Remember the days of asking Alexa to play your favorite song or set a timer? Well, get ready for a major upgrade. Amazon has officially announced Alexa Plus, a generative AI-powered version of its voice assistant that promises to be smarter, more conversational, and a whole lot more capable.
What is Alexa Plus?
Alexa Plus isn’t just a little tweak; it’s like Amazon completely rebuilt Alexa from the ground up. Instead of just a voice assistant, think of it as your own personal AI that’s actually helpful. It can now take action for you, so you can ask it to order groceries, book dinner, send invites, and even handle things like scheduling an oven repair by searching the web and finding someone to come fix it. Plus, it’s supposed to remember everything about you, from your diet to your favorite movies, important dates, and even those old family recipes, so it can give you personalized suggestions and just be more helpful overall. Forget those clunky commands, too, because Alexa Plus is designed to understand casual language, even if you’re just thinking out loud or trying to explain a complicated idea; it’s supposed to feel more like talking to a friend. And if you need to learn something new, get a summary of a complex topic, have a story made up, or even generate some AI art, Alexa Plus can do all that and hold a conversation about pretty much anything.
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Beyond voice: A visual and interactive experience
The improvements to Alexa Plus extend beyond just voice interactions; expect a redesigned visual experience, particularly on Echo devices equipped with screens. The user interface has received a facelift, incorporating customizable widgets on the homescreen along with a dedicated smart home control widget for easier management of your connected devices. Additionally, when interacting with Alexa Plus on Echo devices featuring a display, you will notice a fluctuating blue bar located at the bottom of the screen. This bar displays animations and icons, known as “Alexicons,” which are designed to visually express Alexa’s personality and current state.
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How does it work?
So, what’s the secret sauce that makes Alexa Plus tick? Well, under the hood, it’s all about some seriously smart technology. First off, it’s powered by large language models, or LLMs, which are built on Amazon Bedrock; these include Amazon’s own Amazon Nova model, as well as models from companies like Anthropic, allowing Alexa Plus to pick the best one for whatever task you throw at it. Amazon has also created what they call “experts,” which are basically groups of systems, capabilities, APIs, and instructions designed to handle specific types of tasks. In addition to that, Alexa Plus draws data from partners, giving it access to real-time information on things like financial markets and sports, and, finally, there are agentic capabilities, which let Alexa Plus navigate the internet on its own to complete tasks for you behind the scenes.
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What can it do?
Alexa Plus opens up a whole world of possibilities, and while there are countless ways you can put it to use, let’s highlight a few of the cool things it can do. For starters, it can take complete control of your smart home, allowing you to manage your lights, cameras, and other devices, and you can even have Alexa Plus create customized routines for you. If you’re a music lover, you’ll be able to find songs based on just a vague description or even ask Alexa to jump directly to a specific scene in a movie.
Managing documents becomes a breeze as you can now share documents, emails, photos, and messages with Alexa, so it can remember them, provide summaries, or take actions based on their contents. As an example, you could upload a study guide and have Alexa quiz you on the material.
When you’re looking for inspiration for dinner, Alexa Plus can provide personalized recommendations for recipes or restaurants based on your dietary preferences and your family’s favorite foods.
Finally, if you’re feeling creative, Alexa Plus can generate AI art or even create original songs on the fly using a simple prompt, thanks to Amazon’s partnership with AI song generator Suno.
Privacy and Security
Now, I know what you are thinking. What about my privacy and security? Amazon emphasizes that Alexa Plus is built with privacy and security in mind, offering transparency and control over your data through the Alexa Privacy dashboard. It’s built on the secure infrastructure of AWS. In case you don’t know what AWS is, it’s Amazon Web Services, the same highly secure cloud platform trusted by governments, banks, and enterprises globally. Think of it as Amazon’s ultra-secure, behind-the-scenes cloud platform that already protects the data of countless businesses and individuals around the world.
Competition in the AI assistant arena
Amazon is entering a crowded field of AI-powered digital assistants, including Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Apple’s Siri. However, Alexa Plus has a unique advantage: its integration with smart speakers, which could bring AI chatbot technology to a wider audience more quickly.
