by Juli Clover
Apple competitor Amazon is working on a revamp of its Alexa assistant, and the new version could cost up $10 per month, according to a report from Reuters. The upcoming version of Alexa will support conversational generative AI, and Amazon is planning for two tiers of service.
There will be a free tier and a second, premium tier that is priced at $5 at a minimum, with Amazon considering price points ranging from $5 to $10. Amazon does not plan to include the premium Alexa tier with its $139 per year Prime subscription.
Amazon has not made significant updates to Alexa in the last decade, and it has fallen behind other AI products that have started to adopt large language models. Alexa is free and built into Amazon devices, so Amazon does not make money directly from it as of now. Some employees that spoke to Reuters said the revamp is a "desperate attempt" to revitalize Alexa, and Amazon executives have suggested it is imperative Alexa demonstrate it can generate "meaningful" sales.
The updated version of Alexa, which Amazon calls "Remarkable Alexa" internally, is expected to be able to do things like craft emails, give shopping advice, and order delivery from Uber Eats. Amazon also wants to improve the way that Alexa controls smart home products, with Alexa able to learn how to automate routines.
Amazon is aiming to have the updated version of Alexa finished by August, which would see it launch later this year. Apple is working on a similarly updated version of Siri that also incorporates large language models, though many of the new Siri functions won't be coming until 2025.
Tags: Amazon, Alexa
[ 118 comments ]
Popular Stories
Apple Explains iPhone 15 Pro Requirement for Apple Intelligence
Wednesday June 19, 2024 4:48 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
With iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, Apple is introducing a new personalized AI experience called Apple Intelligence that uses on-device, generative large-language models to enhance the user experience across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. These new AI features require Apple's latest iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models to work, while only Macs and iPads with M1 or later chips will...
Read Full Article • 475 comments
Apple Reportedly Suspends Work on Vision Pro 2
Tuesday June 18, 2024 8:17 am PDT by Hartley Charlton
Apple has suspended work on the second-generation Vision Pro headset to singularly focus on a cheaper model, The Information reports. Apple was widely believed to have plans to divide its Vision product line into two models, with one "Pro" model and one lower-cost standard model. The company is said to have been deprioritizing the next Vision Pro headset over the past year, gradually...
Read Full Article • 561 comments
M4 MacBook Pro Models Expected to Launch in Late 2024
Tuesday June 18, 2024 10:50 am PDT by Juli Clover
MacBook Pro models with an M4 chip are expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to display analyst Ross Young. In a tweet for subscribers, Young said that panel shipments for new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models are set to begin in the third quarter of 2024, which suggests a launch toward the end of the year. Apple started its M4 chip refresh in May with the launch...
Read Full Article • 275 comments
5 Biggest Changes Rumored for iPhone 16 Pro Max
Wednesday June 19, 2024 5:00 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Given Apple's rumored plan to add an all-new high-end tier to its iPhone 17 series in 2025, this could be the year for Apple to bring its boldest "Pro Max" model to the table — the kind of iPhone 16 upgrade that stands tall above its siblings, both figuratively and literally. If you have been holding out for the iPhone 16 Pro Max, here are five of the biggest changes rumored to be coming...
Read Full Article • 100 comments
Apple Intelligence Features Not Coming to European Union at Launch Due to DMA
Friday June 21, 2024 9:44 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today said that European customers will not get access to the Apple Intelligence, iPhone Mirroring, and SharePlay Screen Sharing features that are coming to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac this September due to regulatory issues related to the Digital Markets Act. In a statement to Financial Times, Apple said that there will be a delay as it works to figure out how to make the new...
Read Full Article • 648 comments
Apple's 2024 Back to School Sale Launching This Week
Monday June 17, 2024 12:27 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple will launch its annual Back to School promotion for university students in the United States and Canada this week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple's back to school sales provide students with a free Apple gift card when purchasing a Mac or an iPad, and this year's promotion could help Apple push the new M2 iPad Air and M4 iPad Pro models. Last year, Apple offered U.S....
Read Full Article • 118 comments
Top Rated Comments
Kabeyun
23 hours ago at 03:05 pm
Can’t wait to hear all about the free tier experience:
“Hey Alexa, what’s the weather tomorrow?”
“Happy to tell you, but first here’s a message from ShedRain umbrellas! Strong, compact, lightweight, and totally waterproof, guaranteed!…”
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jjdodders
23 hours ago at 03:02 pm
lmaooooooooooooo the logical end point to this subscription obsession is that you will eventually have to pay a monthly subscription to ward off Boston dynamics dogs from ripping out your throat.
£10 a month for something I make set a cooking timer for me occasionally? It's cheaper to just throw the thing out the window.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sloheim
23 hours ago at 02:56 pm
In related news, Alexa is dead.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane
23 hours ago at 03:04 pm
They could pay me $10 a month and I wouldn’t use it
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos
23 hours ago at 03:03 pm
As long as I can still tell it to play music or to turn on / off my lights I don’t care. This is the only thing I use those assistants for. I am way too lazy to talk
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mrkevinfinnerty
23 hours ago at 02:58 pm
Would've raked it in, in 2016 the last time anybody cared.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments
'); }
Next Article
PSA: Siri Can Turn on Night Shift on Apple Watch