And now even giants like Apple and Google have jumped into the market, bringing their own voice -
activated smart assistants along for the ride.
It does all the usual voice -
activated smart assistant things, like get the weather, set alarms and timers, peruse the news, control smart thermostats and light bulbs.
Not exact matches
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Alexa is a voice -
activated assistant app that can be used for everything from getting weather and news updates, to playing music and audiobooks, controlling
smart devices, -LSB-...]
Amazon unveiled two devices Thursday in the family of its «Alexa» voice -
activated personal
assistant, aiming for a bigger foothold in the
smart - home market.
Vuzix Corp will show off a pair of
smart glasses that can talk to Amazon.com Inc's voice -
activated digital
assistant and display information to the wearer's field of view
Subsequent inaudible commands could be issued to the
activated voice
assistants and execute tasks such as making a phone call, visiting a website or controlling
smart home devices.
Voice -
activated hardware
assistants like Google Home and Amazon Echo are perfect for controlling
smart home devices.
However, Roberts also sees plenty of potential in new audio devices without a screen, such as Amazon's Echo and the emerging world of voice -
activated assistants on
smart speakers.
Google continues to improve its voice -
activated smart speaker, which is powered by the
Assistant.
Sit the tiny
smart speaker beside the standard Google Home standalone voice -
activated assistant, though and any way you look at it, the tech giant's more affordable, miniature offering pales in comparison.
Smart Assistant Access A single tap
activates your favorite AI
Assistant.
Will Line work someday with a
smart speaker, a voice —
activated intelligent
assistant?
Like the Dot, the Eufy Genie is a pint - sized, voice -
activated smart speaker starring Alexa as your ever - capable
assistant.
Pizza is a no - brainer on Super Bowl Sunday, and this year, you'll be able to get your order in simply by asking Alexa, the voice -
activated assistant housed with the Amazon Echo
smart speaker.
Google's
smart home
assistants can be
activated by saying «Okay, Google» or «Hey, Google.»
Currently, Alexa acts as the voice -
activated virtual
assistant behind Amazon's Echo interactive speaker, letting users play music, listen to news and weather reports, ask questions, set reminders, control various
smart home products, and shop from Amazon's online store with voice.
Amazon pioneered the concept of a
smart speaker, an audio device with a voice -
activated digital
assistant that can do everything from play music (from Amazon Music or Spotify, Pandora, and certain other services if you're a subscriber), to recite the day's news, deliver weather and traffic updates, and — perhaps most importantly — control virtually every element of your
smart home.
Google recently disabled a feature included in its upcoming Google Home Mini
smart speaker after a reviewer found that it was causing the device to record conversations and sounds even when no «OK Google» prompt word was spoken.As detailed by Android Police's Artem Russakovskii, who received a Google Home Mini test unit last week, the device was malfunctioning due to an issue with the built - in touch panel designed to let Google
Assistant be
activated with a press instead of a voice command.The Google Home Mini's touch mechanism was registering phantom touch events, causing it to continually record audio, which is not supposed to happen.
«Alexa» is the virtual, voice -
activated assistant housed in the smash hit Amazon Echo
smart speaker, and one of her claims to fame is a growing library of third - party voice apps called «skills.»
Ford has announced it is teaming up with Amazon to integrate Alexa virtual
assistant into its cars, allowing vehicle owners to access shop, search, and control
smart home features on the road.The partnership means owners of Ford cars equipped with the SYNC 3 AppLink system will be able to access Amazon's Alexa voice -
activated virtual
assistant from the driver's seat, enabling them to check the weather, add items to shopping lists, play audiobooks, and control Alexa - compatible
smart home devices, like lights and thermostats.
Sonos» new voice -
activated Sonos One
smart speaker will work with Amazon's Alexa
assistant when it ships later this month, and will add support for Apple's new AirPlay 2 streaming protocol next year.
So, the Pixel 2 gets headline Oreo features like an always - on display, voice -
activated Google
Assistant, and
Smart Storage which intelligently removes local copies of old media that has been backed up to the cloud so you never run out of storage.
