In February, after months of speculation, Amazon eventually removed the cover from the next generation of Alexa.
Called Alexa+, a new version of Amazon’s digital assistant, it was revealed at a massive launch event in New York City, and was told that “it will start rolling out in the US over the next few weeks during early access.”
And fair play to Bezos and the gangsters… Amazon’s supercharged AI assistant is hitting the echo smart speaker.
Guide: What is Alexa Plus?
However, although the upgraded voice assistant officially began rolling out on Monday (March 31), not all Alexa owners are still accessible, and some of the most talked about features are notable by their absence.
The Washington Post report claims it saw an internal document revealing that some headline features were not ready for the first release.
Some of the missing features…
- I’m in a conversation with Alexa+ and ordering food from Grubhub.
- Visual perception to assign reminders to a particular family.
- Place AI-driven brainstorming and Amazon orders for gift ideas.
- Create stories that will entertain children.
- Create shopping lists and order from various stores.
- Chat with Alexa+ via the new Alexa.com website.
One of the more interesting features of Alexa+, reading and summarizing the uploaded documents, is available at launch. However, there is a strange problem. You cannot delete files to be uploaded. When I try it I get the error message “Delete attachments is not supported yet.”
According to a report by the Washington Post, Amazon Support can manually delete files, but it cannot guarantee that all associated data will be erased. The fix reportedly is in work and should be rolled out “within a few weeks.”
Alexa+ Party Tickets are currently restricted. According to Alexa+ Early Access Page users who own Echo Show 8, Show 10, Show 15 or 21, they first pass through the door.
The missing features don’t add a bit of excitement to the launch, but let’s face it. Amazon was constantly rolling out the improved Alexa at a slow, stable pace. So why are they housed on an “early access” platform?
Opinion: Does Alexa+ fix my biggest smart home frustration?
It was the biggest change to its voice assistant for over a decade, and the mainstay in our home, with dramatic and all-in approaches taking no risk.
Once accessed, Alexa+ will return $19.99 a month. However, if you’re a major member, you should get it for free at least for now.
