Amazon's smart voice assistant Alexa has been postponed again, with the new version not expected to be launched until 2025. This news has sparked many speculations from the outside world about Amazon's AI strategy. Bloomberg's report pointed out that the new version of Alexa, which was originally planned to be released this year, had to be delayed for various reasons. This postponement is not an isolated case, and previous rumors that the new version of Alexa may not be delivered on schedule have lasted for some time.
Recently, it was reported that Amazon's plan to reinvent its smart voice assistant Alexa was once again postponed, and the new launch time was set in 2025. According to Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter revealed that Alexa's AI team was recently told that the new version originally scheduled to be launched this year has now been forced to delay.
As early as September last year, Amazon announced plans to make a major transformation of Alexa. The new Alexa will have ChatGPT-like intelligence that can provide a more natural and conversational interactive experience. However, as we enter 2023, rumors that the new Alexa may not be delivered on schedule have begun to circulate. Amazon did not hold a grand press conference this fall, which made previous speculation seem to be confirmed.
Meanwhile, Amazon has also turned off beta access to the new Alexa. Previously, users could request to experience the new version of the feature by saying "Alexa, let's chat" to their Echo device, but now Alexa's reply has become "chat feature is not available at the moment." Some early testers were not satisfied with the performance of the new version, and reported that their response was slow, their answers were stiff, and their practicality was not high. Worse, the new version of Alexa also has problems with the control of smart homes, and sometimes "fantasy" phenomenon, that is, providing some unnecessary additional information.
Integrating the large language model with existing voice assistants' control command methods seems to be a challenge. While the new AI model allows Alexa to answer more complex questions, it also makes it make mistakes in simple tasks such as setting up a kitchen timer or controlling smart lighting. While there are some problems with the older version of Alexa, in most cases, it is still able to reliably control smart home devices.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy doesn't seem to have a clear vision for AI-powered Alexa. Although he has publicly stated that “we continue to refactor Alexa’s brain,” specific information about what the new Alexa will bring to users remains scarce. In addition, Jassie has appointed a new head of the Equipment and Services department, Pannos Panya, who once served as head of the Surface department at Microsoft, bringing attention to high-quality design.
In the process of constantly finding a vision, Amazon may be able to regain the original vision of founder Jeff Bezos and create a smart assistant similar to the "computer" in Star Trek. But it seems that it will take some time for the new version of Alexa to be released.
Key points:
The release of the new version of Alexa is postponed to 2025, and the previous launch plan has been delayed again.
The test user was not satisfied with the performance of the new version and reported that the response was slow and the practicality was low.
Amazon CEO has not yet clarified the vision of the new Alexa, and the future of smart assistants remains unclear.
In short, the delay in the new version of Alexa reflects the challenges Amazon faces in integrating the large language model with existing voice assistant technologies, and there are still many uncertainties in its future development. Amazon needs to further clarify its AI strategy and address technical and user experience issues before it can finally launch a satisfying product.