The Google Home is a $ 130 (# 130 or AU$ 199)
smart home speaker that showcases the artificially intelligent, voice -
activated Google
Assistant.
The device is reportedly designed to function similarly to the Amazon Echo, a voice -
activated smart home speaker that showcases the online retailer's virtual
assistant, Alexa.
When Amazon kicked off the
smart speaker wars, the Amazon Echo was mostly seen as an odd, voice -
activated shopping
assistant.
The Amazon Echo Dot is a
smart speaker with «Alexa,» Amazon's voice -
activated virtual
assistant, built - right in.
Amazon's voice -
activated virtual
assistant can control a growing number of
smart lights.
Alexa, the voice -
activated virtual
assistant housed within the Amazon Echo
smart speaker, knows a ton of cool tricks, but she's especially good at controlling
smart lights.
Since 2014, the company's been hawking its Echo range of
smart speakers, which are powered by its voice -
activated assistant, Alexa.
Interestingly, Amazon's Echo, more specifically the company's voice -
activated device's virtual
assistant called Alexa, has emerged as one of the best ways to control multiple
smart home devices via one product.
Google
Assistant allows you to ask questions, set reminders, play music,
activate smart - home devices (such as connected light bulbs), and much more.
After launching here in the Great White North without support for Amazon's voice -
activated personal
assistant, Alexa is now available on Sonos One
smart speakers in Canada.
This voice -
activated speaker powered by the Google
Assistant focuses on four key functionalities: playing music, getting answers from Google, managing your everyday tasks, and controlling
smart home devices.
But then came Alexa, the virtual, voice -
activated assistant in the Amazon Echo
smart speaker.
Bluetooth speaker maker Libratone has announced that beginning this fall, Zipp and Zipp Mini speaker owners will be able to use their devices to invoke Amazon's Alexa virtual
assistant as well as tap in to Apple's forthcoming AirPlay 2 protocol.The company said it will make a free firmware download available in the coming months that
activates Alexa support in the wireless speakers, which connect to Wi - Fi and have integrated microphones.Following the update, Zipp and Zipp Mini owners will be able to touch the button on the top of the speakers to ask Alexa for news, sports, traffic updates, and all the other things that can be done on Amazon's Echo range of speakers, including controlling
smart home devices.Libratone intends to add Apple AirPlay 2 support as soon as Apple
The HiMirror Mini is an internet - connected
smart mirror that includes Alexa, Amazon's voice -
activated digital
assistant.
The Caseta
Smart Bridge can be got separately to connect with the Google
Assistant system for enabling voice
activated control.
Earlier, however, a few games have accidentally revealed the way this
smart digital
assistant can be
activated on the gaming console.
The company also showed off the Echo Plus, a version of the voice -
activated assistant that looks like its plastic - clad predecessor, only with improved sound and a built - in
smart home hub.
Years later, the company has branched out into creating voice -
activated digital
assistants in the form of
smart speakers that can switch off your lights or read you the news.
Harman Kardon has already teased a Cortana - enabled speaker, which we're assuming will function a lot like Google Home and Amazon Echo, two
smart speakers with their own always - on, voice -
activated assistants.
A simple tap will
activate the voice
assistant and it can be told to do anything from ordering pizza to controlling
smart home devices.
It's a vital time for Apple to get into the
smart speaker space: Voice -
activated AI interfaces are quickly gaining a foothold in our everyday lives, with research firm eMarketer predicting more than 35 million people in the U.S. will bark out a command to an AI
assistant at least once a month this year — double the number from 2016.
LG's WebOS is being updated with Google
Assistant for voice -
activated functions and search, along with a variety of other functions for controlling apps and
smart home devices.
Google is offering two new Pixel 2 phones, boasting improved cameras, a
smarter Google
Assistant you can squeeze to
activate and an impressive new Google Lens feature that will change the way you search.
Amazon is planning to teach Alexa how to translate languages in real time, which would be a welcome feature for the voice -
activated digital
assistant and the Amazon Echo line of
smart speakers.