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
Amazon may have held the lead as smart speakers entered the marketplace, but Google is hot on its trail. According to Strategy Analytics, the Google Home Mini was the top-selling smart speaker in the world during the second quarter. Continue Reading
Google’s global footprint for smart speakers exceeded Amazon’s in the second quarter of 2018. According to the latest estimates from Canalys, Google’s share leapt from 16.9% in Q2 2017 to 32.3% in Q2 2018. That growth helped the tech giant surpass Amazon. Continue Reading
Amazon is reportedly preparing to take its streaming music service to a more public position. Bloomberg reports that the tech giant will be launching a multimedia campaign in support of its streaming service. Continue Reading
Amazon and Microsoft have integrated their digital assistants, which could open up new possibilities for cross-support of features and services outside of whatever hardware brand a user owns. Plans for an integration were announced last year, and the integration is just available as a preview in the U.S. right now. Continue Reading
Voice assistants have a steadily growing presence in smartphones and at-home entertainment. Now the technology is making a decisive move out onto the road with industry-leader Amazon. Continue Reading
A rattling shakeup is underway at Audible, the audiobook and audio content platform owned by Amazon. According to reporting by NPR, the entire podcast staff has been laid off. SVP of Original Programming Eric Nuzum has resigned, and shared a letter to friends with RAIN News. Continue Reading