Amazon today is rolling out the biggest makeover for its Alexa Skills Kit Developer Console — the console where
voice app developers create their skills — since its debut back in 2015.
Since then, Amazon has aggressively moved to increase its Alexa skills set in India by introducing Alexa in Hinglish and courting
voice app developers:
Voicelabs» Marchick has some further analysis around these findings and some key questions for
voice app developers to consider.
It will then be up to
the voice app developers and voice assistant platforms to promote the value and convenience of shopping hands free.
For
voice app developers, that means a focus on music and entertainment will sell better in the near - term, but it also paints a picture of future opportunity for those who build workplace apps — an area that hasn't yet seen widespread adoption, but could be next — especially if Amazon has its way.
The keynote address additionally highlighted other technologies for
voice app developers, like the improvements to the Skill Builder tool, the Alexa Skills Kit Command Line Interface, Speech Synthesis Markup and Speechcons, natural language understanding, and more.
It allowed advertisers to reach a large smart speaker customer base by aggregating
voice app developers into a network whose reach could be sold to advertisers en masse.
This growing adoption could open up major opportunities for
voice app developers and voice assistant providers to enter the $ 3.4 trillion healthcare industry.
The acquisition was a clear statement by Google about a commitment to bot development and in particular its intent to support
a voice app developer ecosystem.
Jo Jaquinta is a leading
voice app developer, CTO of Tsa Tsa Tzu and creator of Six Swords on Google Assistant.
While having over a million use cases is no doubt based in fact, it does not point to a sudden rush of
voice app developer support for the platform.
Not exact matches
If Siri opened the world to the idea that search could be
voice based, OneTok gives
developers the ability to integrate
voice controls into any
app they build, using the company's patented
voice integration technology.
It's inefficient for
developers to build out «skills» for various distinct platforms, Foster says, when the
apps on your phone can already do most of what you're trying to do, and could just be
voice - enabled.
Instead, Aiqudo mainly wants to sell its
voice tech as a service to
developers that want to make their
apps controllable with
voice commands without having to work separately with Alexa, Google Assistant, and every other individual
voice assistant platform.
A
developer platform is available to integrate Zoom features — such as video,
voice and screen sharing — into existing
apps your business already uses.
AppLink and SDL are designed to provide a common software interface so that
developers can make their
apps available to be controlled directly through the vehicle controls including the audio system, touchscreen and
voice button.
New
voice pass - through capabilities have been added so
app developers can use cloud - based
voice - recognition software streaming through the phone to give users the ability to keep the same
voice commands when using their phones both when connected and not connected to the car.
Amazon has just unveiled three new Artificial Intelligence services that make it easy for any
developer to build
apps that can understand natural language, turn text into lifelike speech, have conversations using
voice or text, analyze images, and recognize faces, objects, and scenes.
oday at AWS re: Invent, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com company (NASDAQ: AMZN), announced three Artificial Intelligence (AI) services that make it easy for any
developer to build
apps that can understand natural language, turn text into lifelike speech, have conversations using
voice or text, analyze images, and recognize faces, objects, and scenes.
Developers should be excited, because the Android Auto SDK will make it possible for third - party
apps to participate in the Android Auto experience — my mind immediately moves toward make - specific features for your vehicle being very easy to control with your
voice (instead of the 10 minute search through my car's menus to try and remember just how I faded the speakers toward the back or programmed in satellite radio stations).
These experts on ebooks were presenters, panelists, moderators, and exhibitors on everything from children's
app books to digital textbooks, as well as accessories to reading like
voice - over narration
developers and audio soundtrack creators.
Some
developers are
voicing concerns to the contrary, stating that by allowing Android
apps on the mobile Windows platform, enthusiasm for native
app development for Microsoft will be killed.
As we now know from BlackBerry 10.3 OS leaks and
developer builds, BlackBerry is working on improving their
voice recognition
app on BlackBerry 10 to bring it more in line with the likes of Siri on iOS, Google Now on Android, and Cortana on Windows Phone.
