Articles tagged with "Alexa"
Amazon working on new smartphone with Alexa at its core, report says
Amazon is reportedly developing a new smartphone, codenamed "Transformer," marking its return to the smartphone market more than 11 years after its initial unsuccessful attempt. The device is being created by Amazon’s Devices and Services division, with a focus on integrating and enhancing the use of Amazon’s ecosystem, including apps like Amazon Shopping, Prime Video, and Prime Music. A key feature of the phone will be deep support for Alexa, Amazon’s smart assistant, which has recently been upgraded with generative AI capabilities. The new smartphone aims to leverage AI extensively, positioning itself as a tool to encourage greater adoption of Amazon’s AI-driven products and services. This development aligns with Amazon’s broader strategy of investing heavily in AI, chips, and robotics, with significant efforts planned through 2026. The project is reportedly being handled by a newer unit within the Devices division, reflecting Amazon’s commitment to embedding advanced AI features into its hardware offerings. Amazon has declined to comment on the report.
IoTsmart-homeAlexaAIAmazon-devicessmartphonevoice-assistantAmazon brings Alexa+ to the UK
Amazon has launched its AI-powered conversational assistant, Alexa+, in the U.K., marking the first expansion of the service outside North America. The company is currently running an early access program allowing invited U.K. users to try Alexa+ for free, with plans to enable access for “hundreds of thousands” of customers in the coming weeks. After this period, Prime subscribers will continue to have free access, while non-Prime users will be charged £19.99 per month. Alexa+ is compatible with Amazon’s Echo devices, Fire TV, and the Alexa app, with future plans to support browsers as well. Amazon has tailored Alexa+ specifically for the U.K. market, employing local engineers, linguists, and speech scientists to ensure the assistant understands British accents, phrases, and context through techniques like reinforcement learning and regional embeddings. Alexa+ integrates with local services such as OpenTable, JustEat, and Treatwell, and provides news from U.K. outlets including The Independent and The Guardian.
IoTsmart-assistantsAlexaAmazon-EchoAI-conversational-agentsvoice-recognitionsmart-home-devicesAlexa+ gets a new ‘adults only’ personality option that curses but won’t get into NSFW content
Amazon has introduced a new “Sassy” personality option for its AI assistant Alexa+, designed specifically for adult users. This personality style features explicit language and a witty, irreverent tone that delivers answers with humor and sharpness, described as “help first, judge always.” To activate the Sassy mode, users must complete additional security checks in the Alexa app, such as Face ID verification on iOS, and the option is disabled when Amazon Kids is enabled. Despite warnings about mature content, the Sassy personality avoids engaging in explicit sexual content, hate speech, illegal activities, personal attacks, or harmful topics. This update is part of Amazon’s broader effort to make Alexa+ more customizable and engaging by offering distinct personality styles, following the launch of other modes like Brief, Chill, and Sweet. The introduction of an adult-oriented personality reflects a wider trend in AI development, where companies experiment with tone and persona to better tailor interactions to individual user preferences. This move aligns with Amazon’s strategy to rev
IoTsmart-assistantsAlexaAI-personalityvoice-assistantAmazon-Alexagenerative-AIAmazon’s AI-powered Alexa+ gets new personality options
Amazon has introduced new personality options for its AI assistant, Alexa+, allowing users to customize how Alexa responds. Launched on Wednesday, the three initial personality styles—Brief, Chill, and Sweet—alter Alexa’s tone and manner of interaction. The Brief style offers concise and direct answers, Chill provides a relaxed and friendly tone, and Sweet delivers warmer, more enthusiastic, and encouraging responses. These styles are designed based on five personality dimensions: expressiveness, emotional openness, formality, directness, and humor, with each style representing a unique combination of these traits. Users can switch between these personality styles either by voice commands on Alexa-enabled devices or through the Alexa app under Device Settings. Amazon emphasizes that these three styles are just the beginning, with more personality options planned for future release. The move reflects a broader trend in AI development, where users increasingly prefer to tailor AI behavior to their preferences, despite ongoing challenges related to the emotional impact and ethical considerations of AI personalities.
IoTAI-assistantAlexasmart-homevoice-assistantAmazon-Echoartificial-intelligenceAlexa+, Amazon’s AI assistant, is now available to everyone in the U.S.
