Amazon just announced a hardware event for February 26th in New York City, where the company is expected to finally unveil its next-generation Alexa powered by generative AI. The event will be led by Panos Panay, who joined Amazon last year to head up its Devices & Services division after departing Microsoft.

The invitation features a swirling blue design that strongly hints at Alexa-related announcements. This matches up with Amazon's September 2023 preview of a more conversational Alexa upgrade that has yet to materialize, despite initial plans for an earlier release.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Amazon executives have scheduled a final readiness review for February 14th to determine if the new AI-powered assistant is ready for prime time. The upgraded Alexa is expected to handle more complex, multi-turn conversations and potentially even complete tasks autonomously as an "agent" for users.

"Classic Alexa will remain available for free, while the new AI-powered version may come with a monthly subscription between $5-10"— Reuters report

The timing is notable as Amazon skipped its usual fall hardware event in 2024, likely due to development delays with the new Alexa system. This February event marks a departure from the company's typical product launch calendar and could signal a fresh approach under Panay's leadership.

Beyond Alexa's AI upgrade, Amazon might also refresh some of its Echo hardware lineup to better showcase the assistant's new capabilities. Unfortunately, the event won't be livestreamed.