Amazon is clearly having fun with its Alexa digital assistant. The Seattle company has now put it in a microwave, a wall clock, potentially millions of cars, and in a bunch of new speakers.
Starting with Alexa itself, Amazon says it’s made the assistant more opinionated (has favorites, not political opinions), more sensitive (you can tell it to be quiet, as when a baby is sleeping), more conversational (it can carry on extended conversations without repeated wake words), more approachable (as with Alexa captions for the hearing impaired), and more natural (it goes into the right skills triggered by context, without a rigid instructions).
Here’s a rundown of everything Amazon announced at its pre-holiday event in Seattle today:
New stuff for the connected home
Echo Input. Since the Dot has such a small speaker, many people connect them with a larger audio system via Bluetooth or cable. The new Echo Input is essentially a Dot without a speaker, and it’s much smaller—the same shape as a coaster and not much bigger. It’s basically a connecter between Alexa and your stereo system. It will sell for $34.99 starting later this year.
Echo Sub. Amazon says lots of Echo owners like to put two of them together in a stereo pair. The Echo Sub allows people to add a large base speaker to the mix. Actually, it can be used to add base to just one Echo, too, in a 1.1 configuration. The new speaker will sell for $129.99 and will start shipping later this monthly.
A third Echo, the Echo Plus. Amazon announced a new Echo Plus, the third iteration on the Echo device, which pioneered the smart speaker space. The new model has more powerful bass and clearer sound. There’s also a smart home hub built in, so it can be used to add and control automated home devices like plugs and lights. It also adds a temperature sensor to test its particular place in the home. A new feature called Local Voice Control takes the most basic parts of Alexa’s brain and makes them available offline in case the broadband service to the home goes out. The new Echo will cost $149.99 and will go on sale next month.
Making it easier to connect
Amazon believes that many people have avoided putting smart devices in their homes because it’s too complicated and labor-intensive to set up. Now the company is pushing on a new initiative called “Simple Setup.”
Stuff for the kitchen
Amazon Basics Microwave. Yes, Amazon has now put Alexa into a microwave. And, come to think of it, it’s a good idea. The era of punching numbers into the archaic pad on the front of microwaves may be coming to an end. With the Alexa microwave, you can just say “one potato” and the microwave will know what to do. The device becomes available later this year for $59.99.
In the car
New video gadgets
A new Echo Show. Amazon’s Echo Show, the company says, has been completely redesigned with a larger 10-inch display, a larger speaker inside, and a larger space in back of the device where the speaker radiates for deeper bass. Amazon says it now has “room-filling” sound. The Show also has a smart home hub built in, so it can be used to set up and control other connected home devices. Importantly, through a new integration with Microsoft, people who use Skype can now do their calling and video chat through the Show. The new device will go on sale next month for $229.99.
Fire TV Recast DVR. Amazon has a new DVR that can record four shows at a time and stream video to multiple devices. It offers a programming guide that helps organize video using a graphic display of what’s on cable now, shows already recorded to the DVR, and shows available on subscription services like Amazon Prime Video or Netflix. The DVR will be available before the holidays starting at $229.99.
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