Amazon Echo

The Amazon Fire TV Cube Is Another Alexa-Powered Curiosity

Amazon Fire TV has always been one of my favorite gadgets. The Amazon Echo, as I’ve previously explained, gives me pause. So when I heard that Amazon was combining Fire TV with Alexa capabilities to create a whole new device called the Amazon Fire TV Cube, my first thought seemed peculiar: Uh oh, people are…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jun 7

Amazon Confirms Alexa Heard a Couple’s Background Conversation as a Command to Record Them

Two weeks ago, a woman in Portland learned that her Amazon Echo device had recorded and sent a private conversation between her and her husband to one of his employees in Seattle without their knowledge. “Unplug your Alexa devices right now,” she says the employee told them, “You’re being hacked.” But the couple in Portland…

Commerce Melanie Ehrenkranz May 25

Google Just Turned a Huge Corner in the Smart Speaker Game

When Amazon launched the Echo back in late 2014, it kicked off one of the biggest trends in tech. Almost overnight, it seemed like every company wanted to get in on that sweet smart speaker action. However, largely because Amazon was first to market, the Echo has consistently been the top-selling smart speaker for the…

Tech News Sam Rutherford May 24

Amazon Knows That Alexa Is Laughing At You [Updated]

The insidious nature of technology is often marked by silent consequences like addiction, surveillance, and online harassment. But one ghost in the machine has become chillingly audible: Alexa is laughing at you. People are reporting that Amazon’s Echo devices have mysteriously started cackling at random, and the company has confirmed it’s working on the problem.…

Commerce Melanie Ehrenkranz Mar 7

How to Use Google Home or Amazon Echo to Control What’s on Your TV

Your smart speaker is getting smarter—and part of that involves taking over what’s on the big TV screen sat in the corner of your living room. You can buy Google Homes and Amazon Echos with screens built-in, but here’s how to use them with a separate display, whether you want to watch movies or see…

Gadgets David Nield Mar 1

How the HomePod Stacks Up Against Other Smart Speakers

It seems like every new wireless speaker on the market comes with a voice assistant now. Since 2014, when Amazon announced the Echo, the idea of a smart speaker has taken the gadget world by storm. Apple has finally thrown its hat into the ring with the release of the HomePod, leaving us to wonder…

Reviews Adam Clark Estes Feb 20

The House That Spied on Me

The reason I smartened up my house was to find out whether it would betray me.

Privacy & Security Kashmir Hill Feb 7

Alexa, Burn My House Down

If you thought Echos were only good for invading your privacy and enticing hackers, then boy do I have some news for you. Amazon just introduced a new addition to the Smart Home Skill API for Alexa: cooking. Your voice-controlled assistant could potentially be burning down your house in no time! Alexa’s new cooking capabilities…

Artificial Intelligence Adam Clark Estes Jan 4

Yes, Your Amazon Echo Is an Ad Machine

Did a loved one buy you an Amazon Echo over the holidays? Sorry about that. But now, in addition to well-founded fears about surveillance and security, you’ve got a new problem: ads. CNBC reports that Amazon is in discussions with huge companies that want to promote their goods on Echo devices. Proctor & Gamble as…

Commerce Adam Clark Estes Jan 2

The Google Home Max Almost Made My House Go Boom

The weird thing about picking up the Google Home Max is the weight. It’s only 11 pounds, but it feels heavy, the way speakers used to feel. So I feel like I smirked when I plugged it in, thinking, “This thing’s gonna be loud.” At top volume, the Google Home Max did not blow me…

Home Entertainment & Smart Home Adam Clark Estes Dec 21

Don’t Buy Anyone an Echo

Three years ago, we said the Echo was “the most innovative device Amazon’s made in years.” That’s still true. But you shouldn’t buy one. You shouldn’t buy one for your family. You definitely should not buy one for your friends. In fact, ignore any praise we’ve ever heaped onto smart speakers and voice-controlled assistants. They’re…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Dec 5

The Best Bluetooth Speaker Now Works With Alexa and It’s Amazing

When you’re a gadget blogger, your friends typically have a classic, back-pocket question around the holiday season: What should I get So-and-So as a gift? My most-used answer used to be the Boom, a Bluetooth speaker made by Ultimate Ears. This year is different. This year it’s the Blast, an Alexa-powered speaker made by angels…

Adam Clark Estes Nov 20

Amazon Echo Dot Vs. Google Home Mini: The Cheap Speaker Showdown

In the gadget-world, it’s cliché to compare something to The Jetsons. But when it comes to a cheap little box that you talk to and that answers your questions and that controls your entire home, the comparison is just too perfect. The $50 Amazon Echo Dot and the $50 Google Home Mini are two such…

