Everything ever so slightly better has a plus sign, and that appears true of the next version of Amazon’s voice assistant, too.
If you have a smart device you can talk to at home, there’s a good chance that it’s one of three major options. Apple’s Siri appears on HomePod speakers, Google’s Assistant across the Nest displays, speakers, and Android devices, and then there’s Alexa.
A part of the Amazon ecosystem, Alexa can be found across the company’s own Echo smart speakers and smart displays, plus a bunch of others. It’s one of the main assistants used in the Sonos ecosystem, and you can also find Alexa inside Samsung’s The Frame speaker.
In fact, Alexa is probably one of the most used smart systems across speakers in the world, complete with support for routines you can make for just about anything.
So where is Alexa heading to next? Like most AI, it’s going to get a little smarter, provided you’re willing to pay for it.
In the coming weeks, Australians will get to experience “Alexa+”, a version of Alexa that will be conversational and connect with more services and devices.
For instance, it’ll play with platforms such as Uber, Spotify, Apple Music, Disney+, and more, and even connect with hardware you may already own, such as Philips Hue smart lights and the Roborock robotic vacuums.
While these integrations already technically exist, Alexa+ will improve the way you talk to them, making the process of talking to devices a little more intuitive, such as saying the lights are too bright and having the system know to turn them down, or asking Alexa about musical artists or TV shows you like or are interested in.
Initially, Alexa+ will be rolled out to folks in the US first, with Australia and New Zealand on the cards for later. When our neck of the woods does get access, however, it will likely cost money.
Over the US where the technology is launching first, Alexa+ will cost $19.99 USD per month, while Amazon Prime members will get the access free. Given the cost of Prime locally, there’s a good chance Aussies will face a similar subscription choice — Alexa+ for a monthly cost or Prime with the access included — though we wouldn’t be surprised if the cost of Prime also goes up in the process. Everyone else appears to be raising prices, and Amazon could do the same soon, too.
Amazon’s local arm wouldn’t say whether the technology would roll out to existing Alexa-enabled devices, such as the last Echo Dot with Clock or even the current Echo Studio. Given this is a new generation of something already found on Amazon speakers and such, there’s a pretty good chance you may already have a device that supports the next generation of Alexa, at least until we hear otherwise.
