Category Archives: amazon

Amazon Announces AI-Powered Alexa Plus



Amazon is finally launching the long-awaited generative AI version of Alexa — Alexa Plus — that, if all goes well, will take away much of the friction that comes with talking to a speaker to control your smart home or getting info on the fly. The Verge reported.

Some of the new abilities coming to Alexa Plus include the ability to do things for you — you’ll be able to ask it to order groceries for you or send event invites to friends. Amazon says it will also be able to memorize personal details like your diet and movie preferences.

Alexa Plus is $19.99 per month on its own or free for Amazon Prime members — a better deal, considering Prime costs just $14.99 per month or $139 per year. That comes with access to the Alexa website, where the company created a new Alexa app to go with the new assistant. 

Amazon posted: Introducing Alexa+, our next generation assistant, powered by generative AI. Alexa+ helps you stay organized during busy days, provides detailed answers tailored to your needs, and handles everything from project planning to solving daily challenges — all through natural conversation. Here are a few core aspects of Alexa+:

Conversational: Alexa+ engages in natural, flowing conversations that feel genuine. It understands context and meaning, creating seamless interactions with no precise “Alexa” language.

Personalized: Alexa+ learns from you and the more you use it, the more personalized it gets — understanding everything from your favorite entertainment to your family’s dietary preferences, allergies, and weekly traditions.

Gets things done: Alexa+ acts on your behalf, handling everything from date planning and gift shopping to travel arrangements and study help. From simple tax to complex projects, it provides assistance you can trust.

Even Smarter: Alexa+ combines vast knowledge with an approachable personality, making generative AI feel natural and accessible. Helpful intelligence ready whenever and wherever you need it.

Gizmodo reported: We’ve been waiting a long time to see what Amazon is doing with its digital assistant. Alexa+ got all the fanfare today at an Amazon event. SVP of devices and services Panos Panay, formerly of Microsoft, debuted the next-generation edition of the shopping giant’s AI bot. Amazon hopes you will prefer Alexa+ over the other digital assistants in your home.

Alexa+ promises all sorts of new interactions, many of which might seem like repeat offerings if you’ve already been living with this stuff in your home. After mentioning the wake word, you can converse with Alexa+ as you would with a friend, asking about the weather and then going into a conversation about what’s on the docket for the day.


Amazon Is Shutting Down Its App Store On Android



Amazon will discontinue its app store for Android on August 20 this year. The company sent a notice to developers indicating the they will no longer be able to submit new apps to the store, TechCrunch reported.

The company said on a support page that it will also discontinue its Coins digital currency, which could be used to purchase games and apps on the app store.

“Starting August 20, 2025, you will no longer have access to the Amazon Appstore on your Android device. We will also be discontinuing the Amazon Coins program on August 20, 2025,” the company said in a support page.

Amazon said that it will refund any coins that users hold as of August 20. The company added that only a small number of customers used the app store outside Amazon devices.

Amazon posted: Starting August 20, 2025, you will no longer have access to the Amazon Appstore on your Android device. We will also be discontinuing the Amazon Coins program on August 20, 2025. As of Feb 20, 2025, Amazon Coins are no longer available for purchase.

Starting August 20, 2025, any apps downloaded from the Amazon Appstore will not be guaranteed to operate on Android devices. Amazon Appstore will continue to be available elsewhere, including on Fire TV and Fire Tablet devices.

You have until August 20, 2025 to use any remaining Amazon Coins.

If you do not have enough Amazon Coins to make an Appstore purchase, you can use another payment method such as a credit card to complete the transaction. You can use your existing Coins to make a smaller Appstore purchase within your balance. Any Coins you have purchased that remain in your account after August 20, 2025 will be refunded.

9To5Google reported: Amazon has announced that it will shut down the Amazon Appstore for Android devices later this year.

The Amazon Appstore has existed as an alternative to the Google Play Store on Android for years now, with users able to side load the Appstore to install apps through a trustworthy source. At one point, Microsoft partnered with Amazon  to use the store for offering easy access to Android apps on Windows 11 (which is also being shut down.)

As of today, “Amazon Coins” are also no longer available for purchase. Amazon Coins were a digital currency used for in-app purchases and games. If there are still Coins in your account as of August 20, they’ll be refunded (100 coins = $1).

