According to a report by Economic Times, Amazon is gearing up to launch its lineup of Alexa-powered speakers in India. They will initially only respond to English commands but will support regional Indian languages including Marathi, Tamil, and Hindi at a later date. The devices are said to go on sale in the country by the end of this year.
As of now, details regarding pricing are unknown. However, a senior executive at Amazon who spoke with Economic Times did say that it will carry an attractive price tag but did not share any more specific details.
As you may know, Amazon’s speakers with Alexa on board allow you to play music you want, book an Uber, or even do some shopping online. These are just some of the 1,200 skills Alexa prides itself with. The company’s devices go head to head with other voice-controlled speakers mainly the Google Home, which hasn’t made it to India yet.
The online retail giant clearly wants to beat its biggest competitor by not only bringing its Alexa-powered device to India first but by offering support for regional languages as well. In the US, Amazon’s speakers were released before Google Home and are currently way more popular among consumers based on the latest report. Although being first obviously doesn’t guarantee success, it certainly does help.