Amazon's Alexa Event: What to Expect on Wednesday

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Amazon is gearing up for an Alexa-centric press event in New York City this Wednesday, and it's a big deal since they haven't thrown a major device shindig in nearly two years—the last one was back in September 2023. We're all expecting some exciting news. Unfortunately, you won't be able to catch the event live online, but don't worry, TechCrunch will be there to keep us posted. The event, hosted by Amazon's new devices and services head honcho Panos Panay, who used to lead Microsoft's Surface team, kicks off at 10 a.m. ET. The pressure's on for Amazon, especially since their Alexa division has reportedly been losing billions despite selling tons of devices. Amazon's CEO, Andy Jassy, has been pushing the hardware team to figure out how to make more money through subscriptions, fees, and other extras. We might get a peek at one of those subscriptions during the event. Word on the street is that Amazon is set to unveil an upgraded version of Alexa, dubbed Remarkable Alexa, which aims to make conversations with the assistant feel more natural and easy, kind of like chatting with ChatGPT. This souped-up Alexa, which might cost between $5 and $10 a month, can supposedly handle multiple requests at once and even act on its own. Amazon hinted at some of these features during their last big devices event in 2023. They said the new Alexa would work with existing devices and use generative AI to better understand and personalize responses to your requests. There might also be some cool new smart home features coming with the revamped Alexa. The Verge mentioned that several companies are working on syncing up with the new Alexa using tools Amazon announced back in 2023. At that time, Amazon talked about teaming up with brands like iRobot and Philips to make it easier to control scenes and help Alexa better understand what you want your devices to do. A big question mark is whether this new, AI-powered Alexa can fix some of the tech's more obvious issues. Last year's reports suggested that the new Alexa had trouble with simple tasks like turning smart lights on and off. Today's generative AI can sometimes mess up or even make stuff up, which makes it less reliable than the more straightforward systems that run the current Alexa. The delays in rolling out the upgraded Alexa have given Amazon plenty of time to iron out the kinks, but you never know what might pop up. The good news is, you won't have to switch to the new Alexa if you don't want to. Reports say Amazon will let you stick with the "Classic Alexa" if you prefer. As for when you'll get to make that choice, it might be a bit of a wait. The Washington Post reported that the launch of the upgraded Alexa was pushed back earlier this month after it flubbed some test questions. Sources say it might not roll out until the end of March or even later.

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