Over 15 of the largest automakers around the world have built Alexa skills for vehicles, including GM, Nissan, and Hyundai. And some automakers are integrating Alexa directly into their cars. This fall, Ford, Lexus, SEAT, and Toyota are building Alexa directly into the vehicles. And Volkswagen announced that Audi will be adding Alexa to many of its 2019 vehicles such as the all-electric Audi e-tron.
And at the Amazon Devices event, the company announced Echo Auto — which enables consumers to take Alexa on the road.
Photo: Amazon
The Echo Auto has an eight-microphone array that can handle noise in the car. So it can still hear you while your music is turned up and if there are construction noises in the background.
“We’re using Amazon FreeRTOS, AWS’s new real time operating system. Used across a number of products today – in our smart plug, our microwave, also in Echo Auto. It enables secure connectivity back to the AWS Cloud, and one of the nice things is that it boots incredibly quickly. Get in car, hit ignition, within just a few seconds, it’s ready to go,” said Amazon in an announcement.
The Echo Auto rests on the center console and can respond to voice commands. Plus it can connect to your phone through Bluetooth.
Amazon Echo Auto has a retail price of $49.99.
