Amazon might be facing some hurdles with the promised AI upgrades to Alexa. According to a report from Bloomberg, the company’s signature voice assistant, which was supposed to get a big AI overhaul before the end of this year, will instead get that upgrade in 2025.
The idea here is to make the smart assistant more smart and more powerful by making it more conversational and capable of new things. Sadly, by all accounts, that will not happen any time soon.
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AI-Powered Alexa Facing Troubles In Testing
The Bloomberg report goes on to list out the problems that the AI-enhanced Alexa is having in testing. For instance, beta users reported that the AI can give long, rambling answers that aren’t completely to the original query. Other alleged problems include hallucinations, and failure to work with connected smart devices like light switches consistently.
Amazon hasn’t officially confirmed any delay, but beta access has been turned off, so users can’t even try the more conversational Alexa in a test environment anymore. Perhaps users will be able to use it in 2025.
Besides, Amazon recently announced the launch of its refreshed Kindle lineup of e-book readers. What’s more interesting is that the lineup includes the Colorsoft Signature Edition, which comes with a colored e-ink display. It claims to offer a week-long battery and costs $279.99.
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Amazon Unveils Its First Colored Kindle With Kindle Scribe
The Kindle series now packs four models: the first-ever colored Kindle, a reimagined Kindle Scribe, the fastest Kindle Paperwhite yet, and a new entry-level Kindle. The entry-level Kindle comes in a new Matcha color with a price tag of $109.99, and it comes with a non-reflective e-ink display with 300 ppi and 16GB of storage.
The Kindle Paperwhite—the fastest according to the company—comes in two variants: the base model with 16 GB of storage at $159.99, and the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition with 32 GB storage for $199.99. Both devices offer water-resistant capabilities with new color options –– Raspberry Metallic, Jade Green Metallic, and Charcoal Metallic.
Besides, there’s also a special Kindle Kids and Kindle Paperwhite Kids edition with unique cover designs dubbed Space Whale, Ocean Explorer, and Unicorn Valley. The Kindle Scribe also serves as a digital notepad and will set users back by $399.99. It comes packed with a stylus, making it easy to jot down things. It can also be used as a regular Kindle to read books since it has an e-ink display.