Amazon Echo event - CNET editors react

The Future of Alexa Integration: A New Era of Home Entertainment

As we continue to explore the vast capabilities of Amazon's Alexa, it's clear that the technology is rapidly evolving to become an integral part of our daily lives. With hundreds of millions of cars still being produced without a seamless integration with Alexa, it's evident that the company is making significant strides in this area. In fact, they're so confident in their approach that they've decided to create their own concept, focusing on getting Alexa into as many vehicles as possible before the competition can catch up.

This strategy is not only smart but also makes a lot of sense, given the current landscape of smart home devices. With an increasing number of households owning at least one Echo device, it's clear that consumers are eager to integrate their audio systems with their existing Alexa setup. The new subwoofer, priced at $130, is a perfect example of this approach. Initially, I would even consider buying a subwoofer at those prices as a gift or for myself. However, the clever part about this product is that it pairs well with two Echo devices, offering a 2.1 audio sound system, which would normally cost around $300.

The link and the Link Amp are also notable additions to Amazon's home entertainment offerings. These new products aim to provide users with an all-in-one solution for bringing Alexa into their home audio systems. The Link Amp is essentially a hardware component that connects to your existing speakers, allowing you to take full advantage of Alexa's capabilities. This approach may appeal to those who already have a well-established setup but want to integrate Alexa into their system. On the other hand, the new subwoofer offers an affordable solution for those looking to create a fresh audio system.

One notable absence from today's event was a competitor to the Google Home Max. David Lim, Amazon's Chief Product Officer, did hint at this possibility, stating that the company wants to create connectivity options for users who already have their own high-end speakers. This approach is interesting, as it allows users to connect two separate devices and take advantage of Alexa's capabilities. The new Echo Input is designed specifically for this purpose, making it easy for users to integrate their existing speakers into the Alexa ecosystem.

As we move forward, it's clear that Amazon is committed to pushing the boundaries of what's possible with smart home technology. With 70 different announcements promised during today's event, it's safe to say that the company has a lot on its plate. The question remains: can they keep up with their ambitious goals and continue to innovate in this rapidly evolving space? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain – Amazon is leading the charge when it comes to smart home technology.

The Alexa ecosystem continues to expand and grow, with new products and features being introduced regularly. As we move forward, it's essential to stay informed about the latest developments and trends in this rapidly changing landscape. With its commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction, Amazon is well-positioned to continue leading the way in smart home technology.

The future of Alexa integration is an exciting one, full of possibilities and opportunities for growth. As we look ahead, it's clear that the company will continue to push the boundaries of what's possible with smart home technology. With its focus on innovation and customer satisfaction, Amazon is well-equipped to handle whatever challenges come its way.

The new subwoofer, priced at $130, offers an affordable solution for those looking to create a fresh audio system. The Link Amp and Echo Input also provide users with options for integrating Alexa into their existing setup. As the technology continues to evolve, it's essential to stay informed about the latest developments and trends in this rapidly changing landscape.

The future of smart home technology is bright, with Amazon leading the way. As we move forward, it's clear that the company will continue to innovate and push the boundaries of what's possible. With its commitment to customer satisfaction and innovation, Amazon is well-positioned to handle whatever challenges come its way.

In conclusion, the future of Alexa integration is an exciting one, full of possibilities and opportunities for growth. As we look ahead, it's clear that the company will continue to push the boundaries of what's possible with smart home technology. With its focus on innovation and customer satisfaction, Amazon is well-equipped to handle whatever challenges come its way.

The new subwoofer and Link Amp are just a few examples of how Amazon is expanding its capabilities in the area of smart home audio. As we move forward, it's essential to stay informed about the latest developments and trends in this rapidly changing landscape.

The company's commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction is evident in its approach to smart home technology. By providing users with options for integrating Alexa into their existing setup, Amazon is making it easier for people to take control of their own homes.

