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There’s good news for fans of Amazon’s Alexa devices. After recently being announced, Alexa+ is now available.Amazon’s latest iteration of its voice assistant, Alexa+ is powered by generative AI.
This makes it more conversational, smarter, more personalized to the individual user, and overall, just a better experience.While Alexa has arguably not been the most advanced system for quite some time, this could bring it closer to key competitors like Google Gemini and ChatGPT. However, there is a slight catch to all of this.
Compared to the original promise of what Alexa+ will be, there are a few key features that seem to be missing. In the rapidly evolving world of AI, this isn’t necessarily uncommon in launches. The same thing has happened with Apple Intelligence.
So what is new with Alexa+ and what's missing?What's new with Alexa+?By utilizing generative AI (the type we see from ChatGPT for example), Alexa+ is able to communicate more naturally. This is a move we’ve been seeing from both chatbots and voice assistants in recent months, aiming to make conversations flow more easily.This latest version of Alexa+ should be able to better understand colloquial speech and complex or half-formed ideas.
Like other generative AI models, Alexa+ will also be better at understanding context, retracing points previously made in a conversation or understanding location, time, or other important factors.In connection with the improvements in speech, Alexa+ is now able to set up systems with other services and devices. This is done through a feature Amazon is calling ‘experts’.
This could be used to control your smart home via Philips Hue or Roborock, order groceries via Amazon Fresh, or remind you when tickets go on sale via TicketMaster.(Image credit: Amazon)While Alexa has always been personalized, allowing each person in a house to have an account connected to their voice, Alexa+ takes it a step further. Alexa will know what things you’ve bought, shows you’ve watched, songs you’ve listened to and more.
This will allow Alexa to remember key details about you, including important dates in your life, allergies you might have, or your favorite movies. All of this will then be referred back to with any requests.Built with a more complex AI model, this version of Alexa will have a better understanding of the world around it, but you can also feed it more information if you want to.
Amazon has highlighted the option to now add documents, emails, photos and messages so Alexa can set schedules, organize calendar plans, or summarize documents for you.What's missing from Alexa+?In a report from The Washington Post, it was identified that a few of the features expected in Alexa’s new launch would be missing.This includes the ability to order via Grubhub based on what you are craving, the ability to brainstorm gift ideas, and a storytime mode for kids, using generative AI to create unique stories for children.
The report also identified the fact that Alexa+ won’t be able to visually identify family members around the home. This was a feature Amazon spoke about in the original announcement, as well as the use of an Alexa+ web version which also won’t be available on launch.While it is a shame to see previously promised features missing from the list, it is better to see them delayed than launched with major flaws.
Amazon has stated that it chose not to include these features as they weren’t up to Amazon’s standards for public release. However, it still plans to bring them out in the future, likely rolling out in the following months.Is this the end of the world? Absolutely not.
The core features are all there and Amazon has promised to follow through on the missing features in the following months. The important news here is that Alexa is about to get much better.While it is a shame to see previously promised features missing from the list, it is better to see them delayed than launched with major flaws.
AI features launched too early in the past have been a disaster. Throw in the inclusion of purchases performed by AI, personal data, and put into the hands of millions of people and it could have been a messy situation.When can you use this new version of Alexa?Amazon has announced that Alexa+ will have a subscription price of $19.
99. However, all Amazon Prime members will get full access for free.It will start its rollout in the US during an early access period.
Then, it will subsequently get rolled out in waves over the following months. Amazon has said it will prioritize the Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21 devices in the early access period, before later coming to other devices.More from Tom's GuideThe best Alexa compatible devices in 2025I replaced Alexa with ChatGPT on my Amazon Echo — here's how you can do it tooBest smart speakers 2025 — Alexa, Google, and Siri tested.
