Echo And Alexa Are Two Years Old. Here’s What Amazon Has Learned So Far. With its smart speaker and voice service, Amazon has gained new areas of expertise–and, in some cases, been surprised by its own customers. [Photos: courtesy of Amazon] By Harry McCracken11.07.16 | 12:00 am. On November 6 2014, Amazon announced Echo, a smart speaker featuring a voice-controlled assistant service called Alexa.