Alexa+ won’t work on these Amazon Echo devices
It’s a small list, but Amazon’s new Alexa+ isn’t compatible with every device
✋ Amazon has listed the devices that don’t work with Alexa+
😔 Amazon Echo 1st Gen devices won’t benefit from the new AI assistant
😢 The Echo Show 2nd Gen also won’t support Alexa+
🔜 Alexa+ is free to Prime members and rolls out next month
Amazon’s new Alexa+ – its AI-enhanced voice assistant that’s free to Prime members but $19.99 a month for everyone else – doesn’t work on every Amazon Echo device as we first thought.
According to the Alexa+ FAQ page, older devices like the Echo Dot 1st Gen, Echo 1st Gen, Echo Plus 1st Gen, Echo Tap, Echo Show 1st Gen, Echo Show 2nd Gen, and Echo Spot 1st Gen will only support the original Alexa.
As highlighted by The Verge, Alexa+ will support more obscure Amazon devices like the Echo Flex, and it’s refreshing that the new AI assistant doesn’t require newer hardware, unlike Apple Intelligence.
Alexa+ begins rolling out next month and provides a dramatic improvement in Alexa’s current capabilities. For example, you can use Alexa+ to make a restaurant reservation, inform your babysitter, and arrange for a cab all without lifting a finger.
Alexa+ can also interact with your current Amazon devices more effectively, allowing you to switch music between multiple speakers, and even jump to the exact moment a song is playing in a film if you have a Fire TV. It’s all pretty neat, though we’ll have to see how well it works outside of the demos.
If you’re more than happy with the current Alexa, Amazon has said you can continue to use the popular voice assistant, though it stressed on its FAQ page that it’s “positive you’ll love all that Alexa+ has to offer”.
Alexa+ will be free for Prime members when it rolls out next month, but we’ll have to see how long that lasts. After all, Amazon used to give Prime video users ad-free content but now asks for an extra $2.99 a month if you want to remove ads. There’s a chance Alexa+ could become another subscription cost for users to manage.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.
