Amazon is reportedly working on one or more Alexa-enabled devices to be released later this year. These smart home devices powered by Amazon’s intelligent personal assistant are said to provide users with more functionalities.
AmazonA promotional image for the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot, smart home speakers powered by intelligent personal assistant Alexa.
Sources have told Recode that the new Alexa-powered devices will allow users to make phone calls by voice. Users will also be able to talk to other people on the other side of another Alexa device, akin to an intercom system.
The addition of phone call functionality is in line with a previous report from the Wall Street Journal that mentioned that Amazon and Google were planning to turn their home speakers into home phones. To note, Alphabet Inc.’s own smart home speaker, Google Home, is one of the fiercest rivals of the Amazon Echo.
Furthermore, sources also revealed that Amazon is mulling over the incorporation of a video camera but it has yet to be determined if the addition will apply to the specific Alexa-enabled devices that are currently in the pipeline.
If these communication features are indeed added, then consumers will have more reasons to use devices like the Amazon Echo other than listening to music or obtaining weather updates.
In the 2017 Voice Report conducted by research firm VoiceLabs, statistics showed that users mostly gravitated toward apps for music streaming, books, games, entertainment, news and podcasts. Despite Alexa having over 7,000 skills, only 31 percent of them have been reviewed at least once.
The rest of the voice applications were said to be “Zombie Skills,” as they were accessible but not heavily used or appreciated. The analysts concluded that for this year, it will be important to see capabilities that involve “social awareness and direct communication,” which Amazon has seemingly taken note of.
With the rumored addition of video and phone call functionalities, Alexa-enabled devices could enable Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) features like what is being offered by Microsoft’s Skype.
Amazon’s new Alexa-enabled devices are said to be in beta testing and could be introduced in the next couple of months. However, Amazon has declined to comment on the latest speculations.
