Latest news with #Alexa.com
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon unveils Alexa+, a smarter, more personalized assistant
Fox News and its syndication partners may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom. Amazon is taking Alexa to the next level with the help of AI. Amazon just announced Alexa+, an updated assistant powered by generative AI. The idea is to make Alexa more human, so she can help you control all your devices and get more done. The U.S. Alexa+ launch is set to happen over the next few weeks, and will start with the Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21 devices. The new Alexa+ acts more like a human personal assistant. It can have more in-depth conversations, understand colloquial expressions and think through complex ideas. Other features include the ability to make reservations, explore new music and search for and buy virtually any item online. When launched, customers can access Alexa+ in a new mobile app, available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Amazon is also launching a new browser-based option at Owners of Echo devices can start conversations with Alexa+ and seamlessly switch between their car and computers. The newest Alexa edition will be able to pick up conversations right where you left off. The list of devices and apps Alexa+ will work with is long. Users will be able to control their smart home devices like smart lights from Philips Hue or robot vacuums from Roborock. Alexa+ can also control and help you explore music on Amazon Music and other music streaming services. Alexa+ users can take their home security to the next level and connect it to their Ring cameras and Ring doorbell. The new, improved Alexa will warn you if someone is approaching your house. Read On The Fox News App Amazon explained in the official announcement that the new personalized features will appeal to a variety of people, including home chefs. For starters, users will be able to order from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market by just asking Alexa. Users can even get more personal and tell Alexa+ family recipes and dietary preferences, so Alexa+ can help with the shopping list, recipe creation and finding the right restaurant. Alexa+ costs $19.99 per month for non-Prime members. All Amazon Prime members will get Alexa+ for free with their membership. Amazon has a huge range of products that will all likely connect to Alexa+. Create your own personalized smart home with these other Amazon products. An Amazon Fire Tablet is a high-performing tablet that gives you all the apps you need at your fingertips. Watch shows, stream music, get work done and much more. The tablet has Alexa built in, so you can ask questions and ask Alexa to help you with tasks. 11 Products You Can Find On Amazon That Will Help You Read More Your music will sound like it's coming from a concert speaker when you use the Amazon Echo Studio. It has five built-in speakers that produce a powerful bass and clear, crisp music. Just ask Echo Studio to play music from any of your favorite streaming apps, including Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Tidal and more. Amazon Echo Studio adapts to all the rooms in your house. It automatically senses the acoustics of the room and fine-tunes its sound, giving you the most immersive experience. Original price: $369.99 An Amazon Fire TV gives 43-inches of clear, 4K media. Since it's an Amazon TV, Alexa comes built in. You can ask Alexa to find, launch and control your content. You can also ask Alexa to check the weather, tell you sports scores and more. Control all your Amazon entertainment devices with an Amazon Fire TV Cube. You can connect and navigate between all your entertainment, including your TV, game console or webcam. The hands-free Alexa allows you to control the box, and your other Amazon devices, with just your voice. For more Deals, visit Built just for reading, the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is an ultra-thin Kindle without the apps and distracting apps. The Paperwhite is Amazon's fastest Kindle yet, and the display has a higher contrast than previous article source: Amazon unveils Alexa+, a smarter, more personalized assistant
Fox News
27-02-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Amazon unveils Alexa+, a smarter, more personalized assistant
Amazon is taking Alexa to the next level with the help of AI. Amazon just announced Alexa+, an updated assistant powered by generative AI. The idea is to make Alexa more human, so she can help you control all your devices and get more done. The U.S. Alexa+ launch is set to happen over the next few weeks, and will start with the Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21 devices. The new Alexa+ acts more like a human personal assistant. It can have more in-depth conversations, understand colloquial expressions and think through complex ideas. Other features include the ability to make reservations, explore new music and search for and buy virtually any item online. When launched, customers can access Alexa+ in a new mobile app, available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Amazon is also launching a new browser-based option at Owners of Echo devices can start conversations with Alexa+ and seamlessly switch between their car and computers. The newest Alexa edition will be able to pick up conversations right where you left off. The list of devices and apps Alexa+ will work with is long. Users will be able to control their smart home devices like smart lights from Philips Hue or robot vacuums from Roborock. Alexa+ can also control and help you explore music on Amazon Music and other music streaming services. Alexa+ users can take their home security to the next level and connect it to their Ring cameras and Ring doorbell. The new, improved Alexa will warn you if someone is approaching your house. Amazon