Amazon has officially launched Alexa+, an upgraded, generative AI-powered version of its Alexa assistant, making it available to all U.S. customers. Prime members receive unlimited free access across devices, while non-Prime users can use Alexa+ for free on web or mobile with some limitations or pay $19.99 per month for full standalone access. Alexa+ integrates Amazon’s own foundation models with those from other providers, enabling more advanced capabilities beyond basic tasks, such as natural language conversations with follow-ups, itinerary planning, recipe management, homework help, and personalized recommendations. During its year-long beta, Alexa+ saw positive user adoption, with most customers choosing to keep the AI-enhanced assistant rather than revert to the older version. Amazon addressed user feedback by refining Alexa’s voice options, onboarding experience, and reducing unwanted interruptions—now Alexa asks “Is that for me?” when uncertain who is speaking. The experience is configurable, allowing users to disable features like follow-on mode. Usage metrics showed a 25
IoTsmart-assistantAlexaAI-assistantsmart-homeAmazonvoice-assistantAmazon’s AI assistant comes to the web with Alexa.com
Amazon has launched Alexa.com, a new website that brings its AI-powered digital assistant, Alexa+, to the web, allowing users to interact with Alexa much like other AI chatbots such as ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. This move aims to expand Alexa’s presence beyond its established footprint in smart home devices—over 600 million Echo devices sold worldwide—by making the assistant accessible on phones and the web. Alongside this, Amazon is updating the Alexa mobile app to feature a more chatbot-centric interface, prioritizing conversational interactions over other functionalities. Alexa.com enables users to perform common tasks such as exploring complex topics, creating content, and planning trips, but Amazon is emphasizing Alexa’s unique focus on family-oriented needs. These include managing smart home devices, updating family calendars and to-do lists, making dinner reservations, adding groceries to Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods carts, finding and saving recipes, and planning family activities with personalized recommendations. Amazon is also integrating third-party apps like Angi, Expedia, Square, and
IoTsmart-homeAlexaAI-assistantsmart-devicesvoice-controlAmazon-EchoAmazon’s AI assistant Alexa+ now works with Angi, Expedia, Square, and Yelp
Amazon is enhancing its AI assistant, Alexa+, by integrating four new services—Angi, Expedia, Square, and Yelp—starting in 2026. These additions will enable users to perform tasks such as booking hotels, obtaining home service quotes, and scheduling salon appointments through natural language interactions. For example, with Expedia integration, customers can ask Alexa to find personalized hotel options, like pet-friendly stays, and manage reservations. These new partnerships expand Alexa+’s existing ecosystem, which already includes services like Fodor, OpenTable, Ticketmaster, Thumbtack, and Uber. Amazon aims to simplify consumer access to various online services by allowing conversational, back-and-forth interactions with Alexa+, similar to how ChatGPT operates. Early data suggests strong engagement with home and personal service providers like Thumbtack and Vagaro. However, widespread adoption depends on users being willing to shift from traditional web or app-based interactions to AI-driven platforms. For this transition to succeed, AI assistants must offer a user experience
IoTAI-assistantAlexasmart-homedigital-assistantvoice-controlAmazon-AlexaAmazon’s new Alexa+ feature adds conversational AI to Ring doorbells
Amazon has introduced a new feature called Greetings to its Alexa+ service, integrating conversational AI with Ring doorbells. This feature allows users to manage interactions at their door more dynamically, such as directing delivery personnel on where to leave packages, politely declining salespeople, or letting friends and family leave messages when the homeowner is unavailable. Greetings uses Ring’s video descriptions to analyze visitors’ apparel, actions, and items they carry to tailor responses accordingly, without identifying individuals by name. The feature supports specific instructions, like guiding delivery workers to water or snacks or asking them about return times if a signature is required. It also handles interactions with sales representatives and service vendors based on user-set preferences. However, there are potential risks of misidentification—for example, if a friend arrives wearing a delivery uniform, the system might mistakenly treat them as a delivery person. Greetings is compatible with certain Ring Wired Doorbell models, requires the Ring Premium Plan with video descriptions enabled, and is currently rolling out to Alexa+ Early Access users
IoTsmart-homeAlexaRing-doorbellconversational-AIhome-automationfacial-recognitionAmazon adds delivery tracking, last-minute adds, gift ideas to Alexa+
Amazon is enhancing its voice assistant Alexa+ with new shopping-focused features available in the U.S. and Canada. These updates include a dedicated shopping hub called “Shopping Essentials” on Echo devices with screens (Echo Show 15 and 21), where users can track deliveries in real time, view recent orders, get reminders for household essentials, and manage shopping lists and saved items. Users can access this hub by voice commands like “Alexa, where’s my stuff?” or “Open Shopping Essentials,” with a shopping widget coming soon to the Echo home screen. Additionally, Alexa+ now allows users to add items to upcoming deliveries up until the package leaves the warehouse, extending a feature previously available only on Amazon’s website and app. The assistant can also provide personalized gift recommendations based on the recipient or occasion, displaying categorized product suggestions on screen. These enhancements build on Alexa+’s existing shopping capabilities, such as automated deal tracking and automatic purchases, aiming to make Alexa a more effective shopping assistant for tens of millions
