Amazon Could Charge Up to $10/Month for Alexa

Apple competitor Amazon is working on a revamp of its Alexa assistant, and the new version could cost up to $10 per month, according to a report from Reuters. The upcoming version of Alexa will support conversational generative AI, and Amazon is planning for two tiers of service.

amazon echo dot
There will be a free tier and a second, premium tier that is priced at $5 at a minimum, with Amazon considering price points ranging from $5 to $10. Amazon does not plan to include the premium Alexa tier with its $139 per year Prime subscription.

Amazon has not made significant updates to Alexa in the last decade, and it has fallen behind other AI products that have started to adopt large language models. Alexa is free and built into Amazon devices, so Amazon does not make money directly from it as of now. Some employees that spoke to Reuters said the revamp is a "desperate attempt" to revitalize Alexa, and Amazon executives have suggested it is imperative Alexa demonstrate it can generate "meaningful" sales.

The updated version of Alexa, which Amazon calls "Remarkable Alexa" internally, is expected to be able to do things like craft emails, give shopping advice, and order delivery from Uber Eats. Amazon also wants to improve the way that Alexa controls smart home products, with Alexa able to learn how to automate routines.

Amazon is aiming to have the updated version of Alexa finished by August, which would see it launch later this year. Apple is working on a similarly updated version of Siri that also incorporates large language models, though many of the new ‌Siri‌ functions won't be coming until 2025.

Tags: Alexa, Amazon

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Announces iOS 18.2 Launching Today With These New Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 5:23 am PST by
Apple has announced that iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 will be released today following more than six weeks of beta testing. For the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, the update introduces additional Apple Intelligence features, including Genmoji for creating custom emoji, Image Playground and Image Wand for generating images, and ChatGPT integration for Siri. There is also ...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds Second Release Candidate Versions of iOS 18.2 and More With Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT Integration

Monday December 9, 2024 10:06 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, a week after releasing the first RCs. The first iOS 18.2 RC had a build number of 22C150, while the second RC's build number is 22C151. Release candidates represent the final version of beta software that's expected to see a ...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb 3

iPhone SE 4 Said to Feature 48MP Rear Lens, 12MP TrueDepth Camera

Monday December 9, 2024 4:48 am PST by
Apple's forthcoming iPhone SE 4 will feature a single 48-megapixel rear camera and a 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera on the front, according to details revealed in a new Korean supply chain report. ET News reports that Korea-based LG Innotek is the main supplier of the front and rear camera modules for the more budget-friendly ~$400 device, which is expected to launch in the first quarter of...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

MacBook Pros With OLED Displays Won't Have a Notch, Roadmap Shows

Monday December 9, 2024 7:36 am PST by
Apple plans to remove the notch from the MacBook Pro in a few years from now, according to a roadmap shared by research firm Omdia. The roadmap shows that 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models released in 2026 will have a hole-punch camera at the top of the display, instead of a notch. It is unclear if there would simply be a pinhole in the display, or if Apple would expand the iPhone's...
vipps nfc tap to pay iphone

World's First Apple Pay Alternative for iPhone Launches in Norway

Monday December 9, 2024 1:28 am PST by
Norwegian payment service Vipps has become the world's first company to launch a competing tap-to-pay solution to Apple Pay on iPhone, following Apple's agreement with European regulators to open up its NFC technology to third parties. Starting December 9, Vipps users in Norway can make contactless payments in stores using their iPhones. The service initially supports customers of SpareBank...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Friday December 6, 2024 4:42 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls...
Apple Watch Series 10 lineup 240909 feature

Apple Watch Could Get Blood Pressure Monitoring in 2025

Tuesday December 10, 2024 11:51 am PST by
Apple is ramping up work on a blood pressure monitoring feature for the Apple Watch and it could be ready as soon as 2025, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Blood pressure monitoring is a health addition that Apple has been working on for the last several years, and based on rumors, Apple wanted to debut it in 2024. The feature would not provide exact systolic and diastolic blood pressure...
macOS Sequoia Night Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.2 With New Apple Intelligence Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:02 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.2, the second update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that was released in September. macOS Sequoia 15.2 comes over a month after the release of macOS Sequoia 15.1. Mac users can download the ‌macOS Sequoia‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Sequoia 15.2 adds Image Playground, an app that lets you create...

Top Rated Comments

Kabeyun Avatar
25 weeks ago
Can’t wait to hear all about the free tier experience:

“Hey Alexa, what’s the weather tomorrow?”

“Happy to tell you, but first here’s a message from ShedRain umbrellas! Strong, compact, lightweight, and totally waterproof, guaranteed!…”
Score: 61 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sloheim Avatar
25 weeks ago
In related news, Alexa is dead.
Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jjdodders Avatar
25 weeks ago
lmaooooooooooooo the logical end point to this subscription obsession is that you will eventually have to pay a monthly subscription to ward off Boston dynamics dogs from ripping out your throat.

£10 a month for something I make set a cooking timer for me occasionally? It's cheaper to just throw the thing out the window.
Score: 50 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
25 weeks ago
They could pay me $10 a month and I wouldn’t use it
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
25 weeks ago
As long as I can still tell it to play music or to turn on / off my lights I don’t care. This is the only thing I use those assistants for. I am way too lazy to talk
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mrkevinfinnerty Avatar
25 weeks ago
Would've raked it in, in 2016 the last time anybody cared.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)