It’s also important to note that this shutdown doesn’t just affect the store, but any apps that were downloaded from it. Many apps downloaded from the Amazon Appstore were dependent on having the store installed to work properly, and Amazon says that “any apps downloaded from the Amazon Appstore will not be guaranteed to operate on Android devices” following the shutdown. 

The shutdown will only affect users who have installed the Amazon Appstore on their devices manually. Fire Tablet, Fire TV, and other Amazon devices using the store will still continue to use it.


Amazon Raises Its Spending On Elon Musk’s X



Amazon is ramping up ad spending on ElonMusk’s X, according to people familiar with the situation,  a major shift after pulling much of its advertising more than a year ago, when many brands had concerns about hate speech on the platform, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy was involved in the decision, which could result in the company spending significantly more on X. Apple, which pulled all of its ad dollars from X in late 2023, in recent weeks had discussions about testing out ads on the platform, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Some large companies that have cut or zeroed out advertising on X are re-evaluating their stances in a challenging political and social climate. Musk, X’s owner, has championed a lighter touch in online content moderation and has emerged as one of the most powerful people in President Trump’s orbit. Business and world leaders have worked to improve relations with him, given his elevated role in Washington.

Ad buyers said that some brands that are returning to X are doing so at spending levels that are still well below their spending before Musk acquired the company, then known as Twitter, for $44 billion in 2022.

9To5 Mac reported: More than a year has passed since Apple paused advertising on X over brand safety concerns. Soon, however, Apple may begin advertising on X again.

That’s according to the Wall Street Journal, which has published a report on Amazon’s decision to buy in in X and Apple’s talks to reconsider the pause.

The report adds that companies who have already returned to advertising on X are doing so with spend rates much lower than before Elon Musk acquired Twitter and named it X. 

Prior to pausing advertising on X, Tim Cook was asked directly by CBS’s John Dickerson about the companies views on the platform.

“It’s something that we ask ourselves. Generally, my view is Twitter’s an important property,” Cook said in that interview. “I like the concept that it’s there for discourse and there as a town square. There’s also some things I don’t like about it.

MacRumors reported: Apple held discussions with X (formerly Twitter) about once again showing ads on the social media site, reports The Wall Street Journal. The talks are said to have taken place in “recent weeks.”

Given that Musk just recently made a hand gesture that was widely interpreted as a Nazi salute at Donald Trump’s inauguration, Apple’s decision to resume purchasing ads on X could be perceived as ill-advised.

In my opinion, it sounds like some major companies are starting to reconsider putting their posts on Elon Musk’s X.


Amazon Sued By For Excluding Neighborhoods From Prime Delivery



Washington, D.C.’s attorney general sued Amazon on Wednesday, accusing the company of covertly depriving residents in certain ZIP codes in the nation’s capitol from access to Prime’s high-speed delivery, CNBC reported.

The lawsuit from AG Brian Schwalb alleges that, since 2022, Amazon has “secretly excluded” two “historically underserved” D.C. ZIP codes from its expedited delivery service while charging Prime members living there the full subscription price. Amazon’s Prime membership program costs $139 a year and includes perks like two-day shipping and access to streaming content.

“Amazon is charging tens of thousands of hard-working Ward 7 and 8 residents for an expedited delivery service it promises but does not provide,” Schwalb said in a statement. “While Amazon has every right to make operational changes, it cannot covertly decide that a dollar in one zip code is worth less than a dollar in another.”

Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today sued Amazon.com. Inc. (Amazon) for deceiving District resident into paying for Prime delivery benefits they are not receiving, in violation of District consumer protection law. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) alleges that since 2022, Amazon has secretly excluded two ZIP codes east of the Anacostia River from its advertised fastest delivery service while continuing to charge approximately 48,000 Prime members living there the full Prime subscription price.

“Amazon is charging tens of thousands of hard-working Ward 7 and 8 residents for an expedited delivery service it promises but does not provide.  While Amazon has every right to make operational changes, it cannot covertly decide that a dollar in one ZIP code is worth less than a dollar in another,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “We are suing to stop this deceptive conduct and make sure District residents get what they’re paying for.”

Gizmodo reported Amazon tricked customers in two predominantly Black zip codes in Washington, D.C. into paying for its faster Prime delivery service while actually outsourcing deliveries to slower providers, according to a new lawsuit filed by the district’s attorney general.

