{"id":125309,"date":"2019-04-05T10:03:47","date_gmt":"2019-04-05T07:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ww-vb.mine.nu\/w108\/amazons-plan-to-rival-airpods-is-about-more-than-selling-you-earphones\/"},"modified":"2019-04-05T10:03:47","modified_gmt":"2019-04-05T07:03:47","slug":"amazons-plan-to-rival-airpods-is-about-more-than-selling-you-earphones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/amazons-plan-to-rival-airpods-is-about-more-than-selling-you-earphones\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon’s plan to rival AirPods is about more than selling you earphones"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Bloomberg reports<\/a> that Amazon is working on wireless earphones, similar to Apple\u2019s recently refreshed AirPods<\/a> \u2013 but with support for the company\u2019s Alexa voice assistant built in. The buds are slated to arrive sometime in the first half of this year.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s an interesting, but unsurprising move for Amazon. It\u2019s not about selling you on a cheaper alternative to the AirPods, but rather about bringing Alexa closer to you than before.<\/p>\n

The ecommerce giant\u2019s Lab126<\/a> division, which develops hardware like the Echo range of smart speakers and displays, has been tasked with designing these earphones. Over the past few years, it\u2019s cracked ways to make shopping easier and more accessible with cleverly designed hardware and AI.<\/p>\n

\"Amazon's
Credit: Amazon<\/figcaption>
<\/a>Amazon\u2019s line of Echo smart speakers and displays were developed by the company\u2019s Lab126 hardware division<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If Bloomberg\u2019s report is on the money, this plan makes a lot of sense. It reduces friction in the process of Amazon customers buying products from the company\u2019s store, by making it as simple as saying \u201cAlexa, order detergent and dog food,\u201d hands free.<\/p>\n

As with Echo speakers, the buds will also make it easier to access Amazon\u2018s streaming music and audiobooks, as well as its extensive range of Skills that bring information and services from third-party providers, like news, weather, and sports scores.<\/p>\n

\"Amazon's
Credit: Amazon<\/figcaption>
<\/a>Amazon\u2019s Alexa-powered products can stream music and audiobooks via the company\u2019s services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These earphones will also round out the ecosystem of products that support Alexa, which include Windows 10 devices, Echo speakers, and smart gadgets from other manufacturers. That should help keep people locked into Amazon\u2018s range of offerings, and encourage them to continue shopping with the company.<\/p>\n

The news follows Walmart\u2019s announcement yesterday, in which it revealed that its store is now accessible via Google Assistant<\/a> for shoppers in the US. Since Amazon and Google compete closely for the attention of voice assistant users, it\u2019s no surprise that the former is looking at every possible way to make Alexa available to people through its gadgets.<\/p>\n

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\n Published April 5, 2019 \u2014 06:44 UTC\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n