Back when the Pebble Time 2 was first revealed, the now defunct company also announced the Pebble Core, a data-enabled fitness tracking that was set to feature Alexa.
While the Time 2 and the Core disappeared when Fitbit purchased Pebble for parts last year, it looks like the first Alexa-enabled fitness devices, along with headphones and even smartwatches, are beginning to arrive.
Amazon has announced a new developer tool called the ‘Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit,’ allowing Alexa to integrate more easily into wearable Bluetooth devices such as headphones and fitness trackers.
The online retail giant says that several companies are already taking advantage of the technology, including Bose, Jabra, iHome, Linkplay, Sugr, Librewireless, Beyerdynamic, Bowers and Wilkins. Amazon emphasizes that its been working with Bose to fine-tune and test the solution, which is set to be released more broadly to developers this summer.
“Bose is excited to add a remarkable new Alexa experience for our customers,” said Brian Maguire, director of product management at Bose, in a statement sent to MobileSyrup. “Accessing Alexa’s music, information, and vast number of skills on our headphones will become easier than ever, and we’re looking forward to bringing our collaboration to life.”
Amazon allowing Alexa to be directly integrated into a variety of manufacturer’s headphones, could allow those companies to better compete with voice-activated assistant-enabled headphones like Google’s Pixel Buds and Apple’s AirPods.
The company’s angle here is likely the same it takes with its Echo devices. If headphone and wearable device manufacturers feature Alexa in their products, consumers that purchase compatible devices could potentially buy Amazon products through the voice-activated assistant.
What’s currently unclear is how easy Amazon’s Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit is able to be used from a development perspective. Companies have tried to feature Alexa in similar devices in the past with varying degrees of success, though a toolkit could be the missing component required to make the integration process easier.
One thing is clear though — Amazon wants to put Alexa in basically everything: Even microwaves.
Source: Amazon
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