The suit accuses Amazon of making a secret internal decision in June 2022 to stop delivering to the zip codes 20019 and 20020, both east of the Anacostia River, using its Amazon branded trucks. Instead, the company began using slower services like UPS and the U.S. Postal Service to bring back packages to those neighborhoods, which are 89 and 90 percent Black, respectively, according to census data.

Meanwhile, the company continued to advertise and promote its faster delivery times to the roughly 48,000 Prime members in those zip codes, according to the complaint.

In my opinion, it sounds like Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb is going to target Amazon because the company was forcing people to pay for Prime delivery benefits that they did not receive.


Amazon Ends Drone Program In California



Amazon is shuttering its drone delivery operations in Lockeford, California, one of the earliest U.S. test sites for the decade-long project, CNBC reported.

The program, called Prime Air, has struggled to get off the ground since Amazon founder Jeff Bezos first detailed his vision in 2013 of autonomous drones delivering packages weighing less than 5 pounds in 30 minutes or less.

Amazon says it’s now conducting test flights to demonstrate the reliability of its new delivery drone, the MK30, which the company unveiled at an event last year. The drone is intended to be smaller and quieter than prior models, and can fly through light and rain.

Amazon posted “Amazon drone delivery is coming to Arizona” From the post:

Later this year, Amazon customers in the West Valley Phoenix Metro Area can receive Prime Air drone deliveries from our Tolleson, AZ Same-Day Delivery site.

Since starting drone delivery in College Station, Texas, and Lockeford, California in 2022, we’ve delivered thousands of items to customers in less than an hour. Last year we also began delivering prescription medications in partnership with Amazon Pharmacy to customers in College Station. We’ve received great feedback from customers and communities as we’ve rolled out the service.

We’re now adding a new location and entering the next stage of the program’s evolution. Later this year, drone deliveries are coming to the West Valley of the Phoenix Metro Area in Arizona.

With this new location, we’ll be fully integrated into Amazon’s delivery network, meaning, for the first time, drones will deploy from facilities next to our Same-Day Delivery site in Tolleson. These smaller sites are hybrid — part fulfillment center, pat delivery station. They allow us to fulfill, sort, and deliver products all from one site so we can get packages out to our customers even quicker.

Our Same-Day Delivery sites are situated close to the large metro areas they serve, which means customers get their orders faster. And with connections to the larger Amazon fulfillment centers nearby, we are able to offer Same-Day Delivery on millions of items…

TechCrunch reported Amazon it is ending Prime Air drone delivery operations in Lockeford, California. The Central California town of 3,500 was the company’s second U.S. drone delivery site, after College Station, Texas. Operations were announced in June 2022.

The retail giant is not offering details around the setback, only noting, “We’ll offer all current employees opportunities at other sites, and continue serve customers in Lockeford with other delivery methods. We want to thank the community for all their support and feedback over the past few years.”

College Station deliveries will continue, along with a forthcoming site in Tolleson, Arizona, set to kick off deliveries later this year. Tolleson, a city of just over 7,000, is located in Maricopa County, in the western portion of the Phoenix metropolitan area.

In my opinion, it appears that Amazon intends to move its newest drone to different parts of the United States. It is also really good that current workers will be offered work at some of Amazon’s other sites.


Amazon Gives Up On No-Checkout Shopping In Its Grocery Stores



Amazon has decided to give up on its Just Walk Out program that lets customers leave its brick-and-mortar grocery stores without a formal checkout process, The Verge reported.

Instead, it’s switching fully to “Dash Carts,” where customers can scan products as they toss them in their cart.

That’s according to The Information, which reports that the company is pulling Just Walk Out from all larger stores where the system is in place and “sprucing up the stores across the board” as it prepares to expand Amazon Fresh locations this year. Amazon will keep using its smaller corner stores, though.

Amazon hasn’t managed to get a handle on in-person retail despite buying the upscale, popular Whole Foods chain back in 2017. Over the years, the online shopping giant has closed all of its Books, 4-Star, and Pop-up stores and halted the expansion of its Fresh stores.

According to The Verge, with the company falling back to further its Dash Carts, it’s essentially shrinking self-checkout into a contraption with scanners and a touchscreen, bolted onto special shopping carts — something that other retailers have tried in the US and in Europe — followed by checking out with a palm scanner. That has benefits like customers being able to keep a running total while they shop, but Amazon would still face hurdles.

