Amazon is extending its physical and digital presence, adding three cities to its drone delivery map and building a robot factory in Texas without seeking subsidies, while making its upgraded Alexa+ free for Fire TV users.
Prime Air is preparing to launch operations in the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Cleveland, Atlanta, Syracuse and Boise, aiming to reach nearly 500 cities and towns by the end of 2026. The drone service currently flies from Amazon warehouses in 10 cities across seven states, with each site covering an area of about 175 square miles (450 square kilometres).[1]
The company announced it will construct an advanced robotics manufacturing facility on about 300 acres (120 hectares) in the Dog's Head area of East Austin. The plant will produce robotics systems designed to work alongside employees on repetitive tasks and heavy lifting. Mayor Kirk Watson confirmed that Amazon requested no economic incentives and no public money for the project, which is expected to create 300 to 500 manufacturing and engineering jobs.[2]
Amazon made its upgraded Alexa+ assistant free on compatible Fire TV devices in the United States, dropping the 19.99 dollars monthly charge for users without a Prime subscription. The change covers current-generation Fire TV Sticks, the Fire TV Cube, Amazon's Ember smart TVs and third-party sets from Hisense and Panasonic, bringing conversational search and smart-home control directly to the screen without an app installation.[3]
