Amazon is dropping its budget Fire line in favor of three new Alexa Tablets with a more premium design and its AI assistant front and center. Users can summon Alexa by voice or button to answer questions, get recommendations, or control smart home devices. A new hands-free mode called "On-Screen Intelligence" lets Alexa read the display and take action, such as building a shopping list from a cooking video.
Microsoft and Apple are pushing their own AI hardware for the holiday rush. Microsoft's new laptops with Nvidia chips can run AI coding models, while Apple's HomeView uses Apple Intelligence to proactively surface messages, calendar appointments, and photos. Apple expects users to talk to the device, highlighting Siri's chatbot-like abilities and the A18 chip. Apple's biggest launch may be next week's $1,999 iPhone Duo, a folding phone with a desktop-like interface for AI agents.
The business strategy extends beyond hardware to subscriptions. Amazon's new Alexa requires a $19.99 monthly subscription or a Prime membership, and Apple's secure video recording needs an upgraded iCloud plan. Analyst Carolina Milanesi of Creative Strategies said consumers are "yet to be convinced that on-device matters as much," especially when asked to spend more. Ollama CEO Jeff Morgan sees a different opportunity, arguing "there's something about owning your AI versus renting it" as his startup offers open-source software for running models locally.