Technologies

Amazon Has a Real-World Fitting Room, and It Makes Me Want to Shop

Commentary: Amazon’s concept clothing store eliminates a lot of the awkwardness of shopping.

I hate shopping for clothes. Shopping online means never really knowing if that shirt or those pants will fit. But going into the store means, well, physically going to a mall. It also means awkward moments in a fitting room where I need to get the attention of a clerk to bring me a different size or color. Often I don’t even bother, and I often go years between buying new pants.

Yet here I was at the Americana at Brand in Glendale, California, the weekend before Christmas, doing a bit of last-minute holiday shopping with my family. Mostly out of curiosity and some cynicism, I stepped inside Amazon Style, the online retail giant’s concept clothing store, and actually found myself having a fun time.

By merging its online shopping experience with a revamped, high-tech fitting room, it made me actually want to spend more time looking at clothes. For once, I didn’t feel the awkwardness or rushed anxiety that comes with trying things on in a changing room. This store is just one of two in the world (the other being in Columbus, Ohio), but I hope this is less an experiment and more the way all retailers start to think about their clothes shopping experience.

Amazon’s forays in the brick-and-mortar world have been varied and, at times, puzzling. There are the fully automated Amazon Go stores, where you grab an item and are automatically charged when you leave. Amazon also has its own supermarket concept which sits alongside its chain of Whole Foods Markets. Then there were the bookstores and pop-up shops, which the company shuttered this year.

Amazon declined to comment on its future plans for the Amazon Style store.

Like Amazon’s other stores, the key to the experience lies in its shopping app. At first glance, Amazon Style looks like any other clothing shop, with a few knick-knacks in the front and sections for men and women’s clothing.

But upon closer inspection, there are some subtle differences. Each article of clothing appears once – there are no different sizes. The prices are the same as what you’d pay online, although there are discounts if you spend more. Flanking one side of the store are a row of fitting rooms – with more rooms taking up the entire second floor.

It’s those fitting rooms where Amazon Style really sets itself apart. Rather than randomly find an empty room, I use the app to scan a few articles of clothing that I want to try, and tell it that I want to «start a room.» An employee then gathered the selections and put them in a fitting room. After about seven minutes, the app notified me that one was ready and directed me to a specific fitting room number, which I unlocked using my app.

Once inside, I saw the various shirts and jackets I scanned hanging on a rack or neatly folded on top of the shelf below. In addition, there were a few extra items added based on what Amazon thought I might like. Curiously, there was a Calvin Klein shirt on top of the pile, a «sponsored item» that was essentially a pop-up ad come to life (I didn’t bother to try it on).

On the wall to my right was a large touchscreen that displayed my selections and offered recommendations for other items I might like. I could also request different sizes and styles and have them delivered to my fitting room.

Rather than have a store clerk knock on my door and hand me the clothes, the items are delivered through the closet to the right of the clothes rack. It takes a few minutes, but when the items are ready, the closet door locks and a red light flashes. Inside, the back of the closet opens up, allowing an Amazon Style employee to hang the new clothes. Once the red light goes off, I open the door and there they are.

The touchscreen and the fitting room take the best parts of the physical shopping experience and the online and mash them into an effective hybrid. It’s so simple, yet removes so much of the hassle from the shopping experience. I came into the store on a whim, but left with a white Adidas jumper.

It actually has me looking forward to the next time I need a new pair of pants. Maybe in 2024?

Technologies

Sora Video Limits Got You Down? Pay Up for More, Says OpenAI

Sora has opened to everyone in the US, and OpenAI is now charging for extra AI video generations.

Soon after Sora dropped its invite-only requirement, OpenAI is already moving to monetize the popular AI video social media app. The company has introduced paid «video generation packs,» allowing you to purchase additional AI-generated videos after reaching the daily free limit.

Until now, you could generate around 30 videos a day for free or up to 100 for Pro accounts. Now, anyone who hits that cap will see a prompt to purchase extra «gens» through the App Store.

A small bundle of 10 extra generations costs roughly $4, according to Sora’s listing on Apple App Store, but OpenAI’s support page states that the exact credits used per video range based on factors like the video length and resolution.

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OpenAI’s Bill Peebles confirmed the change in a post on X, citing increased demand and «unsustainable» economics as reasons behind the change. He also confirms the free quota options are likely temporary.

