I bought my first Amazon Echo smart speaker a decade ago, not long after Amazon unveiled it in late 2014. The 9.25-inch tall tube sat on my hutch for years, casually responding to “Alexa” weather queries, answering what I might term simple trivia questions, and playing music from some of my favorite services on a surprisingly good speaker system. 10 years later, it’s still doing all that, and it occurred to me how rare it is to have a modern piece of solid-state consumer electronics still functioning after a decade of service. But what if that ends tomorrow?
In roughly 24 hours, Amazon is expected to unveil its biggest Alexa update, one that’s set to transform it from a relatively basic digital assistant into a true generative chatbot, one that can stand nearly toe-to-toe with ChatGPT and Google Gemini (at least when it comes it asking questions via speech).
It’s been more than a year since Amazon teased this transformation. Back in 2023, Amazon was already behind in the generative AI race, and that event served as a signal of the commerce giant’s intentions.
And then nothing.
Waiting for Alexa
Amazon didn’t deliver the AI overhaul after six months, and not even after a year. In the interim, the company saw some changes at the top. Founder and former CEO Bezos stepped away in 2021. Still, it wasn’t until some of his key lieutenants moved on, like Dave Limp (who demonstrated that “new” Alexa”), and Microsoft‘s Panos Panay hopped on board that Amazon’s generative plans got back on track. Perhaps sensing that Amazon was not exactly delivering on its AI promises, Bezos, who is still Executive Chairman, has been helping spearhead Amazon’s AI efforts.
Now, we stand at the precipice of momentous Alexa change, which will mean big changes for every best Echo device that supports it.
Since 2015, Amazon has delivered well over a dozen different Echo devices. Some are simple, smart speaker tubes or orbs, while others have screens. Every one of them runs Alexa, and I’d argue that if you plug any of them in right now, even the oldest models like my original Echo, they’ll still work, and Alexa will be at the ready.
I’m not implying the Alexa service has been stagnant. Soon after launch, Amazon added the ability to shop on Amazon through the platform. My Echo now has reminders and notifications about things that matter to you and possible Amazon deals you might like. It’s gotten more conversational and able to carry on brief conversations. It can tell stories and terrible jokes, and, of course, it’s good at controlling smart home devices.
Echos of obsolescence
For all that my trusted Echo has become, my concern now is that this may soon no longer be the case. It’s possible that some vintage of Echos could be rendered useless by this impending Alexa update. Without Alexa to drive operations, my Echo would become an inert plastic tube. The iconic “Alexa is listening” blue ring at the top might turn a permanent, disconnected orange. There is no way to tell it what to do or drive action and response without the watchword “Alexa” (you can also choose to have your Echo respond to other watchwords like “Computer”).
Just look at the specs of the original Echo. It has an ARM Cortex A8 processor, 4GB of storage, and just 256MB of RAM. None of that is enough processing power or memory to handle local machine learning or generative operations. Additionally, these older Echos might not even be able to support the basic programming needed to house New Alexa.
And trust me, the next Alexa will not be a minor intelligence upgrade. It’s potentially a brain transplant where Alexa’s new generative AI capabilities are powered by Antrhopioc’s Claude. From what I’ve seen online, that AI platform can chew up processing power, at least when people run it locally on the desktop. How it will run over the cloud with some operations local on an Echo is anyone’s guess, but, as I said, I fear my 10-year-old Echo might not be up to the task.
Clouds of confusion
Amazon has traditionally done its digital assistant work in the cloud, so perhaps it’ll do the same with this update. But that’s not a given.
First of all, most people work with generative AI differently than they do digital assistants. They’re not just asking the AI to take action; they ask personal and detailed questions about home, life, and business. They share details you might not want in the cloud. Amazon may be fully encrypting these prompts and perhaps it’s of no consequence, but that’s a big maybe.
I hope I’m wrong. I’ve been so impressed with the longevity of these Echo devices (I have a tiny Echo Dot that’s 9 years old) and it would be a shame for Amazon to brick them.
Let’s hope they don’t and that all the original Echo smart speakers and various other Alexa-supporting devices can enjoy what I expect will be a stunning AI update.
@techradar ♬ original sound – TechRadar