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Amazon makes it easier to put Alexa in headphones, smartwatches

The Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit will help manufacturers more easily add Amazon's voice-activated digital assistant to wearable tech.

Ashlee Clark Thompson Associate Editor
Ashlee spent time as a newspaper reporter, AmeriCorps VISTA and an employee at a healthcare company before she landed at CNET. She loves to eat, write and watch "Golden Girls" (preferably all three at the same time). The first two hobbies help her out as an appliance reviewer. The last one makes her an asset to trivia teams. Ashlee also created the blog, AshleeEats.com, where she writes about casual dining in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ashlee Clark Thompson
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Amazon wants to bring Alexa to wearables, not just smart speakers like this Amazon Echo.

Chris Monroe/CNET

Amazon has made it easier for companies to add its Alexa voice-activated assistant to wearable devices such as smartwatches, fitness trackers and headphones. 

The online retailer announced Friday the Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit, which will remove the need for development teams to "perform the bulk of the coding for their Alexa integration," according to an Amazon Alexa blog post

Devices that manufacturers build with the Alexa kit will connect directly to the Alexa Voice Service through the Alexa App for Android and iOS on the customer's mobile device.

The kit will be available later this year, and you can sign up for notifications when Amazon has released it. This means that we'll likely see more devices in the coming year that put Alexa right on you rather than in a smart speaker.