I’ve done some research on the new edition of Alexa, “Alexa +”, because I thought I might want to purchase it and found this:
Alexa+ costs $19.99 per month, but all Amazon Prime members will get it for free. Alexa+ is the newest Prime benefit, building on the tremendous value members were already enjoying, including record-fast delivery speeds and free delivery on more than 300 million items—tens of millions which can be delivered the same or next day—exclusive deals and shopping events like Prime Day, entertainment like Prime Video and Amazon Music, as well as savings on groceries, prescription medication, gas, and Grubhub+. Prime is a better value than ever.
I use Alexa to turn lights on and off and to answer quick questions like the date, the temperature, the weather, etc. I would never do business transactions over Alexa, so it sounds like I don’t need a lot of the stuff they are touting as amazing advancements. I am a member of Prime, but the monthly fee seems pretty hefty for a device like that.
Would love opinions from anyone who has it already. Also opinions on the pros and cons, etc, would be appreciated.
It seems like the main feature is that it is AI-integrated, so acts more like a Chat-GPT type of thing, but it’s still in early access mode, so, unfortunately, I don’t have access to it yet. I have Prime, so I’ll be getting it and, to be honest, I am mildly excited by it, as I’d like to interact with it more in an AI style (I have a GPT $20/mo subscription and sometimes do voice interaction with it.) I suspect for some people this will be a turn-off, though. But as it is, Alexa has difficulty understanding me properly a lot of the time unless I use the exact phrasing (or near enough) she’s expecting. I hope this improves on that. My other wish is they stop her annoying “By the way, did you know” at the end of what feels like every second prompt touting some skill she has that I don’t care about.
Thank you! If it’s not too much trouble, it would be great if you could comment on it after you get it and start using it. I also agree on the “by the way” stuff. It happens a lot.
I use my Echo devices for streaming radio, the sleep timer, an alarm, various other times, checking the weather, controlling some lights, etc. It does what I need.
Sometimes when I’m bored I ask her inane questions, probing for easter eggs, like giving half a famous quote to see if she responds with the other half. Or asking things like that’s your favorite color?
I like that the current implementation is effectively session-less, in that the results from those inane things don’t seem to carry over to future interactions. AI based models are much more apt to have a longer threshold of ‘memory’, which I very much do not want.
Hopefully it’ll be an option, and not forced on us. I want to use AI when I want it, not all the time.
Thank you for your informative comments! My Alexa is very old. It was gifted to me by my uncle only months after it was first released. It’s showing its age. Sometimes it doesn’t respond, and I have to raise my voice and speak slower as if its “ears” were going bad. I may have to replace it at some point whether I want to or not.
Yeah, you should check the compatibility list. I know one of my first generation Echo Dots will not play with Plus. But they’re pretty inexpensive these days.
That pretty much sums up how we use Alexa, with the addition of the Drop-In function when my husband is in his workshop - saves me a walk across the yard. When the grands spend the night, they play a sleep music channel. I also used the reminder function when I do laundry, since I can’t hear the washer or dryer in the basement - I get a reminder in 45 or 50 minutes to “check the laundry.” Oh, and it reminds me at 7 every evening to take my meds.
But Plus doesn’t sound like anything I’d want. I don’t order from Amazon all that much, but when I do, it’s after shopping around before choosing, and since I’m shopping on my PC, I order on my PC.
The fact that mine will occasionally respond to something I’m saying over the phone despite the fact that I didn’t come remotely close to saying “Alexa” makes that a valid concern for sure.
He’ll, Apple just settled a suit for that for Siri. (I personally don’t care, but applied for some of that sweet settlement money at up to $20/device up to five. Hey, better than nothing.)