We’ve known this for a while does . While the company says it’s integrating it into various aspects of the voice assistant, it’s working on a more advanced version of Alexa and plans to charge users for access. Amazon reportedly named the higher-end “Alexa the Magnificent” (let’s hope it doesn’t stick with that name for the public release).
according to , Amazon is still determining pricing and a release date for Remarkable Alexa, but has charged a fee of about $5 to $10 per month for consumers to use it. Amazon is also said to be urging its employees to be ready for the iconic Alexa by August — perhaps so it can discuss details such as Alexa and the usual device drop event.
This will mark the first major update to Alexa since Amazon debuted the voice assistant with its Echo speakers a decade ago. The company is now in a position where it is trying to catch up with the likes of ChatGPT and Google Gemini. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who promised in an April letter to shareholders that the company is working on a “smarter and more capable Alexa,” is said to have taken a personal interest in the overhaul. .
“We’ve already integrated generative AI into various components of Alexa, and we’re working hard to implement it in the more than half a billion ambient, Alexa-enabled devices already in homes around the world to make it more active, personal and reliable assistance for our customers.” said an Amazon spokesperson Reuters. However, the company has yet to implement a more natural-sounding and conversational version of Alexa .
The amazing Alexa is said to be capable of complex instructions such as writing and sending an email and ordering dinner from a single command. Deeper personalization is another aspect, and Amazon expects consumers to use it for shopping advice. .
Improved home automation capability is also said to be a priority. According to the report, Remarkable Alexa can gain a deeper understanding of user preferences, so it can learn to tune the TV to a specific show. It can also learn to start the coffee machine when your alarm clock goes off (although this is already very easy to set up with existing smart home systems).
Alexa has long been a futile endeavor for Amazon — , laid off several hundred people working on the voice assistant. It’s no big surprise that the company is trying to get more revenue from Remarkable Alexa (which won’t be offered as a core benefit). Users may need to purchase new devices with more powerful technology in order for Remarkable Alexa to work properly on them.
In any case, $10 (or even $5) a month for an improved voice assistant seems like a tough sell, especially when the existing free version of Alexa can already handle many tasks.
