Amazon Discontinues Astro Business Robot Less than a Year After Launch

When Amazon first unveiled its Astro Business Robot, many individuals were intrigued and enamored with the idea of having a robot patrolling one’s space. With features such as advanced face detection technology and voice control, Astro showed great promise. The robot even got upgrades in October of last year.

However, in less than a year since its public launch, Amazon has announced that it will discontinue Astro for Business permanently.

On September 25th, all Astro Business robots will stop working, and Amazon will issue full refunds for businesses, enterprises, and individuals who purchased this model. The exact amount that will be refunded is $2,349.99 plus a $300 credit. It is important to note though that this is only true for the business model and all home versions of Astro will continue to work.

While Amazon did not close how many Astro Business robots were sold, the company’s Vice President of Hardware Engineering, Lindo St. Angel, says that he’s “increasingly convinced the progress we’re making in home robotics is where we should focus our resources,”.

In his full internal memo, he states, “We are fully committed to our vision of bringing world-class consumer robotics solutions to the home. To accelerate our progress and ongoing research to make Astro the best in-home robot, we’ve made the decision to wind down support for Astro for Business. We’re excited about the in-home experiences we’re inventing for Astro, and look forward to sharing more in the future.”.

If you’re one of the customers who bought an Astro Business Robot, then you can also scrap the idea of perhaps repurposing the bot into a home robot. Amazon spokesperson, Courtney Ramirez, confirms that the business bot cannot be converted into one for the home. However, Amazon is offering a free shipping label for its recycling program should you want to discard your unit.

Truth be told, the decision to discontinue the Astro Business Robot just less than a year after its launch is pretty alarming. It makes you wonder if this “mishap” is a telltale of what may happen in the near future with its home counterpart.