Who doesn’t want to make their life easier this month? After all the holiday shopping, we could all use a virtual butler to turn on the lights and play music on command. If that sounds like Alexa — many techies’ favorite voice assistant — you’re right. And you’re right on time.
Thanks to our December Deal of the Day, you can get a refurbished Amazon Echo Dot for just $18.99. Act fast, though. When we say Deal of the Day, we mean today only — the discount ends after 24 hours.
Amazon’s smallest Echo Show speaker is now more affordable than ever after a 44% discount. You can pick up a brand-new first-generation Echo Show 5 for just $44.99 while stocks last. Get yours before the discount disappears.
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Amazon today instructed Echo Buds owners to urgently update their headphones to avoid a “potential safety risk.” The company says that in rare cases, Echo Buds can overheat while charging.
A new firmware update addresses this problem, and helps ensure that headphone batteries last as long as possible, by making charging more efficient. Here’s how you can install it.
Apple Music subscribers in Germany can now stream their favorite tracks on Amazon Echo speakers. You’ll need to add the Apple Music skill via the Alexa app to get started.
Amazon’s Alexa speakers can finally connect to your Apple Music account.
Support for Apple Music on the Amazon Echo was rolled out today, giving iPhone and iPad owners the option to pump out their favorite jams without signing up for an Apple Music competitor like Spotify Premium.
Getting the new Apple Music integration up and running is ridiculously easy, but we’ll walk you through the entire process.
Update: Amazon unveiled its new touchscreen Echo Show device Tuesday. In addition to smart-speaker functionality, the Amazon Echo Show brings video calls, video flash briefings, YouTube, karaoke-style music lyrics, security camera integration and more. Available for preorder now, the device will ship June 28 for $229.99.
Amazon could debut its new touchscreen Echo smart speaker as early as today, claims a report from The Wall Street Journal.
The latest in a line of popular Amazon Echo voice-activated speakers, the new device is likely to add a 7-inch display and a built-in camera. It will function like the existing Echo, but with the addition of touchscreen-based features.
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As the 21st century hums right along, you’ll want to upgrade to 21st century skills. This week at the Cult of Mac Store, we’ve got a bundle of coding lessons for Amazon Echo and their virtual assistant Alexa, a convenient tool for getting through books faster, a masterclass in Excel spreadsheets, and the ultimate media conversion platform, Roxio Toast. Everything is discounted by 50 percent or more, read on for more details:
Apple has reportedly placed the first orders for its standalone Siri smart speaker, a device designed to rival the Amazon Echo.
Inventec, the Taiwan company that makes Apple’s popular AirPods, received the order, which was reported by the Chinese-language Economic Daily News. No order numbers or production timeline have been revealed, although previous reports suggest Apple could unveil the device this June at its Worldwide Developers Conference.
Apple plans to take on the Amazon Echo with a standalone Siri device, according to a new report.
The project is said to have begun two years ago, but has only now entered the prototype testing phase. Much like the Amazon Echo, this device would be able to look up information and control smart home appliances using voice recognition — but possibly include facial recognition tech, too.
Barking out a song request at my Amazon Echo smart speaker, then hearing the track magically start playing, makes me feel like I’m living in the future.
Unfortunately, that feeling evaporates when the song isn’t part of the relatively skimpy Amazon Prime Music catalog. If it’s not there, Amazon’s AI assistant Alexa queues up an annoying 30-second sample — and that makes me realize I’m living in the very buggy present.
Luckily, you can fix that. Here’s how to make Amazon Echo default to Spotify so you don’t get stuck with those annoying song and album previews.
