When Amazon first launched the Echo smart home speaker and the Alexa voice assistant, I was excited beyond belief. It felt like a true evolution in tech, something straight out of the science fiction from past decades. Here it was, a real product you could buy and own.

Sure, the Echo itself was ostensibly just a speaker, but the Alexa ecosystem underpinning it made it so much more than that. It was smart, it was functional, and it was a step in the right direction for forward-thinking people keen to build a smart home.

But now, a decade on from its launch, it feels like the Alexa platform has run out of steam. I used to use my Echo all the time, but not anymore. Here’s what happened and what could get me back.

I was an Alexa early adopter

The first Echo speaker I bought was the tall, p

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