[Update, Monday, March 31: Amazon’s Alexa+ Early Access page is now live, and the company confirmed that the new Alexa is starting to roll out “to a small number of… Read More
For many years, Amazon has been trying to put its Alexa voice assistant at the center of the smart home. But right now, Alexa in its current state can seem… Read More
Amazon unveiled Alexa+, a new service that integrates generative AI natively into the company’s longtime voice assistant — promising free-flowing conversations, plus the ability to learn user preferences over time… Read More
The season of giving should also be a season of thanking — especially for the delivery drivers making sure packages get to their destinations on time. Amazon is once again encouraging… Read More
It’s the Kindle Paperwhite, except it’s in color. You can see book covers in color, make highlights in color, and read comics and kids’ books in color. It’s kinda cool.… Read More
Our guest on this special mid-week episode of the GeekWire Podcast is Panos Panay, Amazon’s senior vice president of Devices and Services, a longtime leader in the world of consumer… Read More
Amazon will make its Alexa voice assistant more conversational with help from Anthropic’s Claude artificial intelligence technology, Reuters reported Friday morning, citing interviews with five people familiar with the matter.… Read More
Internal Amazon metrics have created a rosy view of the impact from Alexa and Echo on the company’s revenue from other services. This led Amazon to continue investing heavily in… Read More
Amazon’s original Echo Spot has been sitting on the back corner of the desk in my home office for seven years, since its release in 2017. My initial plan was… Read More
Greg Fyke is president and CEO of ecobee, the Toronto-based smart home company known for its pioneering smart thermostat, and a growing ecosystem of devices, including security systems and smart… Read More
Can artificial intelligence replace the owner’s manual? At the CES trade show in Las Vegas this week, BMW is demonstrating a future version of its in-car personal assistant that uses… Read More
Amazon will eliminate several hundred roles in its Alexa division as part of a broader shift in priorities and a focus on developing new forms of artificial intelligence, according to… Read More
Amazon is rolling out its Astro robot as a security guard for businesses, using its HD periscope and night vision to patrol and map up to 5,000 square feet of… Read More
Amazon was ordered to pay $46.7 million after a jury found that the company willfully violated four patents held by VB Assets, LLC, the successor to VoiceBox Technologies, a Bellevue,… Read More
It was tough, as usual, to keep up with the announcements coming out of Amazon’s fall Devices & Services event Wednesday morning. But in a change from the past, there… Read More
Amazon this morning showed a new feature, dubbed “Let’s Chat” driven by generative artificial intelligence, designed to make its Alexa voice assistant more conversational on its Echo devices. Demonstrated on… Read More
Microsoft developed its first Surface tablet more than a decade ago under strict secrecy to give then-CEO Steve Ballmer the option to pull the plug shortly before it launched if… Read More
Amazon and Google are putting their rival voice assistants on the same devices for the first time, allowing users to alternate between Alexa and Google Assistant depending on their preference… Read More
Dave Limp, the longtime leader of Amazon’s devices division, will step down later this year. Limp is leaving Amazon after more than 13 years, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy confirmed in… Read More
Why can’t Alexa users have sophisticated, nuanced voice interactions with Amazon’s assistant, similar to text-based conversations with OpenAI’s ChatGPT? That was one of my questions for Rohit Prasad, the senior… Read More
Amazon is muting the celebrity voices for Alexa that have been used to report the weather, tell jokes and more. The voices for actors Samuel L. Jackson and Melissa McCarthy,… Read More
Amazon unveiled a new Echo smart speaker, a $39.99 semi-sphere called Echo Pop, meant for bedrooms and other small spaces in the home, set for release May 31. The company… Read More
As new forms of generative AI spread across the tech world, it’s becoming tough for Alexa users to accept rudimentary responses from Amazon’s voice assistant, compared with sophisticated text-based conversations… Read More
Update, Dec. 12: Customers looking to thank their Amazon delivery drivers with a $5 tip have run out of time, as a promotion started by the company last week has… Read More
Amazon created the initial technical scaffolding for Alexa quickly, jumping out to an early lead in the market for smart speakers and voice assistants in the home. But nearly a… Read More
Amazon became the latest tech giant to make layoffs in its corporate workforce this week in the face of the economic downturn, but the manner in which the plan unfolded… Read More
Unlike Google and Apple, Amazon doesn’t have a smartphone platform of its own for native integration of its voice assistant, after the short-lived Amazon Fire Phone. However, the company has… Read More
As Amazon has started the process of laying off employees from its corporate and tech workforce this week, one senior executive appears to be among the first to address the… Read More
Amazon unveiled a new bedside sleep-tracking device, Halo Rise, expanding its lineup of consumer health devices beyond wristbands for the first time. Announced this morning at the company’s fall Echo… Read More
When you leave home and arm your security system, shouldn’t your robot vacuum know, without being told, that it’s time to get to work? Amazon thinks so. That’s one of… Read More
