Amazon Set to Unveil Next-Gen Alexa and New Devices at February Event

Everything you need to know about Amazon's February devices event

Amazon is about to announce some new devices, but the software inside the devices might be the star of the show. The e-commerce company sent press invites to an event on Feb. 26 hosted by SVP Panos Panay and Amazon's Devices & Services team for some big announcements. The event, which starts at 10 a.m. ET that day (but won't be livestreamed) seems like it should focus on hardware, right? Well, yes and no. Let's dig into it. The first thing to know about this event is that, per Engadget, Amazon sent out five separate invites to the press, which, when combined, spelled out "Alexa." That's the first clue that this event will potentially be more about software than hardware. Amazon has been working hard on an overhauled, AI-powered version of Alexa for a while now. It was supposed to launch in 2024, but that didn't happen. Instead, it got delayed into 2025. The new Alexa should theoretically be more conversational and capable of more specific and granular commands. However, reports from beta users indicated that the AI version of Alexa had trouble executing basic smart-home commands like turning lights on or off and would hallucinate answers to questions. That's not ideal. Hopefully, Amazon has ironed those problems out and doesn't run into the same problem Google did with its Super Bowl commercial. A new version of Alexa most likely means new devices that support it, and that's where this becomes a de facto devices event. Amazon hasn't updated the Echo smart speaker brand in a minute, so that feels likely to show up here. Per Engadget, Amazon's Echo Buds brand of budget-friendly earbuds could also get a refresh, but that's not certain. You shouldn't expect Kindles because Amazon released some new ones at the very end of 2024. So, in review, we're more than likely getting a new version of Alexa, with some Echo smart speakers that support it.

What to expect at Amazon's February event: Alexa 2.0, new Echos, and Fire TV upgrades

Amazon is planning a Devices and Services event at the end of the month, where it's expected to make some major announcements. Here's what we know so far. Amazon has been focused on bringing generative AI to Alexa for the past few years, hitting multiple delays in launching new features that the company first announced in September 2023. The deferred Alexa 2.0 seems poised for a 2025 release, as evidenced by the surprise Devices and Services event Amazon is hosting at the end of the month. Amid rumors of Alexa 2.0 shortcomings, Amazon skipped its 2024 Devices and Services event, where the company typically announces new Alexa features and hardware devices. Now, the company plans to host an Amazon Alexa-themed event, where it is expected to unveil the voice assistant's generative AI features and finally put an ETA on its launch. Also: 5 ways AI can help with your taxes - and 10 major mistakes to avoid The event, which will take place on Feb. 26 in New York City, will be Panos Panay's first since joining the Devices and Services division after his Microsoft exit. But aside from new Alexa features, Amazon could be preparing to launch other devices. This is expected to be the main event during the Devices and Services announcements at the end of February. During the last Devices and Services event, Amazon executive Dave Limp announced a gen AI-powered Alexa coming to an Echo device near you. Also: This app makes using Ollama local AI on MacOS devices so easy This Alexa 2.0 featured a more natural cadence in its replies, could handle multiple prompts in a session, and would generate content instead of providing a canned answer to questions. It would also feature greater customization power to remember user preferences (perhaps like ChatGPT's Memory) for more productive user interactions. But Amazon said little about the new Alexa after the event, with information released only through rumors that the company was repeatedly forced to delay its gen AI launch due to deficient performance. When the company skipped last year's event and then sent out invitations to an event for Feb. 26, the logical speculation is that this is the dawn of Alexa 2.0. While Alexa dominates the US market for virtual assistants, preferred by two-thirds of Americans, it's also recently fallen behind other assistants, including Google and, most recently, Siri. The release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in recent years triggered a tidal wave of generative AI that pushed other virtual assistants ashore, while Alexa appears to have sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Also: Security firm discovers DeepSeek has 'direct links' to Chinese government servers ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot powered by OpenAI's technologies, Google Assistant powered by Gemini, and Siri powered by Apple LLMs and OpenAI have all become the go-to generative AI virtual assistants in the past 2.5 years. While their road to do so has been riddled with obstacles and delays, they've all gotten there sooner or later -- except for Amazon's Alexa. Amazon is rumored to have a 'go, no-go' session on Feb. 14, 12 days before the event, to make a final decision on the launch. Amazon's Alexa 2.0 is expected to work behind a subscription service that would range from $5 to $10 monthly. While this has been rumored for about a year, word is that Amazon is planning to introduce the upgraded Alexa for free to a limited number of users. Also: OpenAI's o3-mini now lets you see the AI's thought process The 'Classic Alexa' will still be available for users who prefer not to pay the monthly fee, though it's unsure how long Amazon plans to maintain the current version. While Amazon skipped its large-scale Devices and Services event last year, it still released several new devices from October through December of 2024, including the largest Echo Show ever -- the 21-inch model. Amazon also released a new Echo Show 15, its first-ever color Kindle, the Kindle Colorsoft, a new Kindle Scribe, a Fire TV Stick HD, and a new Fire HD 8 tablet. Also: Mistral's AI chatbot comes to iOS and Android - here's why you should try it While this is already a full lineup of devices, Amazon could still launch some new hardware during its February 2025 event. Amazon could debut new Echo speakers, like an improved Amazon Echo overdue for an upgrade, or a new smart display designed to take advantage of the new generative AI-powered Alexa. The summer of 2024 also saw the launch of the Echo Spot, a new smart speaker with a small screen that revives the clock radio. While most of the focus for the Amazon Devices and Services events is on Alexa, we could see some Fire TV upgrades coming to Amazon's lineup of smart TV devices. Amazon announced the Fire TV Omni Mini-LED series of smart TVs last November, as well as a new Soundbar Plus Series and upgraded 4-Series. While I'm not expecting a new lineup of Fire TV panels, I could see Amazon releasing new generative AI capabilities for existing Fire TVs or revamping its older Fire TV Sticks.

