Amazon Alexa could get a huge upgrade on February 26
Amazon has announced a NYC event for journalists later this month, and it looks like Alexa could be primed for a big shift
📅 Amazon has sent invites to the media for an event on February 26
🤖 The invitation seems to hint at an Alexa-related announcement
🕰️ We’ve been waiting for Amazon to roll out a more powerful Alexa for over a year
🦾 It’ll be powered by LLMs, the same AI tech that’s in Gemini and Siri
🔊 We could also get new Echo speakers and screens
Amazon might be dropping hints that it’s finally revamping Alexa soon, bringing the voice assistant in line with what Google has done with Gemini and what Apple’s been working on with Siri in iOS 18. An invitation has been sent out to journalists for an event in New York City on February 26, and the invite seems to hint at Alexa being somehow involved with swirling blue colors in the background.
New Alexa and upgraded Echos on the way?
In the invite, Amazon uses the same blue we’re used to seeing associated with Alexa, which suggests the company’s voice assistant will be a focal point of the show. The tagline “See what’s next” doesn’t allude to much other than “new stuff,” but it’s enough of a tease to make us wonder what Amazon could have up its sleeve.
If it’s Alexa at the forefront of the event, we’ll likely be getting our first look at the LLM-powered version of Alexa that Amazon initially teased back in 2023. The company has been promising to upgrade the Alexa experience with AI models (similar to the ones used for ChatGPT, Gemini, and Siri) to make conversing with the voice assistant more natural and helpful. Unfortunately, Amazon is expected to charge some sort of premium to use it, but it’s unclear how much it’ll set you back.
When there’s an Amazon event, there’s usually some type of new Amazon hardware. That could mean we’ll get new Echo devices powered by the upgraded Alexa to celebrate the launch. There aren’t a lot of rumors about new Echo speakers, but if we do wind up getting updated hardware, we can expect better sound quality and performance. This will be Panos Panay’s first event as the head of Devices & Services at Amazon, after all, so the odds seem favorable for some new gadget to take the stage.
The Shortcut team is working on getting our boots on the ground in NYC on the 26th to cover the event in person. Stay tuned.
Max Buondonno is Editor at The Shortcut. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, Newsweek, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.