Amazon plans to use radar to help people monitor their sleep and control their devices using gestures, a Federal Communications Commission filing reveals. The FCC on Friday granted the Seattle… Read More
“I wonder what unit profitability was in 2017 without advertising?” That seemingly mundane question, posed by Jeff Bezos during a meeting of Amazon’s senior leadership team, won’t get as much… Read More
Amazon Halo users will be able to ask Echo speakers and other Alexa-enabled devices for updates on their activity scores, sleep quality, body composition and other health information under a… Read More
Amazon is bringing new voice control capabilities to Microsoft’s gaming consoles with the surprise release of a new “Alexa for Xbox” app. The announcement goes far beyond the Alexa skill… Read More
The disembodied voice of Amazon’s Alexa may have finally found a vessel suitable for helping with recipes, turning on the lawn sprinklers, or reading an audio book in the bathtub.… Read More
Amazon is reportedly working on a new Alexa-enabled bedside device that does more than soothe you to sleep with white noise or wake you up with an alarm. The device… Read More
Alexa is getting smarter. Amazon’s voice assistant in the U.S. can now predict “latent goals,” or potential requests that a user doesn’t explicitly ask. In the example above, when a… Read More
Privacy was front-and-center for Amazon at the company’s big devices and services event this week. The most noteworthy privacy-related announcement was a new feature for Alexa that lets users automatically… Read More
Amazon unveiled a new lineup of spherical Echo devices, an autonomous flying indoor Ring security camera, a new cloud gaming service, and new features to help Alexa converse and interact… Read More
Seattle startup Bamboo Learning today launched its first voice-based education app for English Language Arts and announced partnerships to help get its technology to kids in need. “Bamboo English” offers… Read More
Amazon announced 31 new features for its Alexa voice platform, aiming to help developers increase usage and engagement of their voice-enabled apps and experiences. The new capabilities, unveiled Wednesday at… Read More
Amazon is adding hands-free activation to its Alexa apps for iOS and Android, giving users the option to say “Alexa” aloud rather than pressing the button inside the app before… Read More
The COVID-19 crisis is speeding up the adoption of various technologies as people work remotely and spend more time at home. Voice tech is certainly among that group, according to… Read More
Amazon and Techstars on Wednesday unveiled the seven companies participating in Alexa Next Stage, its voice tech startup program originally called Alexa Accelerator. Amazon earlier this year said it would… Read More
Amazon is teaming with Zynga to bring a voice-enabled version of the interactive entertainment company’s popular game “Words With Friends” to Alexa. “Words With Friends Word Pop” is available now… Read More
Alexa, do I need a coronavirus test? That’s a query that almost certainly was not in the repertoire for Amazon’s voice assistant six months ago. But the ins and outs… Read More
CES is becoming less of a place where companies unveil game-changing products, and more where they show attention-grabbing ideas. That’s one of the takeaways from GeekWire’s CES 2020 coverage team,… Read More
What were the top tech stories of the past decade? I’ve been discussing this topic with others recently on LinkedIn, and as I was editing GeekWire contributing writer Christopher Budd’s… Read More
Amazon has established itself as a smart home leader, with its digital assistant Alexa powering and controlling everything from speakers, to microwaves, to clocks, to switches. However, amid reports that… Read More
“I’m in the cloud, baby!” Only Samuel L. Jackson, the longtime Hollywood star with a distinct voice and vocabulary, could introduce himself through a smart speaker in such a way.… Read More
Amazon’s digital brain Alexa can now refill prescriptions via voice command and remind people to take their medicine, the latest new initiative in the company’s rapidly expanding healthcare push. Amazon… Read More
Amazon is releasing a new integration designed to help hardware makers build its Alexa voice assistant directly into smaller devices, such as light switches, thermostats and small appliances, without needing… Read More
Forget the WAR ON CHRISTMAS and whatever color the Starbucks holiday cup is this year. Big tech is coming for your Christmas tree in a blinking, multi-colored display of just… Read More
If you woke up this morning and said anything to Amazon’s Alexa, hopefully “happy birthday” was in there somewhere, as the tech giant’s voice assistant turned 5 years old on… Read More
Shyam Gollakota has come a long way since his first day as a university undergraduate. “I didn’t know how to program. In fact, I didn’t even know how to type,”… Read More
Alexa could soon be the ultimate baby monitor. Researchers at the University of Washington created a speaker system that is capable of monitoring the breathing and movement of sleeping children.… Read More
Amazon’s voice technology has made some big leaps over the past two years — and so have the startups participating in the company’s Alexa Accelerator. The advancement and proliferation of… Read More
A few years ago Amazon was putting the finishing touches on two important pieces of hardware that came out within just a few months of each other: The Fire Phone… Read More
After it faced public backlash against the practice of using people to review voice recordings from Alexa devices, Amazon gave users increased privacy controls and came clean about how those… Read More
Amazon announced a long list of new Echo and Alexa products and initiatives this week — from smart glasses to wireless earbuds to a new neighborhood wireless initiative — extending… Read More