Reviews Adam Clark Estes Nov 7

Amazon’s Echo Plus Gets Close to Giving Us the Easy Smart Home We Deserve

Despite what you may have read, the Amazon Echo was never a do-anything smart home device. Sure it could tell you about the weather and maybe control your lights, but it lacked the under-the-hood hub capabilities that could make all your connected devices work together. The new Amazon Echo Plus offers just that. I’m not…

Home Entertainment & Smart Home Adam Clark Estes Nov 6

Amazon Echo Has Come a Long Way Baby

The original Amazon Echo was an ugly black tube—a speaker meant to be set back in the corner, hidden from view. It was a cheap imitation of the computer from Star Trek. The new Amazon Echo is a much prettier device. It’s not suddenly faster or smarter, and your old Echo will do the exact…

Home Entertainment & Smart Home Alex Cranz Oct 28

It’s Hard Not to Love the Google Home Mini

It’s almost unfair that most of the world met our voice-controlled future in the form of an Amazon Echo. Sure, the gadget works, but damn is it ugly. The Google Home was better but still sort of silly-looking. That’s why the sleek, minimalist Google Home Mini feels like a revelation. This donut-sized device does almost…

Home Entertainment & Smart Home Adam Clark Estes Oct 12

Amazon Just Announced a Buttload of New Echo Gadgets [Updated]

It might not feel like it, but it’s been almost three years since the original Amazon Echo hit the scene.

Gadgets Sam Rutherford Sep 27

Amazon’s Next Alexa Device Is… a Pair of Smart Glasses?

When it comes to smart speakers, Amazon’s Alexa is already out to a big lead. But with refreshed Home speakers coming from Google not to mention Apple, Sonos, and others soon to be joining the fray with their own sound systems featuring built-in digital assistants, Amazon has no time to rest on its laurels. To…

Gadgets Sam Rutherford Sep 20

Whole Foods Is Now Selling ‘Farm Fresh’ Amazon Echoes

Ever wonder what Amazon would do when its purchase of Whole Foods finally won regulators’ approval? Well, we finally know. The Jeff Bezos show is now selling Amazon Echoes in the Whole Foods produce section. They’re the “Pick of the Season,” too! Just a few minutes after 8am, when Whole Foods stores opened on the…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Aug 28

How to Make Your Own Smart Speaker

If you like the idea of the Amazon Echo, the Google Home, or the Apple HomePod, but you’d rather not spend any money on any of them, would prefer to control as many of the variables as possible, or just want something fun to do over the weekend you can build one at home for…

Gadgets David Nield Jul 1

The Amazon Fire TV Cube Is Another Alexa-Powered Curiosity

Amazon Confirms Alexa Heard a Couple’s Background Conversation as a Command to Record Them

Google Just Turned a Huge Corner in the Smart Speaker Game

Amazon Knows That Alexa Is Laughing At You [Updated]

How to Use Google Home or Amazon Echo to Control What’s on Your TV

How the HomePod Stacks Up Against Other Smart Speakers

The House That Spied on Me

Alexa, Burn My House Down

Yes, Your Amazon Echo Is an Ad Machine

The Google Home Max Almost Made My House Go Boom

Don’t Buy Anyone an Echo

The Best Bluetooth Speaker Now Works With Alexa and It’s Amazing

Amazon Echo Dot Vs. Google Home Mini: The Cheap Speaker Showdown

Amazon’s Echo Plus Gets Close to Giving Us the Easy Smart Home We Deserve

Amazon Echo Has Come a Long Way Baby

It’s Hard Not to Love the Google Home Mini

Amazon Just Announced a Buttload of New Echo Gadgets [Updated]

Amazon’s Next Alexa Device Is… a Pair of Smart Glasses?

Whole Foods Is Now Selling ‘Farm Fresh’ Amazon Echoes

How to Make Your Own Smart Speaker

ICE Reportedly Acknowledges Its Use of Notorious Graphite Spyware

Intel Jumps On Board Elon Musk’s Terafab Chipmaking Project

Anthropic’s New Model Is So Scarily Powerful It Won’t Be Released, Anthropic Says

Musk Asks Court to Give Potential Winnings in OpenAI Suit to OpenAI’s Nonprofit

Pro-Iran Hackers Target Critical U.S. Energy and Water Infrastructure

‘She-Hulk’ Was Apparently One of Marvel’s Most Successful Shows

The World’s First Eye-Tracking Smart Glasses Are Intriguing and Unpolished

Noah Hawley Is Remaking ‘Terrified,’ Which Shouldn’t Happen

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