Amazon is holding a devices event on February 26

Amazon is set to show off some new stuff later this month. The company has scheduled a devices event for February 26 in New York City. The company's hardware chief, Panos Panay, and his devices and services team will be on hand. The event will start at 10AM ET. The event invitation that Amazon sent to the media doesn't give much away. It includes the date, the Amazon smile/arrow logo and a tagline that reads "See what's next." Some swoopy blue lines are in the background. It hasn't been too long since Amazon refreshed the Kindle lineup, so it seems a little unlikely that we'll see new e-readers from the company later this month. Instead, Amazon may finally be ready to spill the beans about the long-gestating next-gen Alexa, which it reportedly planned to reveal last October before a delay. The head of Amazon's artificial general intelligence said in January that the company had been dealing with technical difficulties, such as incorrect or false results that tend to be an issue for generative AIs. If, indeed, the next-gen Alexa is the focal point of the event, Amazon may have new audio gear to show off. As such, new Echo speakers and Echo Buds could be on the agenda. We might also learn just how much Amazon plans to charge for a subscription to this turbocharged version of Alexa.

Amazon announces hardware event for Feb. 26 as it races to release new Alexa

An attendee operates the new Amazon Echo device.Daniel Berman | Bloomberg | Getty Images Amazon announced Wednesday it will hold a product event on Feb. 26 in New York City, where the company is expected to provide a long-awaited update on its Alexa digital assistant. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the event will include news from its Alexa team. Panos Panay, Amazon's senior vice president of devices and services, will also be in attendance, according to invites sent to media. Amazon has been racing to release a new version of its voice-activated Alexa software that has more advanced artificial intelligence capabilities. It's responding to increased competition in generative AI from rivals like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini and Microsoft's Copilot, as well as Claude, the chatbot created by AI startup Anthropic, which has raised billions of dollars from Amazon and other investors. Amazon executives have scheduled a "Go/No-go" meeting for Feb. 14 in preparation for releasing the souped-up Alexa to the public, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The company first previewed a redesigned Alexa in 2023, showing off a live conversation between an Amazon executive and the voice assistant as part of a yet-to-be-released feature called Let's Chat. Amazon shared few details following that event about further Alexa updates, and it didn't hold its typical fall event in 2024, at which it typically announces new products. CNBC reported last year Amazon was preparing to revamp Alexa with AI features, and that it would charge a monthly subscription fee to offset the cost of the technology. In October, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told investors the new Alexa could launch "in the near future," adding that the company is working to "rearchitect the brain of Alexa with a new set of foundation models." Jassy has been on a campaign to cut costs across Amazon since late 2022, and the company's devices and services unit, which includes Alexa, has been hit by several rounds of layoffs. Since its launch in 2014, Alexa hasn't shaped up to be the money maker Amazon anticipated. While hundreds of millions of customers have Alexa-enabled devices in their homes, Amazon has struggled to monetize the products. The company has traditionally launched devices at extremely cheap prices with the goal of promoting its other products and services. That idea hasn't been as successful as Amazon hoped, and the company has lost tens of billions of dollars on its devices business, The Wall Street Journal reported.