The Verge is live blogging Amazon’s big Alexa event in New York City. It kicks off at 10AM ET on February 26th, and we’re expecting the company to announce a new subscription-based version of Alexa that’s beefed up with a bunch of AI features.
It seems like a good time for the company to announce new products with Alexa, too. That means we could see new Echos, Fire TV products, or other things like updated smart glasses. Sometimes Amazon announces lots of products in quick succession, while other years are more muted.
We’ll keep this page updated with all the breakout news on Alexa and anything else the company unveils.
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We’re on the ground at Amazon’s event.The show is set to start at 10AM ET. We’re in a (chilly) line outside, waiting to get live blogging. Follow along for all the big announcements.
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Amazon is holding a press event this week, where we expect it to finally launch its “new” Alexa. This could be the beginning of a major shift in how we use generative AI in our homes, or it could be a big disappointment.
The latter seems likely, based on the delays and persistent rumors that the voice assistant is struggling with its revamp. But I’m hoping we’ll at least end up somewhere in the middle — with a smarter, more useful Alexa, if not the “superhuman assistant” Amazon has promised.
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Amazon won’t launch the AI-powered upgrade for Alexa for at least a month after its showcase at an event set for February 26th, according to The Washington Post. The delay is reportedly at least partly because the updated assistant has issues with giving inaccurate answers to test questions.
An anonymous Amazon employee told the outlet that the upgrade won’t come “until March 31 or later” due to the issues. The new Alexa could be tied to a subscription, with features like “the ability to adopt a personality, recall conversations, order takeout or call a taxi,” and was originally set to launch later this month as a free trial, the Post writes, citing internal documents and messages.
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Amazon sent out five different invites to its upcoming product event, and when pieced together, they spell out a familiar word: Alexa, the name of the company’s digital voice assistant.
We assumed the event would be about Alexa’s long-heralded renaissance, and given this message, plus Amazon telling Reuters that the event will be Alexa-focused, it seems certain the new Alexa will arrive this month.
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Amazon sent out invites today for a February event in New York City. The individual invites give little clue as to what will be announced at the event, which will be hosted by Panos Panay and the Amazon Devices & Services team on February 26th.
However, the blue swirly logo behind the words “You’re invited” does give off strong Alexa vibes, which originally made us think that the company will finally officially launch its new supercharged Alexa digital assistant. Then we found further evidence that’s the case by piecing together the five different invites Amazon sent out and discovering that, in fact, they spell Alexa.