Recently, there have been reports that Amazon has once again delayed its overhaul plans for its smart voice assistant, Alexa, with a new launch scheduled for 2025. According to Bloomberg, insiders familiar with the matter have revealed that the AI team behind Alexa was recently informed that the new version originally planned for release this year has been postponed.
As early as September last year, Amazon announced plans for a significant transformation of Alexa, with the new version expected to have intelligence similar to ChatGPT, offering a more natural and conversational interaction experience. However, as 2023 progressed, rumors began to circulate that the new Alexa might not be delivered on schedule. This autumn, Amazon did not hold a grand launch event, which seemed to confirm previous speculations.
At the same time, Amazon has also closed access to the beta version of the new Alexa. Previously, users could request to experience the new features by saying "Alexa, let's chat" to their Echo devices, but now Alexa's response has become "the chat feature is currently unavailable." Some early testers were dissatisfied with the new version's performance, reporting slow reactions, stiff answers, and low practicality. Worse still, the new version of Alexa encountered problems in controlling smart homes and sometimes exhibited "hallucination," providing unnecessary extra information.
Integrating large language models with existing voice assistant control commands seems to be a challenge. Although the new AI model allows Alexa to answer more complex questions, it has also led to errors in simple tasks such as setting kitchen timers or controlling smart lights. Although the old version of Alexa had some issues, it was generally reliable in controlling smart home devices.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy seems to have yet to clarify his vision for the AI-driven Alexa. Although he has publicly stated that "we continue to reconstruct Alexa's brain," specific information about what the new Alexa will bring to users remains scarce. Additionally, Jassy has appointed Panos Panay as the new head of the Devices and Services division, who previously led Microsoft's Surface division and brings a focus on high-quality design.
In the ongoing quest for a vision, Amazon may be able to rekindle founder Jeff Bezos' original idea of creating a smart assistant akin to the "computer" in Star Trek. However, it seems that the new version of Alexa will still take some time to materialize.
Key Points:
📅 The release of the new version of Alexa has been postponed to 2025, with the previous launch plan delayed once again.
🛑 Beta testers are dissatisfied with the new version's performance, reporting slow reactions and low practicality.
🔍 Amazon CEO has yet to clarify the vision for the new Alexa, leaving the future of the smart assistant uncertain.
