What is Alexa Plus … and how much does it cost?

Amazon has finally done it. After years of whispers and rumors, the technological giant has presented Alexa+, the next -generation voice assistant who has basically had a brain transplant of the generative the AI.

Alexa de Amazon has been a fixed element in the homes of many people for years (10 years, in fact), handling everything, from the timers, to help us with recipes, touch our favorite songs and control all our intelligent domestic devices.

But now, it is obtaining a serious update, through a full -fledged image image. Alexa+ is not just a minor adjustment; It represents a fundamental change in the way we interact with our digital assistants, driven by generative AI and much ambition.

It is possible that Amazon has gone first, but you can expect Google and Apple to continue their example.

Alexa+ will present a lot of new capacities promoted by AI, more deep customization and more proactive assistance … but it has a price.

Here is everything you need to know about Alexa+, how it works and if it is worth updating.

How much does Alexa Plus cost?

We are going to board the elephant in the room: the cost … Alexa+ will cost you $ 19.99 per month.

That is a considerable price, no doubt. But, if you are a main member, you get it for free. Taking into account that Prime costs $ 14.99 in the United States, we do not believe (and surely Amazon either) nobody will pay directly for Alexa+.

So they are good news. When the rumors of the Banyan project and the remarkable Alexa were making the rounds last year, we expected the next -generation Alexa to reach an additional disbursement.

This two -level approach is obviously a strategic movement of Bezos and the gang, rewarding its loyal clients and at the same time attract new ones to join the main ecosystem. It is a classic Amazon work, designed to deepen its control in our digital lives … and that is just the beginning.

What does Alexa Plus do?

Alexa+ is not just a smarter version of his predecessor; It is a fundamentally different beast.

Here is a summary of almost everything Amazon has told us what can do, until now, although we would expect this list to grow as AI’s skills of Alexa+are expanded.

One of the most significant updates is Alexa +’s ability to participate in natural and fluid conversations. Understand the context, remember the previous interactions and respond in a way that feels genuinely human. With luck, this should mean and end those uncomfortable, forced and robotic robotic exchanges.

This conversational fluidity extends to customization. Alexa+ learns their preferences, habits and peculiarities, adapting their answers and actions to their specific needs. And not only yours, but also all at home.

Alexa+ goes beyond the simple commands and can help him proactively with the tasks anticipating his needs and I like/disgust. You can administer your calendar, schedule appointments, send reminders and even handle tasks such as planning events and reserving trips.

You can summarize long emails, extract key documents from documents and answer questions based on your content. Imagine forwarding those endless school bulletins and asking Alexa+ to summarize the key points, or load his schedule for the next semester and make him merge without problems with his calendars, with useful voice reminders established for key classes.

Alexa+ and the smart home

The intelligent home definitely did not have so much air time as the things listed above in the Big New York launch event, but Alexa+ should bring control of the smart home to a completely new level.

With Alexa+, you can create Alexa complex routines with simple voice commands, eliminating the need to look with the application. So, for example, I could say something like: “When I leave the house on Monday to Friday, make sure the heating is off, and all the lights and the alarm are configured.”

If you have a ring system, you can really use intelligent intelligence for the smart home asking things like: “Did the dog let go today?” Or “Is the car on the entrance path?” and Alexa+ can use AI to solve the answers.

Alexa Plus also improves the discovery and control of music, which allows him to find dark songs, control playback in multiple rooms and even jump to specific scenes in Prime Video.

Amazon has also focused on making Alexa+ a better families assistant, with characteristics such as “stories with Alexa” and “Explore with Alexa”.

More data for Big Tech

Of course, with all this power comes a new wave of security and privacy concerns.

To help you with these complex tasks, and essentially organize all aspects of your life, Alexa+ will require access to all aspects of your life.

Alexa+ will need a lot of personal data, either through the synchronization of the application and the account, the API or even the documents that upload to the new website of Alexa.com, which raises legitimate privacy concerns.

Amazon is actively developing functions with third -party businesses that will allow the creation of the conversational purchasing list, integrating without problems with services such as opening, Ticketmaster and Uber for reservations and transport.

To create more of these commercial arrangements, Amazon has launched the SDK of multiple agents from Alexa AI, which will train brands to develop their own agents and integrate them into the Alexa ecosystem.

This open platform approach promises to unlock a large number of new possibilities, which allows a more diverse and interconnected experience … but also means much more data exchange.

Amazon assures us that privacy is taken seriously, but it is essential to be aware of the compensation involved.

Amazon knows what he is doing … He has failed to make Alexa a cash cow so far, but Alexa+ could change all that.

How does Alexa+work?

Alexa +’s true power is found in the sophisticated technology that feeds it. In essence, Alexa+ takes advantage of Amazon Bedrock, a platform that gives access to large avant -garde language models, or LLM.

This includes Amazon’s own “Nova” models, as well as those developed by Anthrope, a leading AI research company.

What is particularly remarkable is that Alexa+ uses a “model agnostic” system. This means that it does not depend on a single monolithic; Instead, intelligently select the most appropriate model for each specific task.

This adaptive approach guarantees that Alexa+ is always using the best tool for work, either summarizing a complex document or participating in an informal conversation.

Beyond LLMS, Alexa+ uses what Amazon calls “experts.” These are specialized systems that work in concert to handle specific functionalities.

Imagine them as specialized teams within a larger organization, each focusing on a particular specialization area.

By breaking complex tasks in smaller and more manageable components, these experts allow Alexa+ to offer a more natural, capable and integral level of assistance than ever.

To keep the knowledge of Alexa+current, Amazon has created associations with news organizations such as Associated Press, Reuters, Time, USA Today and Political. The associations ensure that Alexa+ has access to updated information in a wide range of issues, from financial markets to sports statistics.

What devices do Alexa+work?

Alexa+ will initially become waves on the last Echo Show devices, such as the third generation Echo Show 8, show 10, show 15 or show 21.

However, in the demonstration videos we have seen Alexa+ working even in the cheapest echo of the lot, however, the pop echo, and the word is that it can actually work in almost the entire range, except for some really old echo speakers such as first generation models and the tap.

Amazon tells us that Alexa+ will be accessible on multiple devices, from the aforementioned devices, to the mobile application and also a new experience of the web browser, maintaining the conversational context as he advances between them.

In the show models, Alexa+ is also giving the digital assistant a change of visual image, with a new adaptive screen that is offered, showing photos and custom content from the distance, then transforms into a tailored home screen when approaching.

This personalized center will offer easy access to family calendars, music suggestions, a cured panel for you with relevant updates and advanced intelligent home controls.

When is Alexa+launched?

Alexa+ will be released live in the USA. For “early access” in March 2025.

There is still no word on a global deployment.

Final thoughts

Undoubtedly, Alexa+ is the greatest advance in AI’s voice assistants, which brings more natural conversations, better customization and proactive assistance. It transcends the limitations of their predecessors, offering a more intelligent, intuitive and personalized experience.

But all this has a price, and not just a monetary.

It is clear that Amazon aims to compete with assistants promoted by AI as Chatgpt and Gemini of Google, positioning Alexa as a true domestic assistant with AI instead of only a voice command system.

It remains to be seen if people are willing to give up enough information to make it possible … but we are committed to yes.