- Amazon has launched early access to Alexa+ for selected users but a few features are missing
- Not all the features that appear at its launch event in February will be available immediately and will instead be rolled out in parts for the next few months
- While Alexa+ is only available at Echo Show 8, 10, 15 and 21, we expect it to come to more ECHO devices as more features become available
When Amazon announced his new AI-enhanced Alexa+ voice assistant, we were very pleased to finally see Amazon’s response to Chatgpt and Apple Intelligence come to life. In our live blog we speculated on March 31, and it seems we were right when Alexa+ has started rolling out to selected users in the US on certain ECHO devices, but it wouldn’t be a big launch without a few catches.
During Amazon’s unit event in February, the company was proud to boast Alexa +’s renewed voice and AI capabilities, but a Washington Post report has identified that Alexa+ lacks a number of practical features. They will be revealed in waves over the next few months, but it feels like a broken promise in some ways.
What is missing in Alexa+?
Amazon promised a number of new features for Alexa+that provided a more interactive and personal experience with the voice assistant, especially its ability to offer food recommendations and give orders through Grubhub based on what you are looking for. This feature has the potential to be a rescuing grace of indecisive foodies out there, but it has been delayed so far.
Other useful generative features have disappeared from Alexa +’s early access, including its ability to brainstorm gift ideas when the pressure of gift purchases becomes too intense and its historical state of children has also been pushed back. The post has also seen that Alexa+ lacks the ability to visually identify family members around your home – both of which were demonstrated at its launch event – and the web version for Alexa+ is also not available for now.
According to the post’s original report, Amazon has stated that these features are missing from Alexa+ simply because they “not yet meet Amazon’s standards of public release”. It is reassuring to know that Amazon is planning to assemble Alexa +’s features, but you just have to stay patient for a few more months.
So what can Alexa+ do at the moment?
Despite the lack of features, Alexa +’s early launch is not quite deficient. Since it started rolling out yesterday (March 31) Alexa+ can order you an Uber, search for specific products and draft e emails. While you will have to wait a little longer for Grubhub integration with Alexa+, you can still use Voice Assistant to give you advice on what to cook.
Alexa+ can be accessed to a monthly subscription fee of $ 19.99, but Amazon Prime members have full access for free.
