Conversational Alexa being unveiled on Feb 26, as Siri waits until 2026

A new conversational Alexa is expected to be revealed at an Amazon media event on February 26, with press invitations sent out yesterday.

A report citing Amazon insiders says that the all-new Alexa will be powered by generative AI, dramatically boosting its capabilities and putting even more pressure on Apple to launch a smarter Siri …

Conversational Alexa being unveiled on Feb 26

Officially all we know is that Amazon is holding an “Alexa-focused” event, but it’s not hard to guess that will be to announce generative AI features, and a Reuters report cites company execs confirming this.

The AI service will be able to respond to multiple prompts in sequence and, company executives have said, even act as an “agent” on behalf of users by taking actions for them without their direct involvement. That contrasts with the current iteration, which generally handles only a single request at a time […]

The new Alexa is designed to remember customer preferences to help make music or restaurant recommendations and allow users to give multiple prompts in a single session, so that, say, one could later modify a hamburger order before it is sent out for delivery, the people said.

The souped-up Alexa will be available on all existing devices.

A report last year suggested that the new Alexa will be powered by Anthropic, and Reuters echoes this.

What’s currently unclear is how many Alexa users will get access to the new version in the early stages. Reuters says it will initially be offered to “a limited number of users” without charge, but the goal is to turn it into an optional subscription service costing $5 to $10 per month.

Those who choose not to subscribe will continue to get access to the existing version, which will be rebranded as Classic Alexa.

Dramatically increases the pressure on Siri

While Apple device owners are used to complaining about Siri’s limited capabilities, many Echo users have long had similar complaints about Alexa. We’ve explained in the past that although Alexa claims to be able to do thousands of things, that isn’t true in real-life use.

A new conversational Alexa that really can do all of the things we expect from chatbots like ChatGPT would be a game-changer for Amazon’s intelligent assistant, and would dramatically increase the pressure on Apple to make Siri smarter.

Fully conversational Siri only expected in 2026

Right now, Siri has gained a few more capabilities through the first iteration of Apple Intelligence, but these are very limited in scope.

The next major change is expected in April, with iOS 18.4 set to include the launch of on-screen awareness and “app intents.”

Onscreen awareness means you’ll be able to make Siri requests that reference things you’re looking at, and the assistant will know how to make sense of your words. So for example, if your sister sends you her new address in an iMessage, you can simply say, “Add this address to her contact,” and Siri will do it with no further clarifying instructions.

Using a system called App Intents, iOS 18.4 will enable Siri to perform hundreds of new app actions—without ever needing to open the apps themselves.

What will be even more impressive is Siri’s ability to perform these actions across different apps. For example, you’ll be able to ask Siri to find a specific photo, apply edits to it, then drop that photo into a specific folder in the Files app—all using just your voice.

However, the all-new generative AI Siri isn’t expected to launch until iOS 19 – and even then, not initially. Bloomberg has reported that we won’t be able to use it until spring 2026.

Long-term, the wait will be worth it, thanks to Apple’s privacy-focused approach. But that year-and-a-bit wait is going to see Apple take a lot of flack, all the more so once the new Alexa launches.

Photo by Jan Antonin Kolar on Unsplash