Amazon has made its Alexa Skills Blueprints program available to all users, a move that will allow anyone to create and publish content for Alexa-enabled devices. The program has a series of templates for making content available on the voice assistant ecosystem. Continue Reading
Amazon reported its fourth-quarter financial results, closing the year with more big numbers and a big focus on its smart speakers. CEO and Founder Jeff Bezos gave a comment for the earnings press release, but his sole focus was the company’s voice assistant and smart home collection. Continue Reading
The latest development from Amazon Alexa is a more nuanced change in its language skills. The assistant now has the option to adopt the speech cadences and delivery of a professional newscaster. We tested it — click for the audio. Continue Reading
Amazon’s Echo line is starting to show up in cars. TechCrunch reported that the Echo Auto, announced in September, began shipping pre-orders in December. It also has third-party options for bringing its Alexa voice assistant behind the wheel. Continue Reading
Amazon shared another set of eye-popping statistics from the holiday shopping season. The retailer reported that 2018 was a record-breaking holiday, with the most items ordered worldwide. The new iteration of the Echo Dot smart speaker was one of the best-selling products for the company. Continue Reading
Amazon is facing a fresh round of privacy concerns after an error shared a user’s voice recordings with a stranger. A German user of the Amazon Alexa voice assistant asked to hear an archive of his recordings, but the link he was sent also included 1,700 audio files from a different person. Continue Reading
Amazon has shared some year-end milestones for the Alexa skills behind its smart speakers. The company said that there are now more than 70,000 Alexa skills worldwide, growing from the 50,000 announced in September 2018. Amazon also shared a list of what it dubbed the top 25 Alexa skills of 2018. Continue Reading
Amazon has launched new voice features for Prime Music and Amazon Music Unlimited listeners using its Alexa assistant. The updates will increase personalization of music requests and more conversational interactions with Alexa. Continue Reading
Amazon has two new developments around its voice assistant and smart speaker efforts. The first item is the launch of Amazon Alexa and the Amazon Echo line in Italy and Spain. The other development is a way to submit feedback on Alexa voice skills. Continue Reading
Amazon announced that it has launched Prime Music in Australia. This music streaming service will be available for all new and ongoing Prime memberships in the market. Prime Music includes a library of more than 2 million songs alongside hundreds of curated playlists and stations for particular moods and genres. Continue Reading
Amazon announced both new updates to its Alexa voice platform and new devices that will integrate the AI. The tech conglomerate has released new versions of its existing smart speakers Echo Dot, Echo Plus, and Echo Show. The new devices include the previously leaked Echo Sub and Amazon Smart Plug. Continue Reading
The Amazon Alexa voice assistant platform is coming to more and more gadgetry around the home. This week began with rumors of at least eight new Alexa devices to come before the year’s close, and the week is ending with a leak confirming two of them. Continue Reading