As we look ahead, it's clear that the future of smart home technology is bright. With Amazon leading the way, it's essential to stay informed about the latest developments and trends in this rapidly changing landscape.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enall right so Ben Fox Ruben my friend my buddy my Amazon covering cohort we just saw a baker's dozen of new devices from Amazon whoo electric gadgets new fire TV stuff a new ring camera what's your overall takeaway from this very busy and jam-packed day so generally speaking I like the idea that they broadly made these devices look a little bit nicer I mean Alexa has always been the primary element of this whole thing and they're constantly improving that but from a design perspective this stuff didn't really actually look this nice it was pretty plastic it was kind of bulky so they did a much better job I thought to soften the look and to add a lot of fabric to some of the designs to get a little bit closer to the competition I think that's right I think we're seeing the Alexa platform mature we're seeing these devices kind of come into their own as things you'd want to put your home and kind of show off kind of borrowing a page from Apple like I think the new sub woofer looks a lot like the home pod in some ways it's kind of that same aesthetic that it's going for and it's just interesting to see on the software side all of these devices really work towards working with everything they possibly can yeah electing a wall clock including a wall clock right and you know the Alexa connection this new Alexa Kinect kit that developers can put into their appliances and devices to very easily and cheaply connect it with the Amazon Cloud Bluetooth Wi-Fi encryption all that stuff and make anything into an Alexa gadget really the microwave that they show kind of shows the possibility for that do you see a lot of potential there in terms of yeah yeah at CES they said that Alexa was integrated with 4,000 devices now at Aoife they said 20,000 devices that's a five-fold increase in just a couple months I think is about eight months so with that additional kit and all the other things that they're adding in you would expect that number to continue going up because obviously 20,000 devices from Amazon's perspective that's just a start here the thing that I'm curious about is how quickly is Google gonna try to catch up with Google assistant Apple has been really slow with this with Siri and the home pod but we'll see if they try to do the same thing with with home kid and the home pod as well I think the message from Amazon to amaz a message from Amazon to Apple and Google is really clear right now it's catch us if you can yeah they're right it's a good win and they're just trying to get Alexa everywhere and everything connected to her to make it there's really all-encompassing home assistant they can do whatever you want it to and that's it took a big step towards that today I gotta give him a lot of credit yeah one of the fun things that I kind of like about writing about Amazon is is that they're not afraid to experiment I mean like Apple would never ever come out with an experimental basics microwave for $60 like a $60 microwave or the wall clock which I personally think it's kind of silly it's a little stupid and it doesn't really do that much but if you look at it from the perspective of we're experimenting we're trying different things this is a new platform and we're gonna try to do stuff then I'm kind of all for it and I look forward to you know more alexa connected toilets god forbid and we'll see how that goes and from a design perspective that microwave they kept saying this is the most popular size and why did john amazon of all the ones we sell i mean it's a 700 watt microwave it's a pretty small it's a dorm-room microwave baby and it's not even that nice of a design it's a very basic amazonbasics microwave so they're not really trying to go high-end you're trying to go to tenant make the point that anything I think can be an Alexa device that's a pretty interesting pitch yeah yeah we'll see how that plays out once that starts selling and if more device makers jump on board with that chip yeah and the big selling point for Amazon has always been like we're gonna give you slightly better features than you expect at a cheaper price and I'm glad they stuck with that obviously they improve the aesthetic but they did not raise the prices on any of this stuff I'm looking at you Apple you guys keep raising your prices so now the base metal model iPhone the iPhone 10 R is now seven hundred and fifty dollars you know so you can you can at least look at it from the perspective that Amazon is sticking to what it knows best which is like look that is not the nicest microwave that you would ever have but it works it's simple and dang it it's $60 so yeah I think that's an interesting contrast we'll see how that plays out one last thing you got talking about we got talking about Amazon's efforts is entertainment because they've got the fire TV recast it's sort of like a DVR box for all of your fire TV content and antenna based content that can be mall throughout the house works with the echo show you can pull up Food Network kitchen really easily with it and I'm a music front they've got more music partners the title in the mix now I mean they they're really pushing towards Alexa being an entertainment club as well and I think that the fired the fire TV cube is another example of that which granted was it was one of the few things I wasn't announced today but that was also an effort to make Alexa more of an entertainment hub for sure so yeah it's it's they're trying to look at it from the perspective of how do we make Alexa the best possible thing the best possible platform for your home entertainment in your living room for your kitchen for your bedroom for like literally every different