Amazon recently announced the opening of interactive Amazon Experience Centers within select Lennar model homes across the country. Customers can visit Alexa-enabled smart homes and see the technology in a real home environment. Read more about the new Amazon Experiences Centers in this Bloomberg article by Prashant Gopal.
Looking to sell its customers on the latest and greatest smart-home technology, builder Lennar Corp. flirted with Siri. Now it’s decided to go steady with Alexa.
Lennar’s model homes — equipped with video doorbells, Sonos speakers and Amazon.com Inc.’s voice-activated Echo (known by its wake-word, “Alexa”) — will double as Amazon Experience Centers, the tech giant said Wednesday.
The builder, which announced a partnership with Apple Inc. in 2016, has switched to Amazon because of its white-glove installation services, which customers would normally have to pay for, said David Kaiserman, president of Lennar Ventures. For its buyers, Lennar now includes a visit from Amazon technicians to set up devices and customize how they interact with the two Echo speakers included with the house, he said.
Apple lovers shouldn’t feel jilted. While the homes are configured to work with Amazon’s Echo, customers can control them with any technology they choose — or none at all, Kaiserman said.
Full article: Amazon Sells Alexa’s Smart-Home Technology in Lennar Model Homes via Bloomberg