Gizmodo reported Amazon is phasing out its checkout-less grocery stores with “Just Walk Out” technology. The company’s senior vice president of grocery stores says they’re moving away from Just Walk Out, which relied on cameras and sensors to track what people were leaving the store with.

Just over half of Amazon Fresh stores are equipped with Just Walk Out. The technology allows customers to skip checkout altogether by scanning a QR code when they enter the store. Though it seemed completely automated, Just Walk Out relied on more than 1,000 people in India watching and labeling videos to ensure accurate checkouts. The cashiers were simply moved off-site, and they watched you as you shopped.

Instead, Amazon is moving towards Dash Carts, a scanner and a screen that’s embedded in your shopping cart, allowing you to checkout as you shop. These offer a more reliable solution than Just Walk Out. Amazon Fresh stores will also feature self check out counters from now on, for people who aren’t Amazon members.

Engadget also reported Amazon is removing Just Walk Out tech from all of its Fresh grocery stores in the U.S. The self-checkout system relies on a host of cameras, sensors and good old-fashioned human eyeballs to track what people leave the store with, charging the customers accordingly.

The technology has been plagued by issues from the onset. Most notably, Just Walk Out presents the illusion of automation, with Amazon crowing about generative AI and the like. Here’s where the smoke and mirrors come in. While the stores have no actual cashiers, there are reportedly over 1,000 real people in India scanning the camera feeds to ensure accurate checkouts.

According to Engadget, its also incredibly expensive to install and maintain the necessary equipment, which is likely why Just Walk Out technology was only adopted at around half of Fresh stores in the U.S.

In my opinion, it would be easier to just get your groceries from your local grocery store, or request a door-dash driver to bring the groceries you requested to your door.


Amazon and SpaceX Are Quietly Trying To Demolish National Labor Law



Amazon alleged in a legal filing published Friday morning that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is unconstitutional. SpaceX and Trader Joe’s — companies that, like Amazon, have repeatedly faced labor law violations from the federal agency — have recently made similar attacks that threaten national worker protections, TechCrunch reported.

This is just Amazon’s latest attempt to block union organizing in its fulfillment centers. But this time, these companies aren’t just limiting the rights of their own workers. If these threats against the NLRB keep moving forward, American workers could lose workplace protections that they’ve had for almost a century.

Amazon claims that the NLRB’s structure is unconstitutional because administrative law judges are “insulated from presidential oversight,” thus violating separation of powers. The company also argues against the structure of NLRB itself, as well as its ability to fine a company for unfair labor practices after a hearing, rather than a full jury trial.

According to TechCrunch, like other federal agencies, the NLRB is largely shaped by the current president. Under President Joe Biden, who refers to himself as pro-worker, the NLRB has been friendly to workers’ causes. But as the 2024 election looms, a Republican administration could significantly change that, making it more likely for corporations to be successful in attempts to strike down long-standing labor law.

Reuters reported that Amazon.com has joined rocket maker SpaceX and grocery chain Trader Joe’s in claiming that a U.S. labor agency’s in-house enforcement proceedings violate the U.S. Constitution, as the retail giant faces scores of cases claiming it interfered with workers’ rights to organize.

The company also said that limits on the removal of administrative judges and the board’s five members, who are appointed by the president, are unconstitutional.

According to Reuters, the filing came in a pending case accusing Amazon of illegally retaliating against workers in the New York City of Staten Island, where employees voted to unionize in 2022. Amazon, which has faced more than 250 NLRB complaints alleging unlawful labor practices across the country in recent years, has denied wrongdoing.

Reuters also wrote that SpaceX is making similar claims against the board in a lawsuit filed last month, one day after the labor board accused the company of firing eight engineers for criticizing CEO Elon Musk in a letter to company executives.

Trader Joe’s raised the arguments later in January at a hearing in an NLRB case, and two Starbucks baristas seeking to dissolve their unions have challenged the board’s structure in separate lawsuits.

In my opinion, it is wrong for gigantic corporations, that have tons of money, to actively try to separate their workers from the union the workers voted for. If these big companies win, it will likely cause an even worse workplace environment for their labor force. I’m hoping that Amazon, SpaceX, and Trader Joe’s are told “no, you can’t do that.”