Amazon Could Charge Up to $10/Month for Alexa
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.
Popular Stories
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…
Apple Explains iPhone 15 Pro Requirement for Apple Intelligence
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…
M4 MacBook Pro Models Expected to Launch in Late 2024
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…
Apple’s 2024 Back to School Sale Launching This Week
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….
iOS 18: Calendar App Design Changes and Reminders Integration
Apple in iOS 18 has given the Calendar app a major update, adding some welcome interface design changes, not to mention long-awaited integration with Reminders. In the month-by-month calendar view, the month now appears in large bold font in the top left, while the Events list toggle has been replaced by a new button that lets you choose between Compact, Stacked, Details, and List views. …
watchOS 11 Supports Automatic Nap Detection
watchOS 11 appears to include a new feature that allows an Apple Watch to automatically detect and record when you’re taking a nap. As shared on Reddit, an Apple Watch owner took a nap and was able to see the sleep data recorded in the Health app, despite not putting the device in Sleep Mode. Right now, the Apple Watch only tracks and records sleep when it is in Sleep Mode, and there is no…
Comments are closed.