Amazon Focuses on Alexa Privacy as It Unveils New Gadgets

Amazon defended the privacy features of its Alexa digital assistant and introduced some new tools to reassure users, according to Bloomberg. “We care about this,“ Dave Limp, leader of the company’s devices business, said Wednesday at Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. “Privacy is absolutely foundational to everything that we do in and around Alexa,“

Limp’s privacy pitch was unusual for a company most comfortable talking up product features and gushing about customers. But the e-commerce giant’s need for the trust of its users became clear as Limp introduced dozens of products and services designed to extend Alexa’s reach into more areas of. The executive also introduced updated versions of Amazon’s mainline Echo and Echo Dot smart speakers, and a beefed up version, the Echo Studio, aimed at music lovers.

The company introduced a new model of the best-selling Echo Dot with a visual clock built in, and a high-end speaker to rival Apple’s HomePod, Google Home Max and Sonos speakers, called Echo Studio. A new Echo Show speaker comes with an 8-inch screen, adding to a line that already includes 5-inch and 10-inch displays. The Echo Flex, meantime, is a new category of the smart speaker that plugs directly into a wall outlet, unlike other Echo devices, which connect to outlets through a cable. The beefed-up Echo Studio, aimed at music lovers, costs $200 and comes with 3D audio.

Beyond tweaks to its Echo lineup, Amazon redoubled its efforts to take Alexa on the road, launching ear buds, eyeglasses, and even a ring that come equipped with the digital assistant. Limp’s roughly 90-minute presentation suggested there is hardly a corner of the high tech industry safe from Amazon’s desires for Alexa or its other products, from software for schools to a new Wi-Fi Mesh Router, and integration with GM cars and trucks.

Amazon added a smart oven with an air fryer to its portfolio. Last year, the company announced its Alexa Microwave and said it quickly became the most popular microwave sold on Amazon.com. The new smart oven integrates with Alexa and will include an Echo Dot so users don’t need extra devices to make it work with voice control.