Amazon’s Alexa smart assistant seems to be everywhere. Since it was first announced in 2014 with the original Amazon Echo speaker, the voice assistant has gained thousands of new “skills” and comes in a variety of form factors – from miniature speakers to ones with a video camera and a touchscreen. Alexa has been integrated into a wide range of devices including cars, fridges, smartwatches, lights, and security cameras.
For $20 a month, the service provides peace of mind, but many of its features should be free
Business Insider had a big report out over the weekend about Amazon gutting its Alexa team due to unprofitability. But I’ve been saying for years that the voice assistant never moved beyond its basic functionality. It’s this key limitation, I’d argue, that’s made it harder to monetize Alexa and so contributed to its current woes.
We sent our smart home reviewer to check out an Alexa designed for space travel before it launched on its journey to the Moon.
With perks like customizable buttons, backlighting, and a new remote finder feature, Amazon’s $35 remote is worth the upgrade for Fire TV owners.
The fastest Fire TV yet offers extensive hands-free voice controls that you can’t get from any other streaming player, but it still puts too many ads in your face
With better sound, faster responses, and more sensors, Amazon’s Echo Dot with Clock fifth-gen is more useful for your smart home and remains the best budget smart speaker you can buy.
Amazon recently dropped a slate of new gadgets — including a new entry-level Kindle and a fifth-gen Echo Dot speaker — but it’s the last-gen devices that are receiving the biggest discounts right now. The latest Echo Show 5 is currently on sale for an all-time low of $34.99, for instance, which is great if you’re looking for a compact smart display for your nightstand.
The company’s annual September events are usually a marathon of new product launches. We’ll be covering the announcements live.
While it’s not the robot we were looking for, Astro is rolling in the right direction.
