Who doesn't want a "technology-savvy best friend?" Amazon knows the feeling, and that's why the company is rolling out "an army of in-house gadget experts to offer free Alexa consultations as well as product installations for a fee inside customer homes," Recode reports.
Amazon is aiming to win the smart home revolution, so it wants to make installing its assistant, Alexa, as easy as possible. The problem, as anyone who has ever tried to link home devices or pair Bluetooth technology knows, is that sometimes that is easier said than done. Because of the difficulty of linking devices, Recode notes that digital assistants like Alexa have a high return rate, which is why the Geek Squad-like at-home help becomes worth it for customers.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The countries around the world without jury trialsThe Explainer Legal systems in much of continental Europe and Asia do not rely on randomly selected members of the public
-
How did the Wagner Group recruit young British men for arson attack?Today's Big Question Russian operatives have been using encrypted messaging apps to groom saboteurs across Europe
-
The best graphic novelsThe Week Recommends These inventive illustrated books will transport you to another world
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new highSpeed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliablespeed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutinySpeed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress codespeed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirementspeed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff displaySpeed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loomSpeed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panelsSpeed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
