We’ve seen several smart speakers and smart home devices integrate Amazon Alexa into their products so users can experience hands-free control with their music, weather updates, productivity apps, among other things. But it looks like Amazon wants to bring the same integrations to your mobile devices like headphones, smartwatches, fitness bands, etc. They have now announced the Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit to be able to bring its functionalities to your wrists and ears without OEMs having to invest so much in hardware and integration efforts.
The kit will make it easier for OEMs to integrate Alexa into their headphones, smartwatches, fitness devices, etc since they will be able to connect directly to the Alexa Voice Services through the Amazon Alexa App on the connected smartphones. Through the app, users will be able to stream videos and music, get access to thousands of Alexa skills, perform smart home tasks, and everything else that Amazon’s intelligent personal assistant can do.
Last year, the AVS Device SDK allowed brands to integrate Alexa into their connected products, but this time, the Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit is an alternative solution for them as it is a lightweight method to connect the devices through the Amazon Alexa app. Some brands like Bose, Jabra, iHome, Beyerdynamic, Bowers and Wilkins, etc are already developing Alexa Mobile Accessories for their products.
Amazon is also developing a toolset later this year that will allow OEMs to enable their Bluetooth audio-capable devices to connect to Alexa. Those who are interested can sign up to be notified when the SDK will finally be available.
SOURCE: Amazon
