Amazon first started shipping video streaming devices four years ago. Since then, the company has updated its Fire TV products[1] to match the larger trends of consumer gadgetry. The flat Fire TV boxes were shrunk down to HDMI sticks and dongles that weren't much larger than a thumb drive; to this day, the cheap streaming sticks from Amazon and Roku are best-sellers for both companies. Then Amazon's TV devices started working with voice control[2], a trend that Amazon itself is largely responsible for, considering the popularity of Alexa[3].
Whereas earlier Fire TV devices required you to summon Alexa through the remote, the Fire TV Cube has Alexa built in.
Now Amazon is launching what it thinks is the next obvious thing in home entertainment. The just-announced 4K Fire TV Cube is part Fire TV, part Amazon Echo, and part TV control center for the other boxes and gadgets you have crowded around your TV. Whereas earlier Fire TV devices required you to summon Alexa through the remote, the Fire TV Cube has Alexa built in. In fact, Amazon says the whole user experience of the Cube was designed with a "voice first" philosophy.
"The goal for the Fire TV Cube is to really enable voice experience in a way that makes sense and actually highlights the use of voice," says Sandeep Gupta, vice president of product development for Amazon Fire TV. "It's not about just making some stuff that's voice enabled." What Gupta didn't say, because he didn't need to, is that putting Alexa in every possible space in your home is part of Amazon's larger strategy of getting you to use Amazon's services, and getting you to buy even more...