Amazon rolls out Alexa Plus nationwide and launches a new free tier
Amazon rolls out Alexa Plus nationwide and launches a new free tier

Amazon has announced that its generative AI-powered digital assistant Alexa Plus is now available to all Prime members in the US via any Alexa-enabled device, Alexa.com, and the Alexa mobile app. If you don’t have Prime, you can access the assistant on a new free tier on the web and app, or pay $20 a […]

Amazon’s desk-friendly Echo Show 8 is down to its lowest price ever
Amazon’s desk-friendly Echo Show 8 is down to its lowest price ever

If you’re looking for a versatile gift for Valentine’s Day that can be sentimental and practical, Amazon’s fourth-generation Echo Show 8 can serve as both a digital photo frame and a smart home controller. And right now, it’s on sale at Amazon for $149.99 ($30 off) — a new low price — as part of […]

Amazon has started automatically upgrading Prime members to Alexa Plus
Amazon has started automatically upgrading Prime members to Alexa Plus

Over the past couple of weeks, users on the r/alexa subreddit have reported getting automatically upgraded to Alexa Plus as a perk for their Prime memberships. The update doesn’t appear to be opt-in, but there’s an option to roll it back. Screenshots of a message from Amazon sent to users state that, “After your device […]

The 2026 BMW iX3 voice assistant will be powered by Alexa+

BMW is finally getting the next-generation Alexa voice assistant and it’s coming with a generative AI upgrade. Amazon said Monday that the 2026 BMW iX3 will be equipped with Alexa+, the same generative AI tech that launched in millions of the e-c…

Bosch’s fancy coffee machine is getting Alexa Plus
Bosch’s fancy coffee machine is getting Alexa Plus

At CES this week, Bosch announced the launch of its Personal AI Barista, Powered by Alexa Plus, and teased a new AI-powered cooking feature coming to its connected appliances. Coming to its Bosch 800 Series fully automatic espresso machines, the upgrade allows Alexa users to talk with the machine via an Echo smart speaker “as […]

The Alexa Plus website is now available to everyone in early access
The Alexa Plus website is now available to everyone in early access

Alexa Plus was already popping up online for some users earlier this month, and now it’s officially available to everyone through an early access program. Anyone can go sign up at Alexa.com and start playing with the new web interface for Amazon’s new AI chatbot. Alexa Plus was already available on all new Echo devices […]

Alexa+ adds conversation AI shopping and travel planning for Expedia, Yelp, and more

Alexa+ is no longer just answering questions. With new AI-powered integrations, Amazon’s assistant can now plan trips, book services, and complete purchases through natural conversation.
The post Alexa+ adds conversation AI shopping and travel planning…

How AI broke the smart home in 2025 
How AI broke the smart home in 2025 

This morning, I asked my Alexa-enabled Bosch coffee machine to make me a coffee. Instead of running my routine, it told me it couldn’t do that. Ever since I upgraded to Alexa Plus, Amazon’s generative-AI-powered voice assistant, it has failed to reliably run my coffee routine, coming up with a different excuse almost every time […]