Amazons devices head ditched the Echo in his living room for a smart TV

▤ Summary

Since Amazon unveiled its Alexa voice assistant in 2014, the company has worked to embed the technology in as many devices as it can, from microwaves and thermostats to ear buds and wall plugs. Amazon is doubling down on TVs at a time when CEO Andy Jassy has moved aggressively to cut costs, resulting in the largest layoffs in company history, a corporate hiring freeze and several canceled projects. A portion of the layoffs, which are expected to total 27,000 employees, landed in Limps organization, which oversees the development of products such as Alexa, Echo smart speakers and Kindle e-readers. Since its launch in 2014, Amazon has made big investments in Alexa and assigned top talent to grow the technology, largely at the direction of founder Jeff Bezos, who saw voice as key to how people would interact with computers in the future. Rather than being used for shopping lists, ordering groceries and setting schedules, what if Echo owners limit their use to basic functions like alarm clocks, timers and weather updates?

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