I'm curious why anyone would pay $19.99/month for Alexa+ rather than just buy a Prime membership (which is $14.99/month).

Unless of course this is going to be met with a price hike for Prime...

That's what happened with Prime TV, and I absolutely expect it for the AI, too. And it might finally mean I cancel my Prime membership.

Amazon Prime’s price hikes have a predictable cadence: * 2014: $79 to $99

* 2018: $99 to $119

* 2022: $119 to $139

We should expect a price hike from $139 to $159 in 2026, assuming the trend continues.

Meanwhile, Google Fiber has been the same price for 15 years. At least according to the billboard outside my window.

It works out for them because bandwidth gets cheaper over time but inflation eats away at that. $70 today is like $50 back in 2010 when GFiber first launched.

If ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode could be served through an always-on device like Alexa, I'd pay for it.

Hmmm... maybe I can install do this through a cheap tablet....

Model sizes have come down enough that it will be possible to run smart home control and simple Q&A entirely locally.

you can do this with home assistant already