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Amazons long-awaited update to its assistant is almost here. About 18 months after the company first previewed the next-gen Alexa built with generative AI, it unveiled Alexa+, and early access will be available starting in March. Alexa+ will exist alongside the older Alexa and will cost $20 a month, unless you have a Prime membership, which will make it free to use. The new assistant will come with all the modern upgrades that its contemporaries like the redesigned Siri or Gemini offer, like more conversational interaction, better contextual understanding and the ability to summarize complex topics and make suggestions based on your interests. But it does one thing differently, and its the way Amazon purports to integrate with third-party apps and the rest of the internet that could set it apart. At the presentation, vice president of Alexa and Fire TV Daniel Rausch outlined three ways the new assistant can integrate with other services you use. Firstly, it already works with tens of thousands of integrations already available, with Uber, Sonos, Samsung and Xbox being a few of the many logos that were displayed when Rausch said this. Presumably, that means Amazon worked with these partners to get their apps to play nicely with Alexa+ through their APIs. Secondly, for the large swath of the online world that doesnt have apps or the resources to code an API just for Alexa+, the assistant should be able to scour the internet for their website and navigate it on your behalf. During the presentation, Rausch demonstrated how Alexa+ was able to go to the Thumbtack website to hire a professional to fix his oven. Instead of having to whip out a phone or laptop to click through menus himself, Rausch could just verbally tell Alexa+ what he needed and what times he was available, and the AI did the rest. Sam Rutherford for Engadget This example in particular struck me as very similar to Googles restaurant-reservation system Duplex, which, since way back in 2018, could call businesses on your behalf to book a table. All you had to do was tell Google what date and times you were considering, how many people were in your party and it would make the call for you, even speaking in a human-sounding voice to the restaurant. The way Alexa+ would click around websites on your behalf seems like Duplex on steroids. Finally, Alexa+ can work with the AI agents on other sites, so you can talk to just one assistant instead of dozens of chatbots. In the presentation, Rausch got Alexa+ to work with the AI music generator Suno to come up with a country-style song about bodega cats. After the companys presentation, I spoke with Rausch to get more clarity on how Alexa+ will work with the rest of the online world. For one, I wanted to know for sure if that third method would work with customer service chatbots from companies like Capital One, United Airlines and more. While Rausch said that he had no details to share on specific names or services, he did confirm that the SDK is all about integrations like that, saying its for people to use Alexa to connect with agents on their behalf to complete tasks. Rausch is aware that any friction at all in the adoption and setup process can turn people away. To that end, upgrading to Alexa+ should not require any additional sign-ins or authentication. You should be able to have all your connected appliances, security cameras and home routines carry over without any effort. The reason that customers love Alexa is it takes away all the complexity, Rausch said. People dont need to remember the brand of the WeMo plug they bought, for example, to be able to tell Alexa to turn off a lamp. We would never take that away, he said. When youre adding new services after upgrading to Alexa+, Rausch said youll either do so in the ways that you do it today or that itll get even easier, since Alexa can walk you through those setups in many more cases. Sam Rutherford for Engadget According to Rausch, instead of having to dig around in the Alexa app, you just say Alexa, I want to set up a streaming account with Hulu' or something. Youll be presented with a QR code on an Echo device with a screen to facilitate that, and the assistant should guide users along the way. We like to say Alexa is an expert, and now an expert on herself. Amazon isn't the only company that has made its assistant perform tech support for users. This approach is very similar to how Siri can teach you how to, say, shoot a video in Cinematic mode or create a Genmoji. Where better to get help about a product youre using than the product itself? Why make me go to a different place for information? From a customer experience perspective, customers just want the thing done, Rausch said. They dont have to be responsible or care about any of these things, right? He believes people just want the plumber or a reservation booked, and dont want to fuss around with websites and phone calls. People do