Amazon's Alexa recently arrived on headphones and even toilets, but it's about to become much more ubiquitous by hitting Windows 10 PCs later this year. HP, ASUS and Acer have revealed that the voice assistant is coming to various models, including ASUS's ZenBook and VivoBook lineup, the HP Pavilion Wave, and select Acer Spin, Swift, Switch and Aspire notebooks. Amazon will release a special Alexa app in the spring, and laptop builders are tapping Intel's Smart Sound tech to make sure that the app can pick up your voice when you're not right next to your PC. "Hands-free access to Alexa on PCs can be helpful to customers in many ways, like making it simple to interact with your smart home, get news or weather, set timers, and more," Amazon Alexa VP Steve Rabuchin said in a statement. In August, Amazon and Microsoft unveiled a surprise alliance with the aim of integrating their respective Alexa and Cortana voice assistants by the end of 2017. The companies obviously missed that deadline, and the new Alexa Windows 10 app isn't part of that.

As they become more ubiquitous in homes and in various consumer electronics products, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital assistants are likely to be two of the major overarching themes at this week's 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Accelerating growth in both of these markets underscores their surging role in the overall consumer electronics landscape. More than 5 billion consumer devices supporting digital assistants will be in use in 2018, with almost 3 billion more added by 2021, according to IHS Markit, a global provider of critical information, analytics and solutions. Despite this growth, there are still some hurdles to overcome, before consumer adoption is widespread. "Amazon has a clear lead over rivals Google, Apple and Samsung, in terms of the numbers of skills and third-party apps and services supported by its Echo products, but more needs to be done by all platforms, to help users discover new skills and uses for the technology," said Jack Kent, director, operators and mobile media, IHS Markit.

At this year's CES, chipmaker Nvidia is showcasing new technology that could enable automakers to develop AI virtual assistants that are far smarter than the in-car versions of Alexa and Siri we're used to interacting with today. Nvidia announced two new software platforms for self-driving cars during a press conference on Sunday: Drive IX and Drive AR. The former allows carmakers to create artificially intelligent co-pilots that take advantage of sensors both inside and outside of the car to provide assistance. Volkswagen will be one of the first partners to begin experimenting with Drive IX in its I.D. Buzz prototype. Meanwhile, AI co-pilots built on Drive IX would be able to use facial recognition to identify the driver in order to accomplish tasks like starting the car or detecting whether or not the person behind the wheel is too drowsy to drive.

The hottest thing in the world of technology these days is your own voice. During the holiday season, some of the most popular gadgets were smart speakers with digital assistants from Google & Amazon. Apple also plans to come out with its own speaker this year. Microsoft & Samsung have partnered on another one. During the annual CES gadgets show that that will kick off this week in Las Vegas, manufacturers are expected to showcase more voice-controlled devices.

Along with a literal wall of a television, and new QLEDs with AI for 8K, Samsung's "First Look: event ahead of CES 2018 had some news about Bixby, SmartThings and Universal Guide. For those not familiar with Bixby, it is Samsung's answer to Siri, Alexa, ...Cortana. And Bixby will be in Samsung's 2018 range of televisions. Samsung says Bixby "enables easier interaction between the TV and its users, thanks to its intuitive UX, and comprehensive voice analysis capabilities". The new TVs will also feature SmartThings, Samsung's IoT platform hub, which promises "a simpler way to control the television and sync with other devices.

Some of the most popular gadgets over the holiday season were smart speakers with digital assistants from Amazon and Google. Apple is coming out with its own speaker this year; Microsoft and Samsung have partnered on another. As the annual CES gadget show kicks off in Las Vegas this week, manufacturers are expected to unveil even more voice-controlled devices -- speakers and beyond -- as Amazon and Google make their digital assistants available on a wider array of products. If these prove popular, you'll soon be able to order around much more of your house, including kitchen appliances, washing machines and other devices. CES is expected to draw more than 170,000 people, as some 4,000 exhibitors showcase their wares over the equivalent of nearly 50 football fields, or more than 11 New York city blocks.

In fact, Jabra is releasing the third generation of its own take on the technology: the Elite 65t and Elite Active 65t wireless earbuds. In addition to these two new models, Jabra is showing off a wired pair of Bluetooth earbuds, the Elite 45e, at CES this year as well. The Elite 65t includes one-touch access to Siri, Google Now, and Amazon Alexa, and promises up to five hours of listening time. That figure bumps to 15 hours total thanks to the included charging cradle. There's a built-in microphone for calls and voice commands with the Jabra Sound app handling any EQ tweaks.

Our bathrooms are about to get a lot smarter, if the latest technology being unveiled here at CES 2018 is any indication. Moen, which released its U by Moen smart shower system last year, is adding Alexa and Siri voice control capability to the series this year. With the new skills, you can tell Alexa to turn on your shower at a desired temperature or to a customized setting. Siri compatibility is coming later in the year. The system consists of a digital valve that enables digital, to-the-digit temperature control, shower heads, handshowers, body sprays and other fixtures.

While voice assistants like Amazon's Alexa and Google's Assistant are taking over the home, there are still some users who don't want to talk to their devices. The French company Netatmo, maker of a number of smart home products, wants users to text--not speak--to control their devices no matter where they are. At CES, Netatmo debuted its Smart Home Bot, a digital assistant of sorts that lives within Facebook Messenger that users can text commands to, thereby controlling their smart home devices. The foundation for the Smart Home Bot comes from Netatmo's new "with Netatmo" program. Currently, Netatmo devices are compatible with various virtual assistants including Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant.

Samsung is making some of the most exciting TV news at the 2018 CES: The first consumer TV based on micro-LED technology (aka MicroLED, mLED, and µLED). You can think of the mLEDs in the 146-inch, 8K UHD (7680 by 4320 pixels) "The Wall" as significantly brighter, non-organic OLEDs that similarly provide their own individual, energy-efficient light source. Micro-LEDs eliminate the need for both a separate backlight and LCD shutters, so there should be little to no leakage of light in areas where you don't want it. In plain-speak, mLEDs should deliver vastly improved blacks while increasing the peak brightness of LED TVs. Actually, for the first time, LED TV (which was shorthand for LED backlit) won't be a misnomer.