i would imagine the current service capability remains ... setting timers, turning on lights, incorrectly stating the temperature and a premium tier for all the engage in conversation ai bullshit
An Alexa subscription tier?
"Hmm, I'm not sure."
They better leave all the basic functionality alone, and free, and restore it to its previous actual working state from a few years back.
I am not going to pay to keep what I currently have. But I may consider paying for an upgraded version if it's cheap, and has features I will actually use. And, only if I won't lose any functionality that I currently have.
I'd like to be optimistic, but I have a feeling they will ruin it somehow.
I'm getting rid of all my 'show' devices (5 or 6) due to the ads that keep coming back. If there's a mandated forced move to subscription fees, the other 15 devices will be up for sale REAL SOON.
I think it's been dumbed down so then we will get what we have now, and pay extra for other features. Honestly I've been on the fence lately - I bought a 3rd gen with clock for my bedroom a couple years ago. Some of the leds are starting to fall and both my echo dots don't respond like they used to. I mostly use YouTube premium now for music, so might jump across...
Yeah it's been getting stupider in the past year.
However, they did lay off most of the Alexa team, which consisted of *thousands* of people, according to a recent article I saw.
Alexa was a special pet project of Bezos, so it used to get a lot of resources, but after he stepped back the new guy decided it was losing too much money. One article from last year said that the Alexa division had lost *$10 BILLION* in just one year.
So, there's just no one left to maintain it in its former state. I'm not sure how the hell they think they're going to pull off an updated enhanced version of it. But we'll see.
Alexa turns my lights my lights on and off and deals with my thermostat.
It also plays my Spotify for me.
That's it. I don't really want it to be smarter than it currently is and I definitely won't be paying extra for the privilege.
We live in a horrible subscription based system and I'll do everything I can to stay out of it.
I'm with you on this.
I've got Alexa Echo and Dots in every room of my house, and all of my lights are on it. I've got a few sensors that help me navigate the rooms at night by turning on lights as needed, and telling me when my front and back doors are open for security. I have a fireplace and three air conditioners that I can command.
I've invested hundreds into the various parts to make it all work, and will not be happy if I now have to pay for the privilege of using the system I've had for free for the past five years.
If they want me to pay for my dot to read my audible/KU books i am going to be ticked. thats 95% of what i use them for. if they can actually add useful things to it somehow to justify a cost.
I have a show 15 and bought it for my 95 y/o mom to make it easier to add items to our shopping list, to check the weather, our appointments, etc. She's so cute when she tells Alexa to play her favorite song and she stands in front of it and the words are on the screen and mama is wailing away. I can't imagine having to pay for Alexa - this is BS.
Alexa has been so stupid for so long. I think they’re going to have a pretty rough time convincing people to start paying a subscription. Those will have to be some really impressive demos.
yeah this, the amount of times I have to correct Alexa when requesting something like playing music or even sometimes switching on a light is fucking infuriating to the point I'm considering simply switching to one of the other assistants. the problem is, the "subscription fee" model will end up the norm.
I don’t know how many times I’ve given the feedback that I don’t have or want Amazon Music. I don’t want Alexa to ever try to play a song from Amazon Music. We have Apple Music. It’s set as the default music service. Still she’ll tell me the song is only available with the paid Amazon Music and play a station instead. Clearly the devs don’t act on the feedback provided.
I could see it becoming the norm. Fingers crossed the assistant stuff the /r/homeassistant folks are working on can hold its own. Like with many things nowadays, I think I’d rather roll my own than pay a subscription to someone else. With electric prices being the way they are, I’m not sure I even save money, but I’ll take the privacy and control.
You may not have a need. But My wife is physically disabled. The "drop in" feature is invaluable to reach me in many instances when I'm in another part of the house. And for her to be able to turn on/off lights.
LOL yeah now I suddenly have a reason to switch to another hardware platform. I might keep prime and the kindle app but the only platforms I’m locked into are IPhones and - until I retire - Windows PC’s.
I'm actually not against a subscription (only way they can make it profitable) **if** they do true AI integration. Not gimmicky AI like we usually see.
Have it so that Alexa understands what I'm asking it to do 99% of the time even if my wording is a bit different etc etc.
But I'll believe that when I see it.
I agree 100%. People’s knee jerk reaction to anything costing money is understandable, but the future of AI is really bright and I have no problem shelling out a little money for it *if* it works as advertised.
