Amazon is testing an Alexa car speaker based on the Echo, reports FactorDaily, a tech news site out of India without naming sources.
Amazon has been testing the speakers in India since February “for a global rollout later this year,” it said. And Echo speakers for the car are also being tested in other locations around the globe, it added.
Amazon did not respond to our request for confirmation.
Whether the reports are true or not, now that people are getting used to asking an Alexa speaker for all sorts of information and control of their appliances, they are starting to expect the same convenience in the car.
The aftermarket is already responding. As we’ve reported Compustar and Garmin are among aftermarket companies allowing Alexa in the car. Plus Boss Audio and Soundstream have announced future plans for Alexa-ready car radios with Soundstream offering a target release date of June.
Soundstream is also planning a car radio that not only lets you search for information by voice but that lets you control the radio, so you can change stations by voice, or access YouTube videos on command.
Car makers supporting or planning to support Alexa include Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Ford, Volkswagen, Hyundai and Jeep.
SiriusXM launched Alexa capability in June last year and said in one month, “hundreds of thousands” of its subscribers linked their accounts to Alexa, so they could say, “Alexa, play ‘The Highway’ on SiriusXM” to access that station.
Alexa in the car offers many of the same features as in the home including music search, the ability to control home appliances, voice search, access to driving directions and more. In some cases it allows remote start by voice from a distance.
At CES many leading car audio brands announced support for Alexa rival Google Assistant including Pioneer, Kenwood, Alpine, Sony, and JVC. In January, Google made its voice assistant available through any car or radio that offers Android Auto. So Google Assistant is now in tens of millions of cars on more than 400 models from 40-plus brands, including Ford, General Motors, Nissan, Volkswagen and Volvo.
Interestingly, there have been many articles written on how to jury rig an install of an Amazon Echo Dot in the car. Business Insider in January called a self-installed Dot “The best infotainment system we’ve ever used.”
And here we see a DIY aftermarket ‘Dot for the car,’ in the Roav VIVA by Anker.
We’ll see if Amazon offers its own version of an Alexa car speaker.