area in your house so yeah they need those types of partners that actually provide the right content to do that kind of stuff if you're really going to take over living room entertainment and you know they're on their way to doing that alright oh and got to talking about one more thing oh yeah I mean you keep forgetting things is there so much the Echo Auto it's $25 if you get if I invite or if it I think it's $50 a full price yes right yeah that's gonna be a little kind of tape looking thing you set on your dash and plug into power and just bring Alexa into your car and you know we've already seen devices that do that the Garmin speak as a a navigating tool with Alexa there's the anchor row ad vive yeah that plugs into yours well you know the cigarette charging exactly or the cigarette lighting port and I actually had that in my car it always drops connection and does weird things with bluetooth I think if this is better than that it'll be pretty appealing $25 is half the price of that I think so that's that's gonna get a lot of people to buy in I'm gonna be very curious to see how that does and the idea of Alexa and everybody's cars is an interesting one it's a smart move obviously it's something that I guess we should have seen coming in that you know there are so many cars on the road and they don't get updated every single year was a Amazon's hardware chief mentioned on stage he said that they sell 70 million cars every year but that's still hundreds of millions of cars that we don't get into Alexa and if anything they've presented today it's that if you have a house if you have a car we want to put Alexa into it and we want to get there before the other guys do so to that extent that makes a lot of sense that they would provide their own concept and try to get Alexa into more vehicles all right well we've got a lot to think about in the coming weeks and we've got a you know test a lot of stuff so we'll get right on that but what's up we got to talk about the subwoofer - so that sub woofer 130 dollars what I think is really clever here is it 130 yeah that's not bad first I would even consider buying a subwoofer at those prices I would like ask for that as a gift I don't know if I'd buy that for myself but that's right in the comfortable ballpark range of you know nice birthday gift or something but what I think is clever is that the hundred and thirty dollar subwoofer they say it'll pair it with two echoes and you get that two point one audio sound system if you got left and right channel those are hundred dollars they each echo so you add that all up that's three hundred and thirty bucks that's less than the cost by twenty dollars of a single Apple home pod oh yeah I see that pricing is a shot right and Caputi knows direction and I think people might be more drawn to that but the home pod which has been slow to catch on yeah and the subwoofer is a brand new product and right out of the gate they made it look nicer it's got the fabric design around it it's not some clunky mess and you would actually feel okay having it right next to your home entertainment system so I think they did a good job as far as the aesthetics were concerned with that one as well they also had what was it the link and the link amp which is the continuation of them trying to do more home entertainment and trying to really you know push themselves into that area I don't feel like they're just throwing that at the audio files to complain about the sound quality of the echo and the echo Plus and the existing speakers and just say look use your own speakers use whatever you want here's all the hardware you need to bring Alexa to whatever audio said if you want I will see it that quiet so that that people buy into that or if they just want an all-in-one solution I mean you compare that to the home pod or something when the home pod says it can do room-filling audio it's really high quality and audio files like it and with the echo amp link in the new amp you've gotta have your own stuff and connect it that might appeal to people that have those types of setups already but people want to buy in on a fresh system might just want that single approach I'm at the home pod it's an interesting thing that you're touching upon to in that one of the few things that they didn't show off today was like a Google home max competitor you know like our top top shelf eco speaker and a hardware Chief David limp onstage specifically referenced he was like we already provide a lot of choice when it comes to these kind of things we just want to create the connectivity for that so they were adding to the connectivity with a link in the link and also the echo input which just connects the speakers another buddy forgot to mention right now so so that's not a speaker it's you connected two speakers and it makes it into an echo device this is really smart because that's how a lot of people use the echo dot already that's just basically saying we'll make the pass a little lower and you can use it like you've been using it before just plug it to your own speakers Bluetooth auxin whatever you want yeah we tried to end this video like four times and keep forgetting things and we've forgotten anything else yeah probably I mean like I'm about to fall over I don't think I will yeah I will probably never be to another event where the guy gets on stage and says we're gonna have 70 different announcements today and gets a laugh from the audience and then confirms that yes in fact there were 70 different announcements so this was like a real bing-bang-boom like we're gonna get through a ton of stuff really really quickly it goes back to what you said which is catch me if you can like you know it was basically like we're just gonna keep pushing forward as quickly as possible and you know we'll see if the competition can keep up yeah absolutely so we've got a lot of work to do and probably a lot of sleep