How the Amazon Echo learned to talk — and listen

A photo of a black speaker, the Amazon Echo, on a gray background. | Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Jeff Bezos badly wanted a voice computer. He had been saying so publicly since the very early days of Amazon, telling anyone who would listen about why voice might make it easier and more natural to interact with technology. (And to buy stuff from Jeff Bezos.) But when a team at Amazon set out to actually make the voice computer a reality, they encountered a seemingly endless series of hard problems. Eventually, though, they created two products, the Echo speaker and the Alexa voice assistant, that would help bring a new kind of computer to millions of people.

On this episode of Version History, we tell the story of the Echo’s development i …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Read more @ TheVerge

Latest posts

Spotify just won $322 million from music pirates it can’t find

Spotify and the three major labels have won a $322 million default judgement against Anna's Archive, the open-source library and pirate activist group that...

Govee’s new LED Lightwall comes with its own self-standing frame

Govee has announced an upgraded version of its hanging Curtain Lights Pro that can instead be used nearly anywhere you have access to an...

DJI’s Osmo Pocket 4 camera is better at capturing slo-mo footage and photos

The Osmo Pocket 4 is better at shooting in low light situations with an improved sensor and new fill light accessory. | Image: DJI Following...

YouTube now lets you hide Shorts

You now have the power to remove short-form videos from your YouTube feed if you don’t want to see them. YouTube has rolled out...

Amazon MGM’s 2026 theatrical slate includes ‘Highlander’ and ‘Spaceballs: The New One’

Fresh off the box office success of Project Hail Mary, Amazon MGM Studios has announced its theatrical release lineup for the next year. Most...

Anthropic will ask Claude users to verify their identities ‘for a few use cases’

Anthropic has started rolling out identity verification on Claude “for a few use cases.” The company didn’t list out those use cases in its...

DJI Osmo Pocket 4 review: The only vlogging camera you’ll ever need

DJI’s Osmo Pocket 3 gimbal-camera was a category-defining camera. Two years since its launch, everyone from vloggers to pro film makers continue to upload...

Walmart’s new $60 Onn 4K Pro Google TV box is launching soon, here’s every detail

Ahead of its formal launch, Walmart’s new Onn 4K Pro Google TV box is starting to show up in stores and online, revealing all...

Apple and Google are reportedly pointing users to ‘nudify’ apps

Earlier this year it was revealed that Apple and Google were offering "nudify" apps on their stores despite having clear policies barring such content....

Opera adds Browser Connector for integrating AI chatbots

Opera is offering a new choice for looping in an AI assistant during browsing. Today, the company introduced Browser Connector, which allows Opera One...