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How to get Alexa Plus and what it costs
Alexa Plus will be priced at $19.99 per month on its own, but the best part is that Amazon Prime members will receive it absolutely free as part of their existing membership. The rollout will begin within the next few weeks, initially as an early access program, with wider availability following in the coming months, and those who own Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21 devices (see below) will be given priority for early access. You’ll be able to experience Alexa Plus on your Echo devices, through a brand new mobile app available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play store, and even through a browser-based interface at Alexa.com.
Amazon will let you know via email and device notifications as soon as you can access Alexa Plus. After you opt-in, Alexa Plus will be ready to go on all your compatible Echo devices, Fire TV, Fire tablets, online, and in the Alexa app.
While the initial rollout prioritizes certain Echo Show models, Amazon plans to make Alexa Plus available on a wide range of Echo devices, including many existing models below, ensuring that most Alexa users will eventually have access to this enhanced AI.
Amazon Echo Show 21
The Amazon Echo Show 21 is a 21-inch smart display designed to serve as a central hub for home organization, featuring Alexa for voice control and a built-in Fire TV for streaming content from services like Netflix, Prime Video, and more. This device is equipped with a 13MP camera for video calls with features such as auto-framing and noise reduction, ensuring clear communication. It supports multiple smart home standards, including Zigbee, Matter, and Thread, allowing seamless control of compatible devices. The Echo Show 21 offers customizable widgets for quick access to calendars, shopping lists, and other essential information, making it ideal for kitchen use. Additionally, it includes privacy features like a physical camera shutter and microphone mute button to ensure user control over data privacy. Despite its extensive capabilities, the Echo Show 21 is priced at $400, and a stand must be purchased separately if not mounting it on a wall.
Amazon Echo Show 15
The Amazon Echo Show 15 is a 15.6-inch Full-HD smart display designed for home organization, featuring Alexa for voice control and Fire TV for entertainment. It offers customizable widgets to track calendars, to-do lists, and weather, and supports video calling with a 5MP camera. The device also serves as a smart home hub, allowing users to control smart devices and view live camera feeds. Additionally, it can function as a digital photo frame and includes privacy controls like a mic/camera-off button.
Amazon Echo show 10
The Amazon Echo Show 10 is a cutting-edge smart display that combines a 10.1-inch HD screen with premium sound and motion capabilities, allowing it to automatically rotate to face you as you move around the room. Equipped with Alexa, it offers a wide range of functionalities, including video calls, smart home control, entertainment options like Netflix and Spotify, and home security features such as remote camera access. The device also features a 13MP camera with auto-framing for seamless video calls and a built-in Zigbee hub for easy smart device integration. Additionally, it supports various streaming services and can be used as a kitchen companion for recipes and multitasking. With its sleek design and advanced features, the Echo Show 10 is an excellent choice for enhancing smart home experiences.
Amazon Echo Show 8
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (newest model) is a versatile smart display that combines a sleek design with advanced features like spatial audio, providing a rich and immersive sound experience. It serves as a capable smart home hub, supporting protocols such as Matter, Thread, and Zigbee, allowing seamless control of smart devices. Equipped with Alexa, it offers fast responses to voice commands and integrates well with other smart home systems. The device also features a centered 13-megapixel camera for improved video calls and an adaptive home screen that adjusts content based on user proximity.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
So, where does this leave us? Alexa Plus definitely sounds like a game-changer, right? The AI smarts, the way it gets to know you, and how it’s supposed to work seamlessly across all your devices – it really could change how we use tech at home. If Amazon can actually pull it off, Alexa Plus might just become that essential tool we all need to wrangle our crazy, complicated lives. Of course, we’ve heard big promises from Alexa before, so it remains to be seen if, this time, it’ll actually live up to the hype and beat out the competition.
Amazon promises strong security, but with Alexa Plus having access to so much of your personal life, what are your biggest concerns about privacy and potential misuse of that information? Let us know in the comments below.
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