Articles about echo

Pick Alexa’s personality: Amazon lets users choose ‘Brief,’ ‘Chill,’ or ‘Sweet’ conversation styles

Amazon is letting Alexa+ users customize how the voice assistant communicates, choosing between Brief, Chill, and Sweet personality styles. It’s a first for Alexa. Read More

Amazon’s new Alexa and AI features will play doorman, recap Kindle books, and find lost dogs

Amazon unveiled a new lineup of Echo, Kindle, Ring, Fire TV and Blink devices, with artificial intelligence as the common thread. Highlights include Kindle recaps, Ring’s lost-dog “Search Party,” and Alexa+ features that turn the voice assistant into a virtual doorman and entertainment guide. Read More

Amazon lays off 100 in Devices & Services group amid ongoing tech industry cuts

Amazon is cutting about 100 jobs in its Devices & Services division, the part of the company that includes its… Read More

Amazon releasing Echo Pop smart speakers with NFL branding for all 32 teams

Alexa, can the Seahawks get back to their winning ways on Thursday night against the 49ers? If you’re a Seattle… Read More

Amazon to acquire Perceive for $80M from Xperi, expanding its AI technology for edge devices

Amazon has reached an agreement to acquire chip maker and AI model compression company Perceive, a San Jose, Calif.-based subsidiary… Read More

Report details financial pressure on Amazon Alexa, confirms plans for paid tier and AI revamp

Internal Amazon metrics have created a rosy view of the impact from Alexa and Echo on the company’s revenue from… Read More

Amazon’s Astro robot gets its first job, going to work as a security guard

Amazon is rolling out its Astro robot as a security guard for businesses, using its HD periscope and night vision… Read More

Amazon ordered to pay $46.7M in jury verdict over Alexa and Echo voice technologies

Amazon was ordered to pay $46.7 million after a jury found that the company willfully violated four patents held by… Read More

Amazon previews Alexa ‘Let’s Chat’ feature for Echo devices, building on generative AI technology

Amazon this morning showed a new feature, dubbed “Let’s Chat” driven by generative artificial intelligence, designed to make its Alexa… Read More

Amazon devices chief Dave Limp is leaving in latest executive departure

Dave Limp, the longtime leader of Amazon’s devices division, will step down later this year. Limp is leaving Amazon after… Read More

Amazon unveils Echo Pop, new Echo Buds; reports >500M Alexa device sales as AI upends market

Amazon unveiled a new Echo smart speaker, a $39.99 semi-sphere called Echo Pop, meant for bedrooms and other small spaces… Read More

Podcast

GeekWire Podcast: Layoffs land at Amazon HQ; Redfin’s real estate reversal; Jeff Bezos and Jay-Z

Amazon became the latest tech giant to make layoffs in its corporate workforce this week in the face of the… Read More

Amazon’s new Halo Rise bedside device tracks sleep with radar sensor, low-power radio signals

Amazon unveiled a new bedside sleep-tracking device, Halo Rise, expanding its lineup of consumer health devices beyond wristbands for the… Read More

Amazon teams up with Lockheed Martin and Cisco to put Alexa voice assistant on NASA’s moon ship

Alexa, when are we arriving at the moon? Putting Amazon’s AI-enabled voice assistant on a moon-bound spaceship may sound like… Read More

Amazon maintains big lead over Google and Apple in U.S. smart speaker market, new study says

Amazon has a “dominant share” of the U.S. market for smart speakers, accounting for 69% of devices sold over the… Read More

Amazon gives developers access to Alexa device home screens, aiming to revitalize market for skills

Amazon will offer independent software developers a slice of the most important real estate on Alexa devices, giving users the… Read More

Filings reveal Amazon’s plan to use radar for ‘sleep tracing’ and touchless device control

Amazon plans to use radar to help people monitor their sleep and control their devices using gestures, a Federal Communications… Read More

Amazon unveils spherical Echo speakers, flying indoor security camera, and cloud gaming service

Amazon unveiled a new lineup of spherical Echo devices, an autonomous flying indoor Ring security camera, a new cloud gaming… Read More

Amazon group that created Kindle and Echo is working on technology for COVID-19 testing

Amazon is enlisting its cutting-edge Lab126 hardware group, best known for creating its Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets and Echo smart… Read More

Alexa, is this a scam? Amazon cracks down on tech support sites, alleging they tricked new users into paying to fix bogus bugs

Amazon is suing two companies for “widespread tech support fraud,” alleging that they tricked new users of Echo speakers and… Read More

Amazon considered stricter privacy settings after criticism over handling of voice recordings

After it faced public backlash against the practice of using people to review voice recordings from Alexa devices, Amazon gave… Read More

Amazon reportedly building wireless earbuds with fitness tracking and a ‘bulkier’ Echo device

Watch out, Apple and FitBit — Amazon is making its own wireless earbuds with fitness-related features. Related: Alexa, how are… Read More

Amazon reportedly working on high-end Echo smart speaker, Alexa-powered home robot

Amazon’s hardware R&D teams are keeping busy, as the tech giant is reportedly working on a pair of intriguing new… Read More

Can Alexa help detect a heart attack? Researchers explore life-saving potential of smart speakers

At the onset of a heart attack, people often have a few telltale symptoms: pain in the chest or arm,… Read More

Amazon lets developers build premium Alexa content for kids with new in-skill purchasing feature

Amazon will let developers build premium Alexa content directed at kids with an expansion of its in-skill purchasing feature. The… Read More

Amazon is reportedly building a wellness device that senses emotions in your voice

Amazon is reportedly working on a health and wellness device that is worn on the wrist and can read human… Read More

Consumer groups accuse Amazon of illegal voice recording on Echo Dot Kids speaker

Consumer advocacy and privacy groups filed a complaint with the FTC on Thursday asking to investigate Amazon for allegedly illegally… Read More

Amazon confirms that employees listen to Alexa conversations to help improve digital assistant

Behind Amazon’s digital assistant Alexa are thousands of humans reviewing some of the millions of utterances people make to their… Read More

Jeff Bezos uses annual Amazon letter as antitrust antidote: ‘Third-party sellers are kicking our first party butt. Badly.’

Amazon is getting trounced by third-party sellers on its platform, has weathered some spectacular failures in the process of building… Read More

Amazon adds HIPAA compliance to Alexa Skills, opening door for secure health apps

Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant has a new trick: transmitting secure patient information between patients and caregivers. Developers can now use… Read More