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> The report also highlighted the dire need for this [AI] version of Alexa to make money to keep the voice assistant alive. The early iPhone left doors open fo
by stacktrust 2y ago
> The report also highlighted the dire need for this [AI] version of Alexa to make money to keep the voice assistant alive.
The early iPhone left doors open for experiments that could later be supported and productized. Alexa failed to open up devices for experiments that could seed innovation. Look at the failure of the official "Skills" program, compared to the thriving HomeAssistant ecosystem that is an obvious match for smart speakers.
If the device fails, 500K devices should be unlocked for use with generic Linux, instead of being relegated to landfill.
- Bluestein 2y agoAlexa gone Lisa ...
- StressedDev 2y agoI think Amazon actually sold 500 million Alexa devices, not 500 hundred thousand.
- Log_out_ 2y agoThe very next in doorstopping brick technology
- saulpw 2y agoIt was the second sentence in the article: "Amazon claims it has sold more than 500,000". 500m units in 4 years would have been an unqualified success. I don't even think the iPhone sold 500m in its first 4 years.
- ssl-3 2y agoThe article appears to be simply wrong. In May of 2023, Amazon reported that over 500,000,000 Alexa-enabled devices had been sold: https://press.aboutamazon.com/2023/5/amazon-introduces-four-all-new-echo-devices-sales-of-alexa-enabled-devices-surpass-half-a-billion https://press.aboutamazon.com/2023/5/amazon-introduces-four-... Now, of course: "Alexa Enabled" includes many things other than Amazon's own line of Echo smart speakers. But at least one source suggests that Echo devices sold 0.88mm units the first year alone (2014), with tens-of-millions sold each year in more recent times: https://www.businessofapps.com/data/amazon-statistics/#AmazonEchoSales https://www.businessofapps.com/data/amazon-statistics/#Amazo...