It’s time to meet the new Alexa.
Amazon’s Devices event, which was held earlier today, was all about Amazon’s assistant.
Amazon didn’t release any new hardware.
(Image credit: Future)
Here’s all the highlights of the Amazon event as it happened, plus the latest updates.
Amazon Alexa Plus cheat sheet
Will Amazon charge for Alexa?
Alexa on tap?
(Image credit: Future)
Limp has gone on to become the CEO of Blue Origin, another one of Jeff Bezos' companies.
Heres everything that was announced the last go-round:
A new Amazon Echo?
Previously, Amazon would only wait between 2-3 years before waiting to update its flagship Alexa devices.
So, its no surprise that the company has slowed down the release of new products.
How polite (or rude) are you to Alexa?
Two of these made it to our list of thebest Kindles.
Will Alexa retain skills?
Currently, Alexa skills are basically audio apps that adds to the assistant’s capabilities.
At the end of the day how new will Alexa actually be is the real question?
What will get added and what will disappear?
For now we don’t know but we expect to hear much more tomorrow.
The Future may be announced but when will it arrive?
With tomorrow’s announcement we expect to learn about the future of Alexa.
But when will it arrive?
We’vecompared the triobefore but this year should take the rivalries to a new level.
Good morning!
We’re back and it’s Alexa event day!
We’re looking forward to seeing what the next generation Alexa will bring to the table.
Will it compete with the likes of ChatGPT advanced voice?
It’s all to play for.
And of course, Amazon’s competitive edge here is all the home devices it can be put into.
It could be the equivalent of having your very own Jarvis around the home!
Could we see a new Amazon Echo today?
It’s been a while since we last saw an Echo four years since the4th-gen Amazon Echoto be exact.
So it’s fair to say it’s growing a little stale.
But audio quality has moved forward quite significantly since then.
On one side, I get it.
Maybe that’s what this event is about?
So what could it provide to the Alexa ecosystem?
Let me get my pondering hat on and figure this out.
With gen AI, the situation could be a lot more interesting.
It learns about you and helps with more questions in an increasingly tailored way to you.
Potentially agentic?
So what would happen if all of this is tied together with a generative AI bow?
Example: say it’s figured out my routine.
Any predicted no-shows?
Kindles are one of the biggest backbones of Amazon, but don’t expect them at this event.
Normally, you see the big A give these their own special event.
Now if there’s going to be AI updates to the Kindle…that’s a different story.
Adding aChatGPT-rivaling AI serviceto the mix could be another big reason for people to stay signed up.
Could we see new Echo Frames?
You may not even know that Amazon had Alexa-powered smart glasses.
This could be a chance for a rebirth for the the Echo Frames with a new Alexa inside.
When will we actually get the new Alexa?
But it’s now ben pushed to the end of March.
This is reportedly due to Alexa giving incorrect answers to questions and possible hallucinations.
That contrasts with the current iteration which generally handles only a single request at a time."
That sounds promising, but this new service could reportedly cost as much at $10 a month.
Apparently, will be keeping “Classic Alexa” around for free.
We’re here at the Amazon event!
Alexa + Anthropic = ?
Amazon invested another $4 billion in Anthropicjust in November, bringing the total to $8 billion.
All checked in
Amazon is now letting members of the media check in before the Alexa event.
Mike Prospero has his badge and says they’re just hanging out for now.
Stay tuned for all the big news.
In the meantime, here’s our way of saying hello and welcome to our Amazon event live blog.
How much do we trust AI or not?
We’re in!
No pressure, Amazon.
A new Echo show?!
This Echo Show in particular has a new interface, even if the machine itself is not new.
And Amazon is showing off a TV and soundbar as well.
As these assistants became more complex, more and more lines of code had to be added.
(HeresAmazons explainer on how a voice request works).
What’s the use of a smarter assistant if it can’t turn your lights on reliably?
Will Alexa 2.0 work on every Echo?
Andy Jassy kicks things off
And here we go!
Andy Jassy, the president and CEO of Amazon, takes the stage and immediately dives into AI.
However, he says, things really changed recently with generative AI and foundation models.
Which is why we’ve built our own silicon.
Sagemaker AI, for example, to build, train and deploy machine learning.
Middle laker - Amazon Bedrock - works with multiple AIs to smooth things out and get things working together.
This targets two things - cost avoidance and customer experience.
