Rumor: Amazon launches Alexa devices for telephony

Amazon may want to introduce new Alexa devices this year that will allow users to have conversations with each other. The device must serve as a kind of intercom between several users.

Recode reports citing sources that it is not yet certain whether it is more than one device that can fulfill this function, but that beta testing is currently underway within Amazon. One of its functions is to “initiate a phone call using a voice command,” the site says. Amazon is expected to make an official announcement in the coming months.

Details about the exact functioning of the system are still missing, for example whether users can synchronize their own telephone and contacts or whether the device has its own number. According to Recode, the new feature would encourage people to use Alexa devices, such as the Echo speaker, more often. Although there are more and more ‘skills’, or integrations, for the speech assistant, research would show that these are used very little.

Furthermore, there would be talk of the development of an Alexa device with a camera. The voice assistant is used by many manufacturers in a variety of products, as shown at this year’s CES electronics show.

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