tonight and the cards for us we're brain dead hopes I'm gonna make it yeah anyway that was fun it was funall right so Ben Fox Ruben my friend my buddy my Amazon covering cohort we just saw a baker's dozen of new devices from Amazon whoo electric gadgets new fire TV stuff a new ring camera what's your overall takeaway from this very busy and jam-packed day so generally speaking I like the idea that they broadly made these devices look a little bit nicer I mean Alexa has always been the primary element of this whole thing and they're constantly improving that but from a design perspective this stuff didn't really actually look this nice it was pretty plastic it was kind of bulky so they did a much better job I thought to soften the look and to add a lot of fabric to some of the designs to get a little bit closer to the competition I think that's right I think we're seeing the Alexa platform mature we're seeing these devices kind of come into their own as things you'd want to put your home and kind of show off kind of borrowing a page from Apple like I think the new sub woofer looks a lot like the home pod in some ways it's kind of that same aesthetic that it's going for and it's just interesting to see on the software side all of these devices really work towards working with everything they possibly can yeah electing a wall clock including a wall clock right and you know the Alexa connection this new Alexa Kinect kit that developers can put into their appliances and devices to very easily and cheaply connect it with the Amazon Cloud Bluetooth Wi-Fi encryption all that stuff and make anything into an Alexa gadget really the microwave that they show kind of shows the possibility for that do you see a lot of potential there in terms of yeah yeah at CES they said that Alexa was integrated with 4,000 devices now at Aoife they said 20,000 devices that's a five-fold increase in just a couple months I think is about eight months so with that additional kit and all the other things that they're adding in you would expect that number to continue going up because obviously 20,000 devices from Amazon's perspective that's just a start here the thing that I'm curious about is how quickly is Google gonna try to catch up with Google assistant Apple has been really slow with this with Siri and the home pod but we'll see if they try to do the same thing with with home kid and the home pod as well I think the message from Amazon to amaz a message from Amazon to Apple and Google is really clear right now it's catch us if you can yeah they're right it's a good win and they're just trying to get Alexa everywhere and everything connected to her to make it there's really all-encompassing home assistant they can do whatever you want it to and that's it took a big step towards that today I gotta give him a lot of credit yeah one of the fun things that I kind of like about writing about Amazon is is that they're not afraid to experiment I mean like Apple would never ever come out with an experimental basics microwave for $60 like a $60 microwave or the wall clock which I personally think it's kind of silly it's a little stupid and it doesn't really do that much but if you look at it from the perspective of we're experimenting we're trying different things this is a new platform and we're gonna try to do stuff then I'm kind of all for it and I look forward to you know more alexa connected toilets god forbid and we'll see how that goes and from a design perspective that microwave they kept saying this is the most popular size and why did john amazon of all the ones we sell i mean it's a 700 watt microwave it's a pretty small it's a dorm-room microwave baby and it's not even that nice of a design it's a very basic amazonbasics microwave so they're not really trying to go high-end you're trying to go to tenant make the point that anything I think can be an Alexa device that's a pretty interesting pitch yeah yeah we'll see how that plays out once that starts selling and if more device makers jump on board with that chip yeah and the big selling point for Amazon has always been like we're gonna give you slightly better features than you expect at a cheaper price and I'm glad they stuck with that obviously they improve the aesthetic but they did not raise the prices on any of this stuff I'm looking at you Apple you guys keep raising your prices so now the base metal model iPhone the iPhone 10 R is now seven hundred and fifty dollars you know so you can you can at least look at it from the perspective that Amazon is sticking to what it knows best which is like look that is not the nicest microwave that you would ever have but it works it's simple and dang it it's $60 so yeah I think that's an interesting contrast we'll see how that plays out one last thing you got talking about we got talking about Amazon's efforts is entertainment because they've got the fire TV recast it's sort of like a DVR box for all of your fire TV content and antenna based content that can be mall throughout the house works with the echo show you can pull up Food Network kitchen really easily with it and I'm a music front they've got more music partners the title in the mix now I mean they they're really pushing towards Alexa being an entertainment club as well and I think that the fired the fire TV cube is another example of that which granted was it was one of the few things I wasn't announced today but that was also an effort to make Alexa more of an entertainment hub for sure so yeah it's it's they're trying to look at it from the perspective of how do we make Alexa the best possible thing the best possible platform for your home entertainment in your living room for your kitchen for your bedroom for like literally every different area in your house so yeah they need those types of partners that actually provide the right content to do that kind of stuff if you're really going to take over