Amazon's big Alexa event is nearly here - here are 4 things to expect, including Alexa's AI upgrade and a new Echo speaker - Related to steam, things, estimated, people, phone

Amazon's big Alexa event is nearly here - here are 4 things to expect, including Alexa's AI upgrade and a new Echo speaker

Amazon's next big Alexa event is imminent, and it's set to be a major one for all things Echo and smart home. The device-focused event, which will take place on February 26 at 10AM ET in New York City, marks the business's first Alexa announcement since September 2023. That was when the Echo Pop Kids smart speaker and its second-gen Echo Show 8 were unveiled. This time, Amazon is likely focused on the Alexa voice and could announce a big change for its smart assistant.

While Amazon hasn't officially revealed what's in store for its Alexa event, it hasn't been afraid to drop little hints here and there in the build-up to the next device launch. So far, we can venture a safe guess that the Alexa voice assistant will be the prime focus of the event, which is noted to receive a significant AI upgrade, followed by the announcement of a new Echo smart speaker and possible Fire TV updates.

Therefore, we have a solid idea of what we expect next from the tech giant, but as we've expressed, nothing has been set in stone. We won't know for sure until Amazon makes it official during its event, so you can bet our eyes will be peeled for all the latest announcements during our live blog, which we'll improvement regularly throughout the event. Still, before that, these are the announcements we're expecting to see at tomorrow.

At Amazon's last device event in September 2023, the enterprise teased us with a brief look at Alexa AI, an AI-powered version of the voice assistant with ChatGPT-style functions. This could include an advanced ability to interpret context and distinguish natural speech, conducting multiple requests in a single voice command, and a possible monthly subscription fee.

There's no doubt that Alexa AI will be the star of the show at Amazon's event. However, as recent leaks have pointed out, the AI revamp may be slightly delayed before access is granted.

We've lately reported that an anonymous source informed The Washington Post ($/£) that the AI-revamped Alexa voice had been experiencing inaccuracies when asked questions. As a result, its release date could now be pushed back to March 31, but it will still be showcased at Amazon's Alexa event tomorrow.

There's a chance we could see a brand new Echo speaker join Amazon's seemingly never-ending lineup of smart home devices that make up some of the best smart speakers. The last time the firm unveiled a new Alexa speaker was the Amazon Echo 4th Gen in 2020.

Despite skipping its Alexa event last year, Amazon didn't starve us of some fresh Echo devices in its other smart home device ranges. Most notably, the Echo Show 21, which reigns as its largest Echo device, and its Echo Spot smart alarm speaker both made their debuts.

Given the near five-year time gap since Amazon's last Echo speaker hardware improvement, an announcement isn't completely unrealistic. A new smart speaker would also be handy for pairing with the AI-integrated Alexa voice.

As we know, Alexa AI is likely to appear during Amazon's big Alexa event. However, we believe that the revamped voice assistant will offer limited free use before introducing a monthly subscription fee. Thankfully, though, this will likely not impact the classic Alexa we all know and love.

We've been aware that Amazon has been toying with the idea of implementing a fee for its new Alexa voice which could cost you between $5 to $10 a month. Considering that Amazon has fallen behind its AI competitors ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Apple Intelligence and has yet to ride the AI train, from a business perspective, charging a monthly fee makes sense. However, from a consumer perspective, we're still not entirely convinced that this will be worth splurging on, given its numerous delays and reported inaccurate responses.

While its Alexa voice assistant will be the main focus, it's likely that Amazon speak about its Fire TV device range. Amazon's 2023 device event revealed attributes for its Fire TV devices, including an improved Alexa voice search function and AI screensavers. Following Amazon's Android TV enhancement, we believe the firm could introduce new Fire TV devices alongside updates to the abovementioned attributes during its event.

Mentions of new Fire TV hardware were spotted on one of Amazon's developer pages, stating the following; “Android 14-based Fire TV is based on API level 34. The following sections explain some of [the] essential changes that you should consider when you build apps for Android 14-based Fire TV". This gives a strong indication that new Fire TV devices will be one of the star announcements at tomorrow's event.

This leak has come at an awfully convenient time with the Alexa event due to happen tomorrow, adding to our suspicions that Amazon could expand its Fire TV line. With the lack of mentions of specific hardware models, we're unable to pinpoint what exactly this will entail, but we'd expect it to be the announcement of a new smart TV or streaming stick.

Rumor mill: Team Red will reveal tech specs, pricing, and release date information for the Radeon RX 9070 graphics cards on Friday. We already have en......

What just happened? Microsoft has quietly released a free, ad-supported version of Office, granting access to Word, PowerPoint, and Excel with limited......

Nothing on Phone 3a Pro design: “Some people will hate it”

Nothing, the smartphone venture from OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, is on its third generation of Android smartphones. The Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro will be officially introduced on March 4, but there won't be much left to reveal. Not only has Nothing teased the phones a few times, there's also a new video highlighting the Nothing Phone 3a Pro's design. In it, Nothing's design team speaks at length about how they tried to incorporate the chunky camera module, but what they came up with is going to be divisive.