Many
developers have not been shy about
voicing their criticism of the new policies, which not only gives Apple a 30 percent cut of all content bought through
apps but also restricts how
apps can point customers toward purchases outside of
apps.
Now you can power any
app with Google's speech recognition software (The Next Web)
Developers, how about the adding
voice to all the
apps?
Minuum notes that «there aren't yet many
apps on Android Wear built with text fields available for typing» — most Android Wear interaction is done through swiping or via
voice — but they're apparently working with other
developers to make it possible to use Minuum with as many
apps as possible.
The point of granting that kind of access is for Amazon to entice
developers to focus on making
apps for Alexa, giving them access to precious data that could help make the
voice platform better going forward.
One Alexa
developer accidentally discovered this by submitting a
voice app to Amazon with a bug.
Alexa can already control your Fire TV to help you launch Netflix or find your favorite show, among other things, but today Amazon is announcing a new tool for
developers that will allow any cable and satellite TV company, streaming service or other content provider to add the same sort of
voice control to their
apps, as well.
The idea to pay
developers directly is meant to help fuel the growing
voice app ecosystem ahead of broader adoption of monetization tools like in - skill purchases and paid subscriptions.
Amazon has quietly launched a new program that will directly pay
developers building high - quality Alexa skills — the
voice - activated
apps for Alexa - powered devices like the Amazon Echo speaker and related products.
It's also meant to help
developers building
voice apps where those features wouldn't make sense —
apps that would have otherwise integrated advertising to make money, which is something Amazon doesn't currently allow.
We're a team of
voice designers and
developers making it our mission to build the best
voice apps for Alexa and Google home.
Siri's limited approach to
app integrations runs counter to those taken by Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, who have invited
developers to create their own third - party
voice apps.
The team at Dialogflow provides tools to help
developers build
voice apps.
This will let
developers add the
voice - assistant to their
apps and now categories supported for Siri include to - do lists, notes and reminders; banking for account transfers and balances; and
apps that display QR codes.
Rather,
developers would get anonymized data about only the
voice queries made using their own
app.
At an event held at the same time last year, Google brought the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, Daydream VR headset, Google Wifi, and Google Chromecast 4K Ultra, and announced plans to launch the Actions on Google platform for third - party
developers to create
voice apps for Google Assistant.
«
Developers will be able to integrate Google's
voice - based technology inside of their
apps,» Gurman reports.
In addition to on the spot translations and becoming available to Japanese consumers today,
developers can now make
voice apps in French, Canadian French, German, Korean, and Japanese.
Google released its standalone Google Assistant iPhone
app on Wednesday and made it possible for both Android and iOS smartphone users to access
voice apps made by third - party
developers.
It's sparked by a message published by Apple for
app developers about the SiriKit tools for HomePod: «With the intelligence of Siri, users control HomePod through natural
voice interaction.
Since the company is doesn't have an existing suite of consumer services, it's shipping devices with Alexa integration and opening up the platform to
developers (think
voice - activated
apps).
Since the launch of the Actions on Google platform six months ago, roughly 250 conversations actions or
voice apps have been made by
developers.
The update also includes four new
voices, two male and two female, that
app developers can choose for their
voice apps.
One area that has improved is
voice dictation for email messages (as opposed to just text) and
developers can also now incorporate STT / TTS into their
apps directly, which is especially useful for things like Twitter or blogging
apps.
Google extended
voice commerce capabilities in March 2018 with a series of capabilities that Google Assistant
app developers can add their
voice apps to support shopping.
Google appears to have launched a
voice app to talk to you about its annual I / O
developer conference, set to take place May 17 - 19 at the Shoreline Ampitheatre in Mountain View, California.
App developers can add Cortana commands to their applications — for example, you can use Cortana
voice commands to play movies in Netflix.
And that's something that requires Amazon to do more than build out clever tricks to be put to use — it has to be able to support an
app economy, where
developers don't just build things for fun, but because there are real businesses that can be run atop Amazon's
voice computing infrastructure.