living room entertainment and you know they're on their way to doing that alright oh and got to talking about one more thing oh yeah I mean you keep forgetting things is there so much the Echo Auto it's $25 if you get if I invite or if it I think it's $50 a full price yes right yeah that's gonna be a little kind of tape looking thing you set on your dash and plug into power and just bring Alexa into your car and you know we've already seen devices that do that the Garmin speak as a a navigating tool with Alexa there's the anchor row ad vive yeah that plugs into yours well you know the cigarette charging exactly or the cigarette lighting port and I actually had that in my car it always drops connection and does weird things with bluetooth I think if this is better than that it'll be pretty appealing $25 is half the price of that I think so that's that's gonna get a lot of people to buy in I'm gonna be very curious to see how that does and the idea of Alexa and everybody's cars is an interesting one it's a smart move obviously it's something that I guess we should have seen coming in that you know there are so many cars on the road and they don't get updated every single year was a Amazon's hardware chief mentioned on stage he said that they sell 70 million cars every year but that's still hundreds of millions of cars that we don't get into Alexa and if anything they've presented today it's that if you have a house if you have a car we want to put Alexa into it and we want to get there before the other guys do so to that extent that makes a lot of sense that they would provide their own concept and try to get Alexa into more vehicles all right well we've got a lot to think about in the coming weeks and we've got a you know test a lot of stuff so we'll get right on that but what's up we got to talk about the subwoofer - so that sub woofer 130 dollars what I think is really clever here is it 130 yeah that's not bad first I would even consider buying a subwoofer at those prices I would like ask for that as a gift I don't know if I'd buy that for myself but that's right in the comfortable ballpark range of you know nice birthday gift or something but what I think is clever is that the hundred and thirty dollar subwoofer they say it'll pair it with two echoes and you get that two point one audio sound system if you got left and right channel those are hundred dollars they each echo so you add that all up that's three hundred and thirty bucks that's less than the cost by twenty dollars of a single Apple home pod oh yeah I see that pricing is a shot right and Caputi knows direction and I think people might be more drawn to that but the home pod which has been slow to catch on yeah and the subwoofer is a brand new product and right out of the gate they made it look nicer it's got the fabric design around it it's not some clunky mess and you would actually feel okay having it right next to your home entertainment system so I think they did a good job as far as the aesthetics were concerned with that one as well they also had what was it the link and the link amp which is the continuation of them trying to do more home entertainment and trying to really you know push themselves into that area I don't feel like they're just throwing that at the audio files to complain about the sound quality of the echo and the echo Plus and the existing speakers and just say look use your own speakers use whatever you want here's all the hardware you need to bring Alexa to whatever audio said if you want I will see it that quiet so that that people buy into that or if they just want an all-in-one solution I mean you compare that to the home pod or something when the home pod says it can do room-filling audio it's really high quality and audio files like it and with the echo amp link in the new amp you've gotta have your own stuff and connect it that might appeal to people that have those types of setups already but people want to buy in on a fresh system might just want that single approach I'm at the home pod it's an interesting thing that you're touching upon to in that one of the few things that they didn't show off today was like a Google home max competitor you know like our top top shelf eco speaker and a hardware Chief David limp onstage specifically referenced he was like we already provide a lot of choice when it comes to these kind of things we just want to create the connectivity for that so they were adding to the connectivity with a link in the link and also the echo input which just connects the speakers another buddy forgot to mention right now so so that's not a speaker it's you connected two speakers and it makes it into an echo device this is really smart because that's how a lot of people use the echo dot already that's just basically saying we'll make the pass a little lower and you can use it like you've been using it before just plug it to your own speakers Bluetooth auxin whatever you want yeah we tried to end this video like four times and keep forgetting things and we've forgotten anything else yeah probably I mean like I'm about to fall over I don't think I will yeah I will probably never be to another event where the guy gets on stage and says we're gonna have 70 different announcements today and gets a laugh from the audience and then confirms that yes in fact there were 70 different announcements so this was like a real bing-bang-boom like we're gonna get through a ton of stuff really really quickly it goes back to what you said which is catch me if you can like you know it was basically like we're just gonna keep pushing forward as quickly as possible and you know we'll see if the competition can keep up yeah absolutely so we've got a lot of work to do and probably a lot of sleep tonight and the cards for us we're brain dead hopes I'm gonna make it yeah anyway that was fun it was fun\n"

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