Amazon's Alexa Plus: AI Upgrade Leaves Early Echo Devices Behind

Amazon's Alexa Plus upgrade skips most Echo devices -- Is yours included?

Amazon dropped a game-changer today with Alexa Plus, a generative AI overhaul of its virtual assistant that promises to outsmart its predecessors with dynamic responses and conversational finesse. Unveiled at the latest Alexa event, this isn't your old Alexa -- it can generate answers, chat naturally, and remember your preferences mid-conversation, aiming to close the gap with rivals like Siri and Google Assistant. Gone are the days of stiff, scripted replies. Alexa Plus can handle a back-and-forth -- like planning a weekend from start to finish -- while keeping context intact. Amazon's betting on this AI leap to redefine smart home interactions, pairing it with a slick new Echo Show UI for visual punch. But there's a snag: when Alexa Plus rolls out next month, it's exclusive to a shortlist of Echo Show devices with screens. Here's who makes the cut: Amazon's prioritizing these models to flex Alexa Plus's visual tricks -- like pulling up recipes or video call prompts alongside voice commands. "The Echo Show lineup is our starting point for this early access phase," an Amazon spokesperson confirmed, hinting at potential expansion to other Echo devices later. That leaves fan favorites like the Echo Dot (5th Gen), Echo (4th Gen), and Echo Pop on the sidelines -- for now. Amazon's broader vision includes smarter home controls -- think "set the vibe" instead of toggling switches -- per event details and web reports. Beta testers on X call the AI "scary good" but note occasional hiccups in memory retention. For now, Alexa Plus lands in March, firmware updates pending, on just the Show 8, 10, 15, and 21. If your Echo's off the list, don't despair -- Amazon's history suggests wider access could follow a successful debut. Check your setup: only these four are stepping into Alexa's AI future right out the gate.

Alexa Plus leaves behind Amazon's earliest Echo devices

Wes Davis is a weekend editor who covers the latest in tech and entertainment. He has written news, reviews, and more as a tech journalist since 2020. Amazon is bringing the new AI-powered Alexa Plus to a wide range of its existing Echo devices -- but the upgrade will skip many of the earliest models. The majority of the company's first-generation Echos won't get support, according to the Alexa Plus FAQ page, though Amazon says they will continue to work with the standard Alexa. Alexa Plus won't support "certain older generation Echo devices," such as the first-generation Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Plus, Echo Tap, Echo Spot, and Echo Show; the second-generation Echo Show won't support it, either. Amazon spokesperson Kristy Schmidt confirmed that is the full list of devices. If so, that still leaves many early Echo devices that will work with Alexa Plus. That means I'll be able to ask Alexa to book a restaurant reservation through my Echo Flex, the quirky modular Echo speaker that plugs straight into a wall outlet. And people can still get an AI-generated song piped through speakers they've connected their microphone-only Echo Inputs to. And if you have an ancient first- or- second-gen Echo Show 15 or newer Echo Hub, those will apparently get access to the AI-enhanced Alexa, too. Schmidt confirmed that each of those will be compatible. Perhaps it's a bummer that some of those other older Echo devices won't use AI to book reservations, track ticket prices, or generate fake songs for you. But at least they'll still be able to do the old Alexa stuff, like turn on your lights or tell you the weather. And given rumors about the struggle Amazon has had getting Alexa Plus to work right, that might be a good thing, at least for a while.