26/06/2017
It's time to introduce "Alexa"
Amazon is already winning the next big arms race in tech
Companies like Apple, Google, Samsung and Microsoft have all vied for control over the phones we carry in our pockets, the computers at our desks, and even the watches on our wrists. But over the past year a new arms race has emerged in Silicon Valley: competing to develop the most sophisticated virtual assistant. And Amazon is winning.
Alexa, Amazon's voice assistant, is dominating this year's.
Alexa showed up in car infotainment systems, new smarthphones, robots, lamps and even laundy machine. Ford, Whirlpool, Lenovo, GE and Dish are a few of the brands announcing plans to add Amazon's voice-activated helper to their hardware. That will make it possible to interact with those devices by saying something like, "Alexa, how much time is left on my wash cycle?" rather than sprinting downstairs to the laundry room.
With Alexa, Amazon is building an invisible operating system for running a broad range of aspects of daily life.
