Amazon Unveils New Gadgets as AI Race Heats Up (bloomberg.com) 23
Amazon introduced an updated slate of Echo devices and pledged to bring ChatGPT-style artificial intelligence to Alexa-powered gadgets. From a report: For more than a year the digital assistant has been using a home-built set of large language models -- the foundational networks that enable ChatGPT and rival technologies -- to help summarize text gathered from the web and make Alexa more conversant in various languages, Dave Limp, Amazon's senior vice president of Devices & Services, said in an interview. New, more conversational capabilities will "roll out incrementally," he said. "It's not years away, but there are some things that we have to solve." Amazon on Wednesday announced four updated Alexa devices:
The Echo Pop, which takes the company's spherical, fabric-covered Echo Dot smart speaker and slices it in half. The semi-spherical device, which sells for $40, comes with technology borrowed from Amazon's eero router subsidiary that can extend the range of home Wi-Fi
A revamped Echo Show 5, which pairs Alexa with a 5-inch screen. Amazon says the $90 speaker is 20% faster than the prior generation and has clearer sound.
An updated edition of the Echo Show 5 Kids comes with a year of Amazon's Kids+ subscription with age-appropriate audiobooks, videos and games. It will sell for $100.
A new version of Amazon's Echo Buds loses the noise-cancelling feature of previous editions, but, at $50, comes in at less than half the price. The buds let users listen to music and summon Alexa on the go.
The Echo Pop, which takes the company's spherical, fabric-covered Echo Dot smart speaker and slices it in half. The semi-spherical device, which sells for $40, comes with technology borrowed from Amazon's eero router subsidiary that can extend the range of home Wi-Fi
A revamped Echo Show 5, which pairs Alexa with a 5-inch screen. Amazon says the $90 speaker is 20% faster than the prior generation and has clearer sound.
An updated edition of the Echo Show 5 Kids comes with a year of Amazon's Kids+ subscription with age-appropriate audiobooks, videos and games. It will sell for $100.
A new version of Amazon's Echo Buds loses the noise-cancelling feature of previous editions, but, at $50, comes in at less than half the price. The buds let users listen to music and summon Alexa on the go.