Alexa pushes deeper into ambient computing with new wearables and a long-distance wireless network

September 26th

Amazon's new smart glasses.

Soon you'll be able to wear Alexa-enabled rings, glasses or earbuds, and have the assistant speak to visitors when you're not home.

In addition to upgraded smart speakers, Amazon yesterday unveiled Alexa-embedded wearables, deeper Alexa integration with its Ring security cameras, and a new long-range communication protocol that will connect Alexa devices together.

The new Alexa wearables are:

Echo Frames: glasses that come with a microphone and down-firing speakers Amazon calls "open-ear technology," that allow wearers to listen to audio and interact with Alexa without wearing headphones. It also makes use of something called "VIP Filter," which aggressively limits the number of notifications Alexa displays or whispers in your ear. Currently sold by invitation only for $179.99. Afterward, the price will be $249.99.

Echo Loop: a smart ring Amazon calls "your shortcut to quick calls, fast answers, and bits of info that help you stay on top of your day." The wearer initiates Alexa via a small button on the side of the ring. The ring is designed to be whispered and spoken into, and then placed near the user's ear, where it can relay phone calls or answer questions through a small speaker. Currently sold by invitation only for $129.99. Afterward, the price will be $179.99.

Echo Buds: wireless earbuds that allow support for Siri and Google Assistant as well. It will release on October, 30 at $129.99.

Alexa has also been given a larger presence in other, more farflung appliances. Those are:

Echo Flex: a discrete, possibly hard-to-nice wall plug contains a microphone, speaker and USB port. It will release on November, 14 for $24.99 and supports a motion sensor or night-light USB-add on for $14.99 each.

Ring answering service: Soon, Alexa will be able to speak to home visitors on your behalf through Amazon's Ring security cameras. If you enable her to, Alexa will be able to ask whether the visitor would like to leave a message for you.

Amazon also announced Amazon SideWalk, an entirely new wireless network to connect disparate Alexa devices across long distances. Built to outreach wifi and bluetooth, Sidewalk will bring service to low power devices. It will run on the 900mHz wireless band and will allegedly connect devices up to a mile away. Amazon's David Limp said that the company has sent 700 test beacons to homes in Los Angeles to test range and service.

The first product to run off of SideWalk is Ring Fetch, a GPS tag for dogs.

Amazon Alexa

Alexa is embedded in more devices than any other AI assistant, from kitchen appliances to cars, security cameras and jewlery. She also plays multiple roles. At times a home automator, Alexa can also be a point-of-contact with police and an audio playmate for children. She may also soon speak with others on your behalf, according to announcements from Amazon's latest hardware event. Follow news on Alexa here. Read more →

Alexa adds support for Hindi, India's most widely used language

September 18th

The move follows Amazon's Hindi language site and apps launch last year.

Now anyone can join Amazon's Q&A community to write answers for Alexa

September 13th

The crowdsourced site Alexa Answers was previously invite-only.

Amazon adds option allowing users to disable human reviews of their Alexa recordings

August 2nd

The move comes after Bloomberg discovered in April the company uses contractors and employees to review audio clips recorded by Alexa

Sections

Surveillance and Privacy

August 16th

AI-enabled technologies produce and rely on vast troves of personal data, most of which is unregulated and vulnerable to theft and misuse.

These technologies include:

Facial recognition: It helps users unlock their smartphones. It also helps police in China track criminal suspects and monitor members of the Uyghur ethnic minority.
Personalization: It helps consumers make necessary purchases and discover entertainment, but also encourages developers to collect personal data from increasingly far-flung sources.
Voice assistants: They help users answer questions, create calendar events, and set alarms. They also record audio accidentally, and until recently relied on human reviewers to listen to private audio to improve their responses.
Smart home products: Similar to voice assistants, these products allow users to remotely operate appliances, set temperatures and access security footage. They also collect a vast amount of private information about the home life of their users.

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