«Eventually, we will need to bring the free gens down to accommodate growth (we won’t have enough GPUs to do it otherwise!), but we’ll be transparent as it happens,» he wrote. «[i]n the meantime, enjoy the crazy usage limits.»

Technologies

You Can Nab the Apple Watch SE 3 for a Record-Low $200 if You Act Fast

Amazon just knocked $49 off this budget-friendly wearable for the first time since its release.

Released alongside the Series 11 and Ultra 3, the Apple Watch SE 3 is the latest budget-friendly model in Apple’s lineup. Starting at $249, it already saves you $150 compared to the Series 11, and right now you can pick it up for even less.

Amazon is offering the biggest (and practically only) discount we’ve seen since this smartwatch hit shelves, knocking it down to a record-low $200. That’s a $49 discount, but it only applies to the starlight color. We also don’t expect this deal to last long, so be sure to get your order in soon.

Even at full price, CNET smartwatch expert Vanessa Hand Orellana called the third-gen SE a «$250 steal that delivers nearly everything you’d want from a wearable, with surprisingly few compromises.» It’s equipped with the same S10 processor as the Series 11 and Ultra 3, and offers many of the same features, like fast charging, 5G connectivity and new wellness tools. Plus, the vibrant 40mm display is always on, so you can check the time with a glance. Other helpful features include onboard Siri, fall detection and a durable design that’s water-resistant up to 50 meters.

SMARTWATCH DEALS OF THE WEEK

Apple Watch Series 10 (GPS, 46mm, Black, M/L Sports Band):

$329 (save $100)
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (Bluetooth, 40mm, Cream):

$200 (save $100)
Amazfit Active 42mm Smartwatch With 14 Day Battery Life (Black):

$85 (save $25)
Garmin Vivoactive 5 GPS Smartwatch With AMOLED Display:

$200 (save $100)
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra (Wi-Fi, LTE, 47mm, Titanium Silver):

$500 (save $150)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

Deals on the latest Apple tech are far and few between, which makes this Apple Watch SE 3 discount a welcome surprise. You can pick it up for a record-low $200 right now at Amazon, which is just half the price of the flagship Series 11. If you prefer a larger display, the 44mm model is also $49 off, dropping the price to $230.

You can also find plenty of other bargains on the latest and previous-gen models in our full roundup of all the best Apple Watch deals.

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Technologies

Surprise Twist: Apple’s Next iPhones Might Come in These 3 Unlikely Colors

Apple seems to be choosing a deep, earthy path for its upcoming phone colors.

From cosmic orange to coffee brown? Brown, purple and burgundy will be the available colors for the iPhone 18 Pro next September, if a leak out of China proves true.

Depending on your language translator, brown could mean simply «brown» or «coffee brown,» but you get the general idea. The tidbit comes from regular leaker Digital Chat Station’s post on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo. The post also says that black will not be an available color for the iPhone 18 Pro.

A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The iPhone 17 Pro comes in cosmic orange, deep blue and silver.

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The Apple release schedule for the iPhone 18 series has been shifting, but the latest intel reports that the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Fold will launch in September 2026. The iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e will follow in the spring of 2027.

If Digital Chat Station’s leak is accurate, the iPhone 18 Pro would be the first Pro edition in years without a color resembling black, white or silver.

Here are the colors for the iPhone Pro dating back to its introduction in 2019:

2019: iPhone 11 Pro/Pro Max: Midnight Green, Space Gray, Silver, Gold
2020: iPhone 12 Pro/Pro Max: Graphite, Silver, Gold, Pacific Blue
2021: iPhone 13 Pro/13 Pro Max: Graphite, Gold, Silver, Sierra Blue, Alpine Green (March 2022)
2022: iPhone 14 Pro/14 Pro Max: Space Black, Silver, Gold, Deep Purple
2023: iPhone 15 Pro/15 Pro Max: Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium, Natural Titanium
2024: iPhone 16 Pro/16 Pro Max: Black Titanium, Natural Titanium, White Titanium, Desert Titanium
2025: iPhone 17 Pro/17 Pro Max: Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue, Silver

Not offering any version of black for Pro models might seem counterintuitive, since the iPhone 16 Pro Max black titanium version has been a big seller, and black has also been popular with iPhone 17 shoppers. But a lack of black has not hurt iPhone 17 Pro sales.