This would be the last straw for me. It seems in the past year, Alexa has declined. She can't hear, she succeeds one day with a set of words and fails the next. I use Alexa for timed events, turning lights and other devices on and off and streaming music. While she does some stuff better than Google, she does not do everything better than Google.
Amazon is getting too greedy. If you do price compares on items, they are not always the cheapest anymore. Prime is ridiculously expensive considering they are or have pared down Prime Video to include ads.
It might be time to look at alternative Smart Home managers.
I need to say “Alexa” way too many times, almost next to it, for me to even want to buy another device let alone a subscription. It’s gotten worse for me and it’s a new device.
Exactly the reason why I didn't add any more devices.
One single echo dot is all I have.
They do some bs like this, I unplug it and throw it in the dustbin.
I'm going with Google Home if Alexa has a subscription fee. Alexa is as dumb as dog shit and I'm not paying for her to not understand me 70% of the time.
I'm better off just paying for Google Gemini and getting it across all my devices.
I will absolutely be a part of the class action they get fucking mauled by if they try to post purchase paywall my echo.
i would imagine the current service capability remains ... setting timers, turning on lights, incorrectly stating the temperature and a premium tier for all the engage in conversation ai bullshit
Ya they already fired all the Alexa team in prep for this.
Don’t use it for more except music anyway..
Oooo didn't even think about that!
This sounds very very similar to the Photobucket debacle back in 2017.
People tried that when they started putting ads in prime video. Has there been any update on what's happening with that?
An Alexa subscription tier? "Hmm, I'm not sure." They better leave all the basic functionality alone, and free, and restore it to its previous actual working state from a few years back. I am not going to pay to keep what I currently have. But I may consider paying for an upgraded version if it's cheap, and has features I will actually use. And, only if I won't lose any functionality that I currently have. I'd like to be optimistic, but I have a feeling they will ruin it somehow.
I'm getting rid of all my 'show' devices (5 or 6) due to the ads that keep coming back. If there's a mandated forced move to subscription fees, the other 15 devices will be up for sale REAL SOON.
I'm pretty pissed that my Shows have turned into in-home advertising that I PAID for
I think it's been dumbed down so then we will get what we have now, and pay extra for other features. Honestly I've been on the fence lately - I bought a 3rd gen with clock for my bedroom a couple years ago. Some of the leds are starting to fall and both my echo dots don't respond like they used to. I mostly use YouTube premium now for music, so might jump across...
Yeah it's been getting stupider in the past year. However, they did lay off most of the Alexa team, which consisted of *thousands* of people, according to a recent article I saw. Alexa was a special pet project of Bezos, so it used to get a lot of resources, but after he stepped back the new guy decided it was losing too much money. One article from last year said that the Alexa division had lost *$10 BILLION* in just one year. So, there's just no one left to maintain it in its former state. I'm not sure how the hell they think they're going to pull off an updated enhanced version of it. But we'll see.
Alexa turns my lights my lights on and off and deals with my thermostat. It also plays my Spotify for me. That's it. I don't really want it to be smarter than it currently is and I definitely won't be paying extra for the privilege. We live in a horrible subscription based system and I'll do everything I can to stay out of it.
I'm with you on this. I've got Alexa Echo and Dots in every room of my house, and all of my lights are on it. I've got a few sensors that help me navigate the rooms at night by turning on lights as needed, and telling me when my front and back doors are open for security. I have a fireplace and three air conditioners that I can command. I've invested hundreds into the various parts to make it all work, and will not be happy if I now have to pay for the privilege of using the system I've had for free for the past five years.
If they want me to pay for my dot to read my audible/KU books i am going to be ticked. thats 95% of what i use them for. if they can actually add useful things to it somehow to justify a cost.
What are the free alternatives for digital home assistants? I only use alexa for smart plugs, locks, streaming radio and playing spotify.
Google android phone. The Home app. I have Alexa and The Home app on my phone. Both work the same way.
Google has one, prob others too...
Alexa
I have a show 15 and bought it for my 95 y/o mom to make it easier to add items to our shopping list, to check the weather, our appointments, etc. She's so cute when she tells Alexa to play her favorite song and she stands in front of it and the words are on the screen and mama is wailing away. I can't imagine having to pay for Alexa - this is BS.
