The Amazon Alexa mobile app has a new look.
The company unveiled an updated version of the app on Monday, designed to give users a more personalized user experience and move all third-party “skills” suggestions off the main screen.
The app will be launched this month for iOS, Android and Fire devices and should reach all users by the end of August.
At the top of the new main screen is a big, blue Alexa button with a reminder that tapping the button or saying "Alexa" will wake up the digital assistant.
Below the blue button is a series of items based on an individual’s previous use of the program, designed to make it easier for the user to pick up where they left off while using the app.
The app is friendlier for first time users, and makes suggestions on what they can do with an Alexa mobile device.
“What they’re trying to do with the new design is help new users, users who may not have expertise from technology experts,” said Maror Vens, senior analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.
“They see an opportunity to improve their app and make it more usable and intuitive,” he told TechNewsWorld.
An eye for beginners
Vena explained that an older Alexa mobile app can be confusing, especially when used to manage multiple smart home devices simultaneously, a hassle not limited to the Alexa app.
“In retail, the smart home category has exploded, but also in retail, the largest product is being returned,” he said. "Their rate of return is 20-25 percent, not because they don't work, but because people can't figure out how to use them."
Amazon seems to have an eye on the future of the smart speaker market through the redesign of the Alexa mobile app.
“As the adoption of smart speakers continues to grow, the user base has begun to lean more towards the less technically savvy consumer, who is more likely to use the app to create reminders and routines and download new skills and voice apps,” said Kristen Hanich. analyst with Parks Associates.
“The new application design better supports users’ actions when opening and using their Alexa application, ”he told TechNewsWorld. This means making it easier for users to control their music and allowing users to pick up the actions they take on their smart speaker or screen. "
"Failure third party without emphasizing skills will help to create a more Amazonia Building applications for personalization," he added.
Redesign late
Customization is critical for an application like Alexa mobile, continues Rob Enderle, CEO and chief analyst at Enderle Group.
“They should learn who you are, what you want, and address the nuances in your speech,” he told TechNewsWorld. "Once they learn to treat you as your person, you should have a much better experience with the app and be willing to use it."
He said the redesign makes the app less of a voice operating system for Google and more reminiscent of what it was originally marketed to be - a digital assistant.
He noted that the face-raising of Alexa mobile devices has been around for a long time, but added: "Interest in such applications has generally declined, mainly because people are frustrated with their operations."
One of the problems facing Alexa Mobile is the location of the device, from which Apple and Google don’t have to sweat because they control the operating systems of most smartphones. “It’s something Amazon is looking to address this update,” said Jonathan Collins, research director at ABI Research.
However, a mobile app may have less value in the Alexa universe than any other ecosystem. “Alexa’s primary strength has been with devices dedicated to the smart home,” Collins told TechNewsWorld. "In the Alexa home environment, much of the functionality provided by handset integration is less useful."
Nevertheless, the application can still be a key factor in the Alexa ecosystem.
“A smartphone is not the center of interaction for multiple Alexa commands, but with Alexa, we interact with many services that have a smartphone component,” says Ross Rubin, chief analyst at Reticle Research.
“So in many ways, this state-of-the-art app is more of a bridge to these services,” he told Us.
Audio programs removed
During the new design, additional features of the application - reminders, routines, skills and settings - have been moved under the "add" button on the home screen. In addition, third-party audio applications have also been expelled from the main screen.
“Discoverability is still an issue for many of these audio applications,” Parks ’Hanich said. "It's hard to find what you're looking for unless you dig into the Alexa app."
Quality is another problem for applications. “The topic is similar to what smartphone apps sell early,” Hanich explained. "They were originally flooded with low-quality experimental models that didn't add value to consumers."
“Many were never updated after release,” he explained. "While there are quite a few high-quality audio applications available, the Alexa Skills Store still has a very large number of low-quality applications."
Rubin noted that both Amazon and Google have used skills over the years that you can activate through their agents, but the use of those skills has been difficult to control.
“It’s hard to remember them,” he said. "It's hard to find. So in this new interface, these things are emphasized much less."
“Amazon focuses on the core of things that people mostly use Alexa for because the promise of voice control is a convenience, but it’s hard to get it wide for a wide range of functions that may not be on users’ minds, ”he added.
Lack of advertising
Enderle noted that Amazon has not exactly installed skill apps for success.
“No one really markets these goods anymore,” he noted. "If you want to change your behavior, you have to remember people that these options exist, otherwise they won't use them, and if they don't use them, then what's the point of continuing to develop them?"
“If you don’t promote apps and make it harder for people to access them, it’s not a formula for success,” Enderle added.
As the smart home market grows, the gap between digital assistants becomes even tighter.
“Digital assistants blend into the background, making them less recognizable to a product group - like a smartphone - like they were in the beginning,” Rubin explained.
“It’s only accelerating as Apple, Google and Amazon are working toward a home automation standard that allows for better interoperability between their ecosystems,” he continued.
“They have to do it because it’s the best way to encourage builders to take the technology to new construction,” he said. "You can't build a house assuming someone is an iPhone or Alexa or a Google user."
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