“It was seamless and it just worked.”
Next we get a little reel of “customers” using Alexa.
(Image credit: Future)
Yet, he says, there are plenty of times when it doesn’t work.
Until this moment we’ve been limited by its technology.
“It won’t order your groceries.”
(Image credit: Future)
An AI chatbot on its own doesn’t get to where we want Alexa to be.
It needs to connect to things and actually take action.
She can book a trip and send it to everyone’s calendar.
(Image credit: Future)
Remembers your favorite food, movies, music.
She’ll know all your smart home devices and program them for you.
Now Panay is about to demo Alexa+
Alexa+ demo begins
Everything is fully live, says Panay.
(Image credit: Future)
He then starts chatting with Alexa+ and asks a very long question, and asks what could go wrong.
“let’s just say Murphy’s Law is probably sharpening his pencil right now,” Alexa responds.
“Looks like you have a room full of tech enthusiasts ready to be wowed.”
The pizza test
Panay is asking really long questions of Alexa.
It’s like a real conversation.
He rambles for a little before asking Alexa about pizza places near where we are.
She responds, saying yes, it’s a popular place with celebrities.
Introducing Alexicons
The blue Alexa bar is changing.
But aside from a configurable panel, you could also use Alexa to make smart home routines more easily.
Better audio control
There’s a bunch of Echo Studio devices set up around the room.
and Alexa then automatically brings up the movie on the TV to where the song is playing.
That’s pretty neat.
Security camera smarts
“Amazon, what happened around my house today?”
It’s a very cute dog.
Alexa+ experience
Panay leaves the stage, and Mara Segal, the director of AI comes up.
Here are some examples:
“From the HOA documents, am I able to add solar panels?”
“Grandma’s zucchini bread recipe - how much oil do I need?”
“Any interesting South by Southwest AI events?”
Alexa+ for kids
Amazon is announcing two new Alexa+ features, aimed at kids.
Stories with Alexa:Kids can ask Alexa to make up stories for them.
One example is “Alexa, create a story about a bearded dragon that plays a saxophone.”
Alexa will then ask additional questions to the kid to help fill out the story.
Rausch shows how this would work in a kitchen emergency.
“Alexa, my Miele oven isn’t working.
Can you get someone out to the house?”
Alexa, write me a song.
It’s a whole stream-of-consciousness that just works.
There’s now Alexa.com, as well as a new smartphone app.
$19.99 per month, but free if you’re a Prime member.
Early access will roll out next month.
We’re off to try out Alexa+, so stay tuned!
gadget compatibility
gadget compatibility was a lingering question during Amazon’s event.
Thankfully, the company detailed which of its devices will support Alexa+.
It will start with households with Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21.
If you have an older Echo machine, you’ll unfortunately have to upgrade to take advantage of Alexa+.
Will Amazon Prime cost more?
Amazon announced that Alexa+ will cost $19.99 per month but will be free for Prime members.
However, that begs the question: will that affect the price of Amazon Prime?
We can’t say for sure at this moment.
How does Alexa Plus work?
Daniel Rausch, vice president for Alexa and Echo, briefly detailed how Alexa Plus works.
“Alexa+ also features cutting-edge agentic capabilities to complete tasks on your behalf.
The experience will also integrate with Whole Foods and partners like Grubhub.”
This feature offers users an overview of daily activities, such as package deliveries or visits from service providers.
or “When was the last time the dog went out for a walk?”
enhancing home monitoring and security.
Alexa Plus is also a lot smarter than its current iteration.
This feature allows for personalized automation, enabling Alexa+ to assist seamlessly throughout the day.
Alexa+ offers improved music discovery capabilities.
Additionally, Alexa+ can suggest new music within preferred genres and facilitate seamless music transitions between rooms.
The assistant’s capabilities extend to media playback, particularly with Prime Video.
Users can request specific scenes by describing details such as the actor, character, or a quote.
For example, saying, “Whats that movie where Bradley Cooper sings a duet?
This starts with a prompt like Alexa, create a story about a bearded dragon that plays the saxophone.
From there, Alexa will ask them additional questions to flesh out their story further.
Here are the7 biggest Amazon event announcements you missed.
For instance, it’s possible for you to create newAlexa Routinesfor your smart home using just your voice.
What’s next?
Alexa Plus won’t be available immediately.
We know whichdevices will support the rollout, but not exactly when we’ll get to access it.