IoTsmart-homeAlexavoice-assistantdelivery-trackingshopping-assistantAmazon-EchoAmazon unveils new Echo devices, powered by its Al, Alexa+
At its annual hardware event, Amazon unveiled a new lineup of Echo devices powered by its advanced AI assistant, Alexa+. The four new models—the Echo Dot Max, Echo Studio, Echo Show 8, and Echo Show 11—feature enhanced processing power and memory, enabled by Amazon’s custom-designed AZ3 and AZ3 Pro silicon chips. These chips improve wake word detection, conversation recognition, and support advanced AI models and vision transformers. Notably, the AZ3 Pro devices incorporate Omnisense, a sensor platform that uses cameras, audio, ultrasound, Wi-Fi radar, and other inputs to enable Alexa to respond contextually to events in the home, such as recognizing when a person enters a room or alerting users to an open garage door. The Echo Dot Max ($99.99) offers significantly improved sound with nearly three times the bass, while the Echo Studio ($219.99) boasts a smaller spherical design, spatial audio, Dolby Atmos support, and an upgraded light ring. Both can
IoTsmart-homeAlexaAI-assistantAmazon-Echoedge-computingsmart-devicesAlexa+ comes to new Fire TV devices with AI-powered conversations
At Amazon’s fall hardware event, the company unveiled the integration of its upgraded AI assistant, Alexa+, into new Fire TV devices. Alexa+ enhances user interaction by enabling more complex and natural language queries, such as personalized movie or show recommendations based on previous viewing habits or favorite actors. It also provides real-time information during live sports events, including scores, player stats, and highlights, and allows users to find specific scenes in movies or shows through voice commands. Initially, this scene-finding feature supports thousands of Prime Video titles, with plans to expand to other platforms. Alongside the Alexa+ upgrade, Amazon introduced a new lineup of Fire TV hardware, including the Fire TV 2-Series, 4-Series, Omni QLED TVs, and the Fire TV Stick 4K Select. These devices feature improvements such as the Omnisense auto-adjusting brightness technology, Dialogue Boost for clearer audio, and faster performance with new quad-core processors. The flagship Fire TV Omni QLED Series boasts 60%
IoTsmart-homeAlexaAI-assistantFire-TVvoice-controlsmart-devicesFirst impressions of Alexa+, Amazon’s upgraded, AI-powered digital assistant
The article provides a first-person account of testing Amazon’s upgraded digital assistant, Alexa+, which integrates generative AI to enhance its capabilities beyond traditional smart home controls. The author, a former heavy user of Alexa devices, explores whether Alexa+ can maintain its relevance in an era dominated by advanced AI chatbots like ChatGPT. Alexa+ launched in early 2025 and uses multiple AI models, including those from Anthropic, to deliver more intelligent, context-aware responses. It can access and process personal information such as schedules, preferences, and files, and even summarize video footage from Ring cameras. Amazon aims for Alexa+ to perform agentic tasks like booking reservations, ordering rides, and managing shopping lists with delivery, moving toward a more autonomous AI assistant in the home. In the initial phase of testing, the author set up Alexa+ on a new Echo Spot device, noting improvements in the setup process, such as QR code scanning and automatic Wi-Fi connection. The upgrade to Alexa+ was free and reversible
IoTsmart-homeAlexaAI-assistantAmazon-Echogenerative-AIvoice-controlAmazon CEO wants to put ads in your Alexa+ conversations
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy envisions integrating advertising into conversations with Alexa+, the company’s advanced AI-powered digital assistant. Currently available to millions of users, Alexa+ enhances natural, multi-turn interactions and is offered free to Prime subscribers, with an additional $20 monthly subscription tier. Jassy indicated that future subscription models might include an ad-free option, while advertising could serve as a tool to help users discover products and generate revenue. This approach marks a significant shift from Amazon’s limited existing Alexa ads, which have so far been confined to occasional visual or audio spots on devices like the Echo Show. Amazon’s push into AI and advertising comes amid substantial investment in AI infrastructure, including a 90% year-over-year increase in capital expenditures to $31.4 billion in Q2 2025, aimed at developing proprietary AI chips and data centers. While AWS revenue grew 18%, Amazon seeks new revenue streams to support these costs. However, challenges remain: Alexa+’s rollout has faced mixed reviews,
IoTsmart-assistantsAlexaAI-advertisingAmazonvoice-technologyAI-chipsOver a million people now have access to the gen-AI powered Alexa+
Amazon has expanded access to its upgraded digital assistant, Alexa+, which is powered by generative AI, reaching over one million users through a phased invite-only rollout. The service is currently in Early Access and not publicly available, with invitations sent to customers who signed up to test it initially. Alexa+ offers more natural, conversational interactions, enhanced smart home integration, and personalized experiences by remembering user preferences. During Early Access, the service is free, and it will remain free for Prime members after launch, while non-Prime users will pay $19.99 per month. Alexa+ aims to revitalize Amazon’s voice assistant by incorporating generative AI capabilities that allow users to interact more flexibly and intuitively. Users can issue natural language commands, create routines, search Ring camera footage, and receive AI-generated content such as email summaries, bedtime stories, quizzes, travel itineraries, and smart home activity summaries. The assistant also supports transactional actions like booking reservations or buying tickets, with initial partnerships including OpenTable
IoTsmart-homeAlexagenerative-AIvoice-assistantsmart-thermostathome-automation