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Amazon Alexa event live blog: all the news from the keynote

Amazon Alexa 2025 event

Amazon is set to announce new Alexa features beginning at 10AM ET this morning — and we hope a few devices accompany them. There isn’t a way to watch the event remotely, but our team is here in person to bring you all of the updates as they happen.

We’re expecting Amazon to announce its new AI-powered Alexa, which, according to earlier reports, could cost as much as $5 to $10 per month on top of a Prime membership. Reuters said in June that Amazon has considered the subscription pricing for a complete Alexa overhaul that could allow people to order dinner from services like Uber Eats or help write an email.

The Washington Post said earlier this month that Amazon won’t release the new version of Alexa for at least a month after this event because the company has reportedly encountered issues with inaccurate answers to test questions.

It seems like it would be a good time for Amazon to announce new products that use the latest version of Alexa, too, so we’re hoping to see new Echos or updates to Amazon’s glasses, Fire TV platform, and other devices and services. But who knows? Follow along below for the updates.

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All of the announcements from Amazon’s Alexa Plus event

Amazon has finally taken the wraps off its AI-enhanced version of Alexa, called Alexa Plus.

The new version of Alexa is powered by a mixture of LLMs and integrations that reach across news partners and all kinds of apps and ordering services. You’ll be able to use Alexa to add events to your calendar, buy concert tickets, and ask questions about the news.

Amazon is making some big promises here, but there’s still a lot we don’t know. The service won’t start rolling out until March, and it sounds like availability will be limited even then.

You can find all of our coverage in the stream below.

Google Maps in the US will change to Gulf of America and Mount McKinley

Google said today that it plans to update Google Maps to reflect President Trump’s January 20th executive order to change the names of the Gulf of Mexico and Denali to the Gulf of America and Mount McKinley, respectively.

The company noted on X the updated nomenclature will appear once the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is updated.

“We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources,” the company posted on X. It added that when “name changes vary between countries, Maps users see their official local name. Everyone in the rest of the world sees both names. That applies here too.”

Denali was named Mount McKinley until 2015.

The US Department of the Interior said last week it plans to follow the executive order to implement the name changes.

“The U.S. Board on Geographic Names, under the purview of the Department of the Interior, is working expeditiously to update the official federal nomenclature in the Geographic Names Information System to reflect these changes, effective immediately for federal use,” the Department of the Interior said on Friday.

An Apple spokesperson wasn’t immediately available to comment on its plans for Apple Maps.

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