Amazon has confirmed that it is holding a major event later this month where we could see a premium version of Alexa revealed.
The days of getting full and totally free access to Alexa could be numbered. Amazon has confirmed that it is holding a major launch event later this month and rumours suggest that this showcase – which is taking place in New York – will be all about a smarter version of its popular voice assistant. A better Alexa actually isn’t anything new with Amazon first unveiling improvements to this service all the way back in 2023.
However, since that live demo took place in Washington DC there’s been no more word on an official release. That could change this month, and reports suggest it might cost you money to use it.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, free access to Alexa is costing Amazon billions in lost revenue. Billions of requests are made each month yet consumers pay £0 to use it and that could be something this update attempts to fix,
By launching a better version of its assistant—which is rumoured will cost $10 per month (£7.70)—Amazon could entice power users to pay for new features while not upsetting those who are happy with what they currently have.
It’s no secret that a major update is on its way. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy confirmed that the company is working on a “substantial number of GenAI applications across every Amazon consumer business,” including “an even more intelligent and capable Alexa.”
So what will be new if Amazon unveils a major upgrade?
Just like Google’s Gemini assistant, Alexa is expected to be far more conversational and react like a real person. Along with that personalised dialogue, it’s also rumoured that Alexa will be able to cope with more complicated queries, write and send emails for you and even order your weekend takeaway via simple voice commands.
Along with Alexa, Amazon could also announce a swathe of updated devices at the February event including new Echo speakers and Fire TV Sticks. It’s been a long time since these gadgets had a reboot so it would make sense to show some hardware off in New York as well.
The Amazon showcase will kick off on February 26th in New York, so watch this space for more details.