As we approach 20 years since the iPhone made touchscreen smartphones the default, the form factor is very fleshed out. Some of today's most popular smartphones have almost reached the point of anti-design—flat, unremarkable bodies that are intended to be covered up with a case. There's something to be unveiled for that when most people slap a sheet of plastic on their phone and only remove it once in a blue moon. Nothing, however, designs phones with transparent panels and glowing "Glyphs" that are intended to be seen. In the case of the 3a Pro, there's also a camera module so big it's sure to stand out.

People generally want big screens and big batteries that don't make phones too thick or heavy. Some components have shrunk or been dropped entirely to free up space (a moment of silence for the dearly departed headphone jack). Camera modules, however, can't shrink infinitely. Smaller lenses and sensors have an impact on image quality, so expensive phones often have gargantuan camera arrays that can make phones top-heavy. For example, look at the Google Pixel 9 series, which capabilities a camera bump that towers above the rest of the back.

The Nothing Phone 3a Pro isn't a flagship device, but it'll have more cameras than the Nothing Phone 3a that will release at the same time. The new design video demonstrates off the phone's three rear-facing sensors: a 50MP primary, an 8MP ultrawide, and a 50MP periscope telephoto (focal length unknown). The Nothing Phone 3a Pro has three of those glowing Glyphs on the back, framing the enormous camera module. The phone's PCB also needed some tweaks to make room for the folded periscope assembly, which is much thicker than the other sensors.

Nachdem Adobe bereits Mitte 2019 Photoshop für das iPad veröffentlicht hatte und die App seither um zahlreiche Funktionen erweitert wurde, folgt nun, ......

Netflix has released a new teaser for You season 5.

In the teaser, Joe has started a new life in New York with his rich wife, Kate.

Google has made a free version of its Gemini Code Assist tool available worldwide starting February 25. The generative AI model, previously aimed at b......

Steam Deck and other handheld PC sales estimated at 6 million

How many Steam Decks has Valve sold so far? The business isn’t saying, except that it’s “multiple millions.” We know the Steam Deck is a smash hit, but new research estimates give us a more effective picture of the new handheld PC market, combined with competing devices like the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go.

The Verge commissioned IDC research into handheld PC sales for 2022 to 2024, and estimates for sales this year. , the combined sales of the Steam Deck, Lenovo Legion Go, Asus ROG Ally (multiple models), and MSI Claw (ditto) were approximately 6 million so far, and projected at a hair under 2 million for 2025. That doesn’t include other handheld PCs from smaller vendors like AyaNeo.

Editor’s Note: IDC is owned by the same organization as PCWorld and Foundry, International Data Group. The writer of this article did not contact IDC.

It’s safe to assume that the vast majority of those sales are for the Steam Deck, given Valve’s “multiple millions” estimate in November of 2023. But since Asus, Lenovo, Acer, and others are still designing new handheld gaming PCs even after the release of their initial machines, it also seems that the sector is healthy enough for competition, too.

Notably, Lenovo has partnered with Valve to offer a version of the new Legion Go S with SteamOS pre-installed, alleviating many of the headaches with Windows 11 on this low-powered, small-screen form factor. The Windows version of the Legion Go S failed to impress earlier this year, but the SteamOS version will be the first time Valve-powered hardware gets access to retail stores like Best Buy.

Assuming 5 million or so Steam Decks out there, it would easily be the single most popular gaming PC on the market, even if it’s vastly outnumbered by laptops and desktops from other brands. For comparison, Lenovo sells about 60 million PCs a year across all its product lines, most of which are not “gaming” PCs (even if they can handle 3D games).

But let’s also put this in perspective for mobile gaming beyond the PC market. Nintendo has sold a staggering 150 million Switch units across its seven-year life cycle. That means its sales are crushing those of Steam Deck even as they slow in anticipation of the Switch 2. So the Steam Deck and its competitors are still just a fraction of the larger gaming market, even if they’re growing in popularity for PC gamers. I’ve already expressed that comparing the Switch and the Steam Deck is kind of dumb.

The more interesting question for me is, what will Microsoft do in response to steady sales of PC handhelds? The Xbox brand is taking a beating on the console side, even as PC gaming remains healthy and the Game Pass subscription service seems to be thriving. In an ideal world, Microsoft would have an Xbox-branded handheld PC on the market right now, competing head-to-head with the Steam Deck as an integrated platform. Microsoft’s handling of things in this area has been…well, less than ideal.

Balatro is a fantastic mix of deck-building, roguelike runs, and cheating at poker. But you don’t have to take my word for it. This indie darling was ......

AMD is keeping its Zen 3 architecture alive with six newly spotted processors aimed at budget-conscious buyers. The Ryzen 3 5305G, Ryzen 3 5305GE, Ryz......

Dreimal im Jahr rückt Valve mit der Steam-Spielevorschau eine Woche lang Demos zu neuen Spielen und Entwickler-Livestreams in den Mittelpunkt – und je......