Qualcomm to Join With Amazon

Microchip firm Qualcomm  is joining Amazon.com to

spread the use of Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant in

wireless headphones, the companies said on Monday.

Under the deal, Qualcomm will release a set of chips

that any maker of Bluetooth headphones can use to

embed Alexa directly into the device. When the head-

phones are paired to a phone with the Alexa app on it,

users will be able to talk to the voice assistant by tapping

a button on the headphones.

The functionality would be similar to Apple AirPods wireless

earbuds, which enable users can tap the devices to talk to

Apple’s virtual assistant, Siri.

Amazon and Alphabet’s Google, whose voice assistants

have most often been found in their respective smart

speakers for the home, are rushing to partner with headphone

Makers.

Models from Bose and Jabra feature Alexa built in, and Sony

said earlier this year that a software update will make some of

its headphone models work with Alexa. Google Assistant can

be used on headphones from Bose, JBL and Sony, along with

Google’s own Pixel Buds.