Report: Amazon and Lenovo Talk About Integrating Alexa

You might not have named your laptop Alexa, but you might be calling it that at some future point. And that's not because you're paying homage to Amazon's digital assistant. If rumored talks between Amazon and some laptop manufacturers pan out, it's possible that you might see future laptops with Alexa functionality built right in—a move that's sure to irritate Microsoft and its competing digital assistant that comes baked into Windows 10, Cortana.

According to a recent report from CNET, sourced to an unnamed Lenovo executive, the company has allegedly been talking to Amazon about possibly integrating Alexa into its future laptops and tablets. The talks are still in the early stages, and it's possibly that they might go nowhere, but even the fact that Amazon is willing to sit at the table and discuss a possibility indicates the company is looking to bring Alexa to more high-profile devices than just its own speakers.

And it's probably good for Amazon that the company is exploring the possibility of Alexa integration, as there are plenty of other competitors likely looking to do the same. We suspect that companies like Microsoft, Google, and Apple would be looking for some kind of exclusivity if they were to branch out and partner with other manufacturers, as we doubt Amazon would want a company like Lenovo to promote both Alexa and Google Assistant for the same device. (Though that does get a little weird in Microsoft's case, given that almost every Windows 10 user gets Cortana.)

As CNET notes, Alexa-enabled laptops could help Amazon bolster its revenue by giving purchasers an incredibly easy way to access Amazon's online store (and services). It might even help prop up the fading PC market a bit by giving potential buyers a good reason to get a brand-new laptop instead of a small digital assistant device.

Though Amazon hasn't disclosed how many Alexa-enabled Echo devices it has sold, recent estimates by third-party research firms put the number at around three million as of April. In that same month, theTriby message board became the first non-Amazon device to have integrated Alexa capabilities.