The Amazon Echo.
AP/Elaine
Thompson
Amazon is in a better position than any other company
to dominate ambient computing, the concept that everything in
your life is computerized and intelligent.
Amazon's Alexa platform continues to get better while
remaining open to third parties, unlike Apple's Siri.
Buying into Alexa now will future-proof your
home.
Almost four years ago, New York Times tech columnist Farhad
Manjoo
wrote out a strategy to keep all your technology future-proof
in a rapidly evolving environment.
His advice still holds up.
Use Apple hardware for your smartphone and PC. Use Google
services for things like email, calendar, and maps. Buy all your
digital music, movies, and TV shows from Amazon.
Of course, there are caveats to all of these suggestions, but
you'll future-proof yourself nicely by following them. Amazon's
media can (usually) play on all your devices, no matter what
company makes them. Google is not only the best at digital
services, it's also platform agnostic. You don't have to be an
Android user to get the most out of Google. And Apple still makes
the best phones, tablets, and PCs you can buy.
But I think it's time to add one more category to the list:
ambient computing, or the concept that there can be a layer of
intelligence powering everything in your home from your lights to
your thermostat. Many see this as a new phase of computing where
our technology works for us automatically. We're in the early
days of ambient computing, but there's already a clear
front-runner powering its future: Amazon Alexa.
Right now, Alexa is great at answering basic questions or playing
music from streaming services like Spotify. It's also laying the
foundation for an Alexa-powered smart home as more and more
accessories make themselves compatible with Amazon's platform.
Even better, Alexa lets you control all your smart home
accessories with your voice, which is a a lot more convenient
than poking around your iPhone to turn your lights on.
I gave it a try a few weeks ago, starting small by connecting
most of my lighting. I bought a bunch of
Wemo smart plugs for all the lamps in my apartment. (My
apartment doesn't have a lot of built-in lighting, so I have
lamps all over the place instead.) After setting each plug up, I
fired up the Alexa app and added the Wemo skill. A few seconds
later, I was able to control all my lights with my voice.
Now I'm obsessed with the idea of Amazonifying the rest of my
home. I have an Apple TV, but I plan to make the change to the
new Amazon Fire TV 4K instead since I can control it with Alexa.
("Alexa, play 'The Good Place' on Netflix.") Instead of a Nest
camera, I'm going to buy
Amazon's new security camera, which will let me beam the feed
to my phone, Fire TV, or Echo Show. ("Alexa, show me what's
happening in the living room.")
You get the idea.
No other platform is better poised to dominant ambient computing.
It's not going to happen tomorrow, or even next year, but Amazon
has done an incredible job of laying the foundation for something
much more profound beyond just playing your favorite Pandora
station with an Alexa command.
So what is that foundation? Here are the four key advantages that
will propel Amazon to dominate ambient computing.
Alexa is everywhere
During CES this year, I was shocked at how many companies decided
to integrate Alexa into their products. Toyota and Ford cars.
Kholer bathtubs. Whirlpool ovens and dishwashers. And a bunch of
third-party speakers.
Ambient computing needs a voice assistant to be ubiquitous in
order to be successful. If you call for "Alexa" and it's not
there to do what you want, it has failed. Amazon's head start
getting Alexa into everything, everywhere will help it maintain
its lead.
Alexa is open
Part of the reason why Alexa is showing up everywhere is because
Amazon turned it into an open platform that anyone can build
into. But it's not just physical appliances. Services and apps
can build into Alexa, making it easy to add a layer of voice
controls to their stuff.
It's the opposite approach rivals like Apple take, which is why
devices like the HomePod feel like a wasted opportunity to take
on Amazon's dominance. Siri is limited to Apple's own services
and a few other third-party categories like messaging and to-do
list apps. It's unlikely Apple will want to go against its DNA
and completely open up Siri.
Amazon dominates the smart speaker market
Amazon already
owns two-thirds of the smart speaker market, with Google
playing catch up. It's likely going to be a two-horse race
between the two companies, with Amazon consistently in the lead.
The large install base of Echo and Alexa-powered smart speakers
provides greater incentive for people to build into Alexa first
as opposed to rivals.
Alexa keeps getting better
When the Echo first launched back in 2014, it couldn't do much
more than play streaming music from Amazon and help you buy stuff
from the company's online store.
You know what's coming next.
Over the years, the Echo has become immensely more powerful and
capable. It can stream music from a variety of music services.
You can use it to call an Uber or order a pizza from Domino's. It
can even make phone calls. Amazon has done a spectacular job at
improving the Echo over time. These are speakers you're likely to
keep in your home for several years before replacing or upgrading
them.
Buying one now guarantees you'll be ready to go for whatever
Alexa learns to do next. And, more importantly, it'll make sure
your technology remains future-proof.
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