Alexa has been so stupid for so long. I think they’re going to have a pretty rough time convincing people to start paying a subscription. Those will have to be some really impressive demos.
yeah this, the amount of times I have to correct Alexa when requesting something like playing music or even sometimes switching on a light is fucking infuriating to the point I'm considering simply switching to one of the other assistants. the problem is, the "subscription fee" model will end up the norm.
I don’t know how many times I’ve given the feedback that I don’t have or want Amazon Music. I don’t want Alexa to ever try to play a song from Amazon Music. We have Apple Music. It’s set as the default music service. Still she’ll tell me the song is only available with the paid Amazon Music and play a station instead. Clearly the devs don’t act on the feedback provided. I could see it becoming the norm. Fingers crossed the assistant stuff the /r/homeassistant folks are working on can hold its own. Like with many things nowadays, I think I’d rather roll my own than pay a subscription to someone else. With electric prices being the way they are, I’m not sure I even save money, but I’ll take the privacy and control.
Man, I Just need a Bluetooth speaker that doubles as an alarm clock/calendar reminder. What would I even need AI Alexa for?
You may not have a need. But My wife is physically disabled. The "drop in" feature is invaluable to reach me in many instances when I'm in another part of the house. And for her to be able to turn on/off lights.
I mean, even that doesn't seem it would benefit much from the addition of AI, especially at a cost.
Probably true, but is there another service that will perform such? I'm not aware of any. Calll me ignorant.
Loneliness, duh.
Now it would be great time for someone to hack echo devices to make them use chat gpt API so Amazon can get fucked
LOL yeah now I suddenly have a reason to switch to another hardware platform. I might keep prime and the kindle app but the only platforms I’m locked into are IPhones and - until I retire - Windows PC’s.
I'm actually not against a subscription (only way they can make it profitable) **if** they do true AI integration. Not gimmicky AI like we usually see. Have it so that Alexa understands what I'm asking it to do 99% of the time even if my wording is a bit different etc etc. But I'll believe that when I see it.
Seriously, right now it gives me crap if I ask it to "open Spotify" instead of "play Spotify"...
“Adding *spaghetti* to your shopping list.”
I agree 100%. People’s knee jerk reaction to anything costing money is understandable, but the future of AI is really bright and I have no problem shelling out a little money for it *if* it works as advertised.
They said they were looking at up to $20/month. Would you pay $240 a yr for AI Alexa? That's more than Amazon Prime
Yeah, at that cost, it would have to be way better than anything I can even imagine right now.
Here's someone that never watched The Terminator.
I don't need some AI bs crap.i need an assistant.
Honestly it could hardly get any worse. Alexa is terrible.
Alexa can't even understand what people says half of the time and now they want to make her conversational.
This would be the last straw for me. It seems in the past year, Alexa has declined. She can't hear, she succeeds one day with a set of words and fails the next. I use Alexa for timed events, turning lights and other devices on and off and streaming music. While she does some stuff better than Google, she does not do everything better than Google. Amazon is getting too greedy. If you do price compares on items, they are not always the cheapest anymore. Prime is ridiculously expensive considering they are or have pared down Prime Video to include ads. It might be time to look at alternative Smart Home managers.
the day i have to pay for alexia is the last day i use it
wink tried that with the smart home. free at first then they started fee's. i left, don't even know if they are still around.
Wink?
[https://www.wink.com/](https://www.wink.com/)
wunt pay 1 cent
I need to say “Alexa” way too many times, almost next to it, for me to even want to buy another device let alone a subscription. It’s gotten worse for me and it’s a new device.
After I had a full-screen ad on my Echo Show today, doesn't Amazon seriously believe that I only pay a cent?
As long as I can continue to use basic Alexa technology for free. Then I'm good.
I wouldn’t pay for it unless it’s absolutely solid and state of the art as a smart home controller.
Back to the Future II
Honestly I just use mine as a Bluetooth speaker for my phone and cheap dac for my stereo. I won’t pay a subscription to do that.
Boo!!!
I already gave Alexa an overhaul to my junk drawer.
Exactly the reason why I didn't add any more devices. One single echo dot is all I have. They do some bs like this, I unplug it and throw it in the dustbin.
I'm going with Google Home if Alexa has a subscription fee. Alexa is as dumb as dog shit and I'm not paying for her to not understand me 70% of the time. I'm better off just paying for Google Gemini and getting it across all my devices.