The New Alexa Tablets Feel Like a Blueprint for an Amazon Phone
Amazon is rumored to be making a smartphone, and the Alexa-powered experiences on its new tablets give us a taste of what might come if that happens.
Amazon has rebranded its tablet line, discontinuing cheap Fire Tablets and introducing premium Alexa Tablets that run Android with access to the Google Play Store. The new Alexa+ assistant is front and center on these tablets, offering a persistent "Ask Alexa" widget on the home screen. Alexa+ now has "On-Screen Intelligence," enabling it to read your screen and answer contextual questions, similar to Google's Gemini and Apple's Siri.
This functionality can assist with tasks such as summarizing web pages or highlighting nearby restaurants. Alexa+ also supports "live sessions," allowing for a free-flowing conversation with the assistant. Additionally, the tablets feature visual intelligence, where pointing the camera at an object allows Alexa to identify it and offer helpful advice.
Amazon's vice president of devices, Kevin Keith, believes these capabilities were previously unattainable but are now possible with Android tablets. However, these features could also be highly beneficial in a smartphone, as they would be more useful in a pocket-sized device. The smartphone market is facing challenges, including high prices due to a memory crisis, declining shipments, and a duopoly dominated by Samsung and Apple.
An Amazon phone, developed by a company not based in China and backed by Amazon's retail dominance, could capture a significant share of the market.
Written by urgent.news from Wired's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
