In all fairness to Amazon, back when they announced Alexa+, they did say that features would be rolled out gradually. But we expected more of them to be available in the initial release.
Thanks to reporting by The Washington Post, whose owner is the same Jeff Bezos who owns Amazon, we know that Alexa+ is currently missing five features that we were hoping would be present from the outset.
The five missing features
Like picking out something to watch on Netflix, I spend more time looking at Grubhub’s ordering screen than I do eating the actual food once it comes. It was welcome news to hear that Alexa+ would offer food recommendations for indecisive eaters like me. And then it could also place those orders on Grubhub for you. Both have been delayed into the future.
Just like how the indecisive could’ve used that feature to help them not starve, there’s a similar feature for Alexa+ to brainstorm gift ideas. We’ll have to wait a little longer for that, as it’s been delayed, too. As well as a story time mode for kids. Although AI has a crap reputation for telling stories, so I wasn’t holding my breath that hard for that one.
Last, Alexa+ is supposed to be able to visually differentiate members of the household. That, too, has been pushed back. That seems like a big one, since different people have different preferences, and if Alexa+ is supposed to be able to retain information on recent requests and tailor subsequent answers around them, knowing who asked what is an important consideration.
As an Amazon spokesperson told The Washington Post, these features were delayed because they “don’t yet meet Amazon’s standards for public release.”
As I wrote about last month on how to gain early access to Alexa+, only certain customers will be eligible at this early stage. Amazon has begun rolling out early access to Alexa+ to customers in the US who own or buy an Echo Show 8, Echo Show 10, Echo Show 15, or Echo Show 21.
Note that Amazon doesn’t say on its Alexa+ page that anyone who owns or buys one of these devices will get early access, only that “customers will be notified via email and through device notifications once access is granted.”
Once you’re notified and you opt in to whatever terms and conditions Amazon attaches, Alexa+ will start working across all your compatible Echo devices, Fire TV, and Fire tablets, along with your web browser and the Alexa app.
Prime subscribers get Alexa+ for free. It costs $20 per month for those who don’t have Prime. While I wouldn’t sign up for Prime just on Alexa+’s early merits, we’ll have a better idea if it’s worth it as these delayed features roll out.
The post Early Access Alexa+ Is Here, and It’s Only a Half-Promise Half-Fulfilled appeared first on VICE.
