Amazon Alexa voice control opens to all Bluetooth headphones
Prepare to see loads more Bluetooth headphones with voice control courtesy of Amazon’s Alexa AI now open to all.
Amazon have announced that they’re opening up their Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit tool to developers so that they can use their powerful AI in their devices. The software development kit gives developers the power to integrate the AI into their devices such as Bluetooth headphones, headsets, and wearables easily.
Now the kit has expanded past it’s initial brand partners in Bose, Jabra, and Sony, allowing many more developers to use Alexa in smartwatches, portable Bluetooth speakers, and more traditional headsets. The tool kit allows whatever device it is built into to use the voice controlled AI without requiring the developers to build an app or Alexa skill.
Alfred Woo, a product manager for Alexa Voice Services says: “For device makers, there is no need to develop and maintain a custom Alexa app. By leveraging the Amazon Alexa App that is readily available for Android and iOS, device makers accelerate product development, software integration, and testing time, while reducing product support costs. After launch, their products are automatically updated to include new Alexa features and functionality when they arrive in the Amazon Alexa App.”
Developers can pick up Qualcomm’s $299 reference design prototype to start testing the Mobile Accessory Kit. We’re already seeing AI’s and voice control built into more and more products and it’s likely that next year we’re going to see a boom in Alexa-powered devices.