Owners of the Echo wireless speaker with built-in Alexa assistant may soon be treated to Amazon's new music-subscription service that charges half as much as competing offerings from Spotify, Apple, Google and others. The bargain-priced music service should cost between $4 and $5 per month, Re/Code reports, and would only work on Echo hardware.
If you've ever wanted to take Amazon's Alexa digital assistant for a spin but bulked at the though of dropping $180 on the company's Echo wireless speaker, now you can.
Originally started by Nexmo developer Sam Machin at a hackathon in 2015, a web-based Alexa simulator runs in any standards-compliant web browser.
Apple's rumored Amazon Echo rival, which we learned yesterday could actually be an upgraded Apple TV, will have a built-in camera and use facial recognition to detect users as they enter the room, said the people briefed on Apple's plans who spoke to CNET on condition of anonymity.
Upon recognizing a user, the device would pull up their preferences, such as the music and lighting they like, the sources said.
During the keynote presentation this morning which kicked off Google I/O 2016, the Internet giant previewed its much-anticipated entry into the voice-activated home device market in the form of a new appliance, named Google Home.
With a built-in Google Assistant that also powers Duo, a new smart messaging app coming to iOS and Android this summer, Home lets you retrieve information from the Internet, get answers to simple questions and carry out basic tasks—using your voice and the familiar “OK Google” wakeup phrase.