explained in the official announcement that the new personalized features will appeal to a variety of people, including home chefs. For starters, users will be able to order from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market by just asking Alexa. Users can even get more personal and tell Alexa+ family recipes and dietary preferences, so Alexa+ can help with the shopping list, recipe creation and finding the right restaurant. Alexa+ costs $19.99 per month for non-Prime members. All Amazon Prime members will get Alexa+ for free with their membership. Amazon has a huge range of products that will all likely connect to Alexa+. Create your own personalized smart home with these other Amazon products. An Amazon Fire Tablet is a high-performing tablet that gives you all the apps you need at your fingertips. Watch shows, stream music, get work done and much more. The tablet has Alexa built in, so you can ask questions and ask Alexa to help you with tasks. Your music will sound like it's coming from a concert speaker when you use the Amazon Echo Studio. It has five built-in speakers that produce a powerful bass and clear, crisp music. Just ask Echo Studio to play music from any of your favorite streaming apps, including Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Tidal and more. Amazon Echo Studio adapts to all the rooms in your house. It automatically senses the acoustics of the room and fine-tunes its sound, giving you the most immersive experience. Original price: $369.99 An Amazon Fire TV gives 43-inches of clear, 4K media. Since it's an Amazon TV, Alexa comes built in. You can ask Alexa to find, launch and control your content. You can also ask Alexa to check the weather, tell you sports scores and more. Control all your Amazon entertainment devices with an Amazon Fire TV Cube. You can connect and navigate between all your entertainment, including your TV, game console or webcam. The hands-free Alexa allows you to control the box, and your other Amazon devices, with just your voice. For more Deals, visit Built just for reading, the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is an ultra-thin Kindle without the apps and distracting apps. The Paperwhite is Amazon's fastest Kindle yet, and the display has a higher contrast than previous editions.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Amazon Alexa Gets Big AI Update, Making It 'Something That Can Actually Take Action"
Amazon's Alexa is going to be able to do more than just talk back and do basic commands after a big new update, Amazon announced Wednesday. Amazon unveiled the new generation of Alexa at an event in New York. The next generation of the assistant is powered by generative AI and promises a smarter, more conversational, approachable -- and most importantly, actionable -- virtual assistant. "She's smarter than she's ever been before, but she's also approachable," Amazon's Devices and Services team lead Panos Panay, said during the event. The new generation of Amazon Alexa, which is being called Alexa+, can book dinner reservations, set reminders on your calendar, order and send gifts to loved ones and learn your routine and likes and dislikes over time to better serve you and those in your household, among other changes, Panay said. During a live demo, the new Alexa told Panay, "I'm not just an assistant, I'm your new best friend in the digital world. I've got jokes, smarts and a genuine desire to make your life easier and more fun." Panay emphasized that the new generation is "something that can actually take action." Alexa+ can also control your smart home by monitoring your security cameras, dimming lights or turning them on or off at certain times of the day, playing music and controlling your smart TV. During the demo, Alexa also played a song and was able to move from various speakers when asked, then because it was a song from a movie (Shallow by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper from A Star is Born), Panay asked Alexa to then play the scene from the movie on the smart TV on the stage -- and it complied. "The new Alexa knows almost every instrument in your life," Panay said. He also demonstrated how it was able to sort through his home security videos and determine the last time his dog was walked or he received a delivery at his home. Alexa is continuing to grow in popularity, according to Panay, who stated that in 2024, people were using Alexa 20% more than in 2023. Alexa+ is $19.99 a month, but free if you're a Prime member. Alexa+ will start to roll out next month, Panay said. With Alexa+, you will also get to use the upcoming However, according to a recent CNET survey, only 23% of participants said they would pay more for additional AI features in voice assistants, so only time will tell if this stands in the way of Alexa+ given that many Alexa owners are also Prime members. Read more: New Reports Say Smart Device Cyberattacks More Than Doubled In 2024: Should You Worry? Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa & Echo, demonstrated using Alexa+ and stated that the Alexa update doesn't only work with Amazon products. It will pair with partners, including UberEats, Spotify, Dyson, Ticketmaster, Grubhub, OpenTable and more, in order to to take action for users. Before Panay took the stage to make the Alexa upgrade announcement, Andy Jassy, Amazon's president and CEO, highlighted Amazon's AI uses they have already implemented, such as Rufus, a shopping assistant on Amazon, and Amazon Bedrock. Jassy said Amazon has more than 1,000 Generative AI programs currently in use or being built. "New experiences that we only dreamed of before are going to be possible with GenerativeAI," Jassy said, adding that the company uses AI "to solve real customer problems." Jassy also teased even more Amazon updates on the horizon, when "drones will get packages to customers in less than an hour eventually."