want their digital assistant to be helpful and easy to use, but isnt it equally important that these AI services are accurate and reliable? When I asked Rausch how Amazon worked around the tendency of generative AI to hallucinate and sometimes spread misinformation, he said I actually think in the industry, theres been a mistake of thinking a model is a product. He also said LLMs are at the foundation of the architecture, but theyre not the only thing answering the question. In other words, Alexa+ is using a combination of Amazons knowledge graphs, reliable sources on the internet and partnerships with authoritative outlets. Other products will simply give you an answer out of the LLM. If you're asking for an authoritative answer, that's not actually sometimes the way to get one. and I think that's what you're highlighting, he said. Rausch added that Amazon has taken great care with Alexa. Will it make mistakes? Every piece of software makes mistakes, he said. But were working hard to ground it in knowledge. Ive yet to try out Alexa+ for myself, and everything weve seen so far has been in highly controlled demos, so its hard to tell what real world performance will be like. But if the new Alexa is truly able to work with third-party services in a way thats seamless and effective, it would not only bring Amazon back into the consumer AI race, but could possibly give it an advantage over the likes of Google, Apple and OpenAI. Considering Amazon realy brought the idea of a virtual assistant into homes around the world, this could also have an impact that goes beyond the tech-savvy users of todays AI services.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/amazons-generative-ai-vision-for-alexa-is-appealing-but-unproven-140014416.html?src=rss
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As Engadget celebrates its 21st birthday this weekend, we're rounding up all of the recently published reviews from the last few weeks. It's already a busy time for the reviews team, even though spring is still officially a few weeks away. The latest entries include a new iPhone, the latest from NVIDIA and those Beats workout earbuds the company teased months ago. Pour a couple bevvies for the weekend and make one a double, because we're old enough to drink now. iPhone 16e Apple's new "budget" phone has arrived, providing the most affordable gateway to Apple Intelligence. While the iPhone 16e offers solid performance, expected long battery life and a great display, there are some caveats that you might not be able to live with. "In my week or so with the iPhone 16e, I felt the drawbacks of the camera the most I can live without MagSafe and the Dynamic Island," Cherlynn writes. "But what the iPhone 16e does offer is fast performance, a clean design, long battery life and, most crucially, cheaper access to Apples ecosystem." NVIDIA GeForce 5070 Ti If you're in the market for a new 4K gaming GPU, the RTX 5070 Ti is a a nice upgrade over the regular 5070. However, finding one, and doing so for a decent price, is another thing entirely. "I knew it would be a tad faster than the 4070 Ti Super, but with the addition of multi-frame generation, it's also a far more capable 4K card," Devindra says. "And it's definitely more future-proof than the 5070, since it has 16GB of VRAM like the 5080." Sony A1 II With A1 II, Sony had to live up to its own high standards. And while the camera may be the company's best mirrorless option yet, it's not a huge leap over the A1. "The innovation that Sony is known for is lacking here, and on top of that, the A1 II is very expensive," Steve explains. "The A1 II is only a mild upgrade over the A1 and when it comes to video, its lagging behind the Nikon Z8 and Z9 as well as the Sony R5 II." Steve also took the DJI Flip for a spin. He gives the creator-friendly drone high marks for 4K video quality, battery life and a people-safe design. The drone's obstacle detection isn't the best though, and it struggles in windy conditions. Lenovo Legion Go S While Lenovo has already teased a new version of the Legion Go gaming handheld for later this year, the company introduced the more streamlined Legion Go S in the meantime. There are some things to like here, including a more portable design, an 8-inch 120Hz display and handy controls. For now, the price is the main problem. "The issue is that Lenovo hasnt fully rolled out all of its variations," Sam writes. "So even if you arent holding out for the SteamOS variant, youd be silly not to wait for less expensive versions to come out with starting prices closer to $600 (or even $500 for the one with Valves platform)." Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 After an initial tease months ago, Beats finally debuted its updated Powerbeats Pro workout earbuds. The hook design remains, but there are significant upgrades both inside and out, including Apple's first dance with heart-rate tracking in an audio product. "On the whole, the Powerbeats Pro 2 are a substantial upgrade over the original," I explain. "Theyre more comfortable and have a host of new features that help it match todays earbuds." I also reviewed the Noble Audio FoKus Rex5 earbuds in the last month. This set offers the best sound quality I've experienced on wireless earbuds, thanks in part to the company's use of five drivers in each one. However, the Rex5 is expensive at $449 and it's far from a complete package in terms of features and noise-canceling performance. Other notable reviews and a look ahead Managing editor Cherylnn Low spent more time living with the Kindle Scribe 2 and updated the review with some long-term observations about the tablet. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 was wrapped around the wrist of buying advice senior report Amy Skorheim as she put yet another incremental update from the company through its paces. My review of the Technics AZ100 earbuds that one a Best of CES award from Engadget is coming soon. As I suspected during my brief hands-on n Las Vegas, the improved sound is the star of the show here, but I won't spoil the rest of the review with more observations. MWC 2025 is happening next week, so whatever is announced during the show will certainly be on the upcoming review agenda. For now, you can check out our preview here. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadget-review-recap-iphone-16e-nvidia-rtx-5070-ti-sony-a1-ii-and-more-130054263.html?src=rss
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The Dungeons & Dragons faithful have another option for times when a physical tabletop isn't feasible. Wizards of the Coast's Sigil is a 3D virtual tabletop (VTT) experience that borrows some elements from video games without straying too far from the joy of sitting around a table with like-minded cohorts. It launched publicly this week and is now available for anyone to try. If you have no clue what a 3D VTT is, imagine a graphical recreation of all the hallmarks of tabletop D&D: virtual versions of a game board, miniatures, dice, character sheets and so on. It isn't a full-on video game like Baldur's Gate because the characters are still static minis that you move around as if they were physical pieces. But it adds digital touches like animated spell effects and lighting. If done well, it's like recreating top-of-the-line D&D gear (with some added flair) that you can use to play with anyone in the world. Sigil (named after a city in D&D lore) isn't the first of its kind. BouncyRock Entertainment's TaleSpire is a popular 3D VTT currently in early access for PC and Mac. And its business model will be preferable to many: Everyone pays $25 as a one-time purchase. Although Sigil is free to tinker around with and join others' games, you'll need a D&D Beyond Master Tier subscription ($6 monthly or $55 annually) to host multiplayer games and unlock extra goodies like builder kits and mini customization options. Wizards of the Coast Where Sigil has an advantage is its integration with D&D Beyond's character sheets. So, if you've already built out your characters, equipment and abilities with the official D&D digital companion service, you should (at least in theory) have an easy transition. Sigil provides a library of assets, brushes and lighting effects for you to play around with and customize your maps and minis to your heart's content. "These customizable tools let you bring your world to life, whether you're exploring fantastical landscapes, towering fortresses or dangerous dungeons," the company says in its pitch. It also includes tabletop-esque touches like virtual dice that tumble realistically across the game board. You can customize your miniatures with different scales, sizes and appearances. "All of our assets are created in a way that's like actually buying a high-end mini or figure," the company said in its 2024 introduction video. "We wanted them to feel kind of painted, but kind of realistic trying to capture that beautiful in-between where art, figures and games come together." Wizards of the Coast Sigil runs on Unreal Engine 5, and you'll need at least a decently powerful gaming PC to partake. Although its minimum system requirements are less daunting, D&D Beyond recommends at least an Nvidia RTX 2080, AMD R9 380 or Intel UHD on the GPU front, along with 16GB of RAM. It's Windows only for now, but the company wants it to eventually run on consoles, mobile and maybe even your fridge. (Fridge-top gaming, anyone?) If this sounds like your kind of adventure, you can sign up with your D&D Beyond account on the product page. (For a more established alternative, you can also give the highly rated TaleSpire a spin.) For a better sense of Sigil, check out Wizards of the Coast's intro video from D&D Direct 2024: This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/dds-3d-virtual-tabletop-experience-sigil-is-now-available-for-pc-212113793.html?src=rss
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