The tech giants are racing to turn AI devices into must-have gifts and get them on store shelves before the holiday rush.
Big Tech’s next AI battle is coming to your holiday shopping cart.
Apple, Amazon and Microsoft are racing to get AI gadgets on shelves in time for the holidays. The three companies have introduced new devices in the past week, each focused on bringing AI into the home.
Apple unveiled HomeView, a $299 smart home hub, on Tuesday. The device has a mountable, seven-inch screen and facial recognition that tailors the experience to different family members. HomeView runs on Apple’s latest chips and uses Apple Intelligence to surface messages, calendar appointments and photos. An AI-upgraded Siri answers questions conversationally.
Apple’s HomeView pricing drew praise from analysts, who said the company had kept the device affordable.
Mohit Agrawal, an AI specialist at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC recently in an email that the price is a strategic trade-off. Apple is offering a home hub for less than its specifications would suggest.
“Apple has prioritized ecosystem adoption over immediate high hardware margins, delivering a local-AI hub at a price point that undercuts what a spec-heavy machine should logically cost,” Agrawal wrote.
Meanwhile, Amazon is replacing its budget-friendly Fire tablet lineup with three new Alexa tablets . Last week, the company announced that it is putting its voice assistant at the forefront of both the branding and the experience. Users can alert Alexa through voice or tap an “ Ask Alexa ” button to get recommendations, ask questions or control smart-home devices.
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