Amazon Alexa is one of the most popular digital assistants currently on the market and it's about to reach smartwatches, headphones, fitness trackers, and more wearables this year.
Alexa-powered smart speakers are already widely popular, but Amazon wants to expand to new horizons and make its digital assistant more ubiquitous. The company's latest plans will deliver Alexa on the go, tapping into the wearable scene.
Amazon Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit
To widen the reach of Alexa, Amazon introduced a new Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit, designed to integrate the digital assistant into a lot more devices. At the same time, the kit should also make it easier for device makers to add Alexa support to their wearables.
"A new way to bring Alexa to portable, on-the-go devices such as hearables, headphones, smart watches, fitness devices, and more," says Amazon, describing its new Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit. "The kit enables OEMs to add Alexa to their devices with minimum investment in hardware or integration efforts."
Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit Benefits
As Amazon points out, OEMs no longer have to handle most of the coding themselves in order to integrate Alexa into their devices. The Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit will take care of it, making things far easier and more seamless. Devices that support Bluetooth audio and are built with this kit will be able to instantly connect to the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) on the user's mobile phone, via the Amazon Alexa app for iOS and Android.
Moreover, users who rely on the Alexa app to connect their mobile devices can also take advantage of various features AVS has to offer, including smart home features, media streaming, Alexa skills, weather updates, and more.
Alexa On The Go
The Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit itself doesn't bring any new features to the table, but it does streamline the whole creation process for Alexa-enabled hardware. In turn, this should help Alexa reach a lot more products this year, and even more in the years to come.
Since Amazon mentions Bluetooth and audio capabilities, the Alexa experience on wearable devices will likely target a hands-free experience. Amazon has yet to offer a more specific timeframe for when Alexa-enabled wearables will become available, but interested developers who want to try out the new Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit can sign up to receive notifications about the service when more details become available.
The new Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit follows Amazon's AVS Device SDK launch from last year, which enabled device makers to offer connected devices with Alexa integration. Amazon describes the new kit as an alternative solution for those who are looking for an easier, lighter solution to build on-the-go devices and experiences.
