Jeff Bezos must be quite pleased. It's hard to imagine one of the richest men on the planet not being happy on a daily basis, but with the latest statements made to The Verge by the company's vice president of devices and services, Dave Limp, he's probably grinning from ear to ear. Why? Because Alexa is now on more than 100 million devices sold.
The smart assistant they want the most
As The Verge explains, the 100 million figure is much more than just a number. Firstly, the number of devices with Siri and Google Assistant far exceeds that 100 million mark; however, there's a significant difference between them. While Apple and Google's assistants are practically mandated, Alexa, on the other hand, is accessed through a device that, in most cases, was purchased specifically for voice interaction.
An uncontrolled product?
Of the 150 different products on the market with Alexa built-in, only 50 are manufactured by Amazon itself. Does this mean consumers could experience a poor experience beyond Amazon's control? Limp assures us that this isn't a concern for the giant, as consumers are experienced enough not to blame Alexa for disappointment with a product purchase. Amazon's only concern is ensuring there's always an excellent product in every category, whether it's a smart plug, a speaker , or a light bulb. And, according to them, this is the case.
Does Amazon want to dominate the market by canceling the rest of the attendees?
The brand through its manager is quite frank. Today they do not see a war like the ones that traditionally took place in the typical struggle of formats and platforms. The assistants are to coexist, and that a device has two assistants at the same time is only excellent news for the user. In fact, Amazon would like to be able to share and create common routines to make the user experience easier, instead of having to use different commands depending on the wizard for the same task.
Although Amazon has been quite generous with this data, the number of Alexa-enabled devices sold during the holiday season remains a mystery, as the giant continues to withhold specific sales figures. The only thing they've commented on is that they're out of Amazon Echo models until mid-January, and they can't wait to load a 747 with them and fill their warehouses. Things aren't going badly for them, that's for sure.