's side used infrared touch detection on the projected surface, which is how the system knew where small fingers were tapping without needing a physical screen. It was genuinely clever engineering for a product targeting very young users.

A Short but Interesting Run

Amazon Glow launched as an invite-only product before opening to wider availability, priced at $299. It earned warm reviews for its concept and the genuine joy it brought to family connections. However, Amazon discontinued the Glow in late 2022 as part of a broader round of hardware cuts and cost-saving measures across the company.

Despite its short life, the Glow pointed toward something genuinely interesting in the world of connected devices — the idea that presence isn't just about seeing someone's face on a screen, but about doing something together. For young children especially, shared activity matters far more than conversation.

Why It Still Matters

Amazon Glow was ahead of its time in framing video calls as a platform for play rather than just communication. Even if the product itself is gone, the problem it was solving — how do you keep young kids meaningfully connected with distant family — is very much still with us.