Lenovo is working with Amazon to get the Alexa voice assistant into a range of Motorola smartphones, and in the process, looking to depose Google's voice assistant technology. The partners will first focus on developing an Alexa "Mod," a block that will attach to a Moto Z modular handset. The companies will then integrate Alexa directly into a variety of Moto handsets and devices, Lenovo said during a press conference in Barcelona on Sunday. The Moto Z is much like Google's Project Ara, where individual parts like speakers and projectors can be added to boost the functionality of the handset. The exact details of the Alexa Mod for Moto Z weren't provided, but an onstage image showed a speaker that could hook up to the handset.

Samsung's Windows-based Galaxy Books, unveiled Sunday at Mobile World Congress, point to a critical weakness in the company's multiple-OS strategy. The company uses Windows 10 in PCs, Android in smartphones, and Tizen across wearables and smart appliances. This has led to a lack of coherence among Samsung devices, in contrast to the near-seamless product integration that has fueled Apple's success as the world's most valued company. The specific issues with the Galaxy Books are relatively small, but are nevertheless symptoms of the larger problem: walls among devices and an inconsistent user experience across the company's product line. The lack of a broad app ecosystem for Samsung devices has not helped. Samsung has taken a siloed approach to product development, said Werner Goertz, lead Samsung analyst at Gartner.

The Huawei Watch 2 was revealed by the Chinese technology giant Sunday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Huawei vows the 4G sport smartwatch will be "your perfect workout companion" in a trailer of the device promoted by the hastag #FreeYourSpirit. Users also have access to a workout data report. There a one-press button on the lower crown which allows users to start the workout app instantly, and also has quick training options with fat-burning run or cardio run modes. The device also supports offline music and has a built-in speaker.

Samsung has revealed that its next flagship smartphone will launch on 29 March. The Galaxy S8 had been expected to make its first official appearance at MWC 2017, but the company decided to delay it because of the fallout surrounding the disastrous Galaxy Note 7. The Galaxy S8 is heavily rumoured to be an 5.8-inch handset, though a 6.2-inch S8 is also likely to launch alongside it. Both phones will allegedly feature an "infinity display", said to cover 83% of their front panel, enabling Samsung to keep them relatively compact. They'll also come with an iris-scanner, a 12-megapixel rear camera and 8-megapixel selfie camera, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. The S8 and S8 are also expected to be IP68 dust- and water-resistant and support wireless charging, as well as feature a new AI virtual assistant called Bixby capable of speaking up to eight different languages.

Google announced today that Google Assistant will start rolling out to devices running Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) and 7.0 (Nougat) later this week. Previously, the Assistant was only available on Google's Pixel phones, Home personal assistant, Allo messaging app and Android wear devices. Google is at the forefront of machine and deep-learning based natural language processing which they have used to power their vaunted speech recognition system. Google Assistant leverages this research to enable two-way, context-sensitive, conversational interactions between the user and the device. The Assistant syncs across devices and apps like Allo and Google Calendar and it allows voice-control of enabled smart-home devices.

With a connection this LG G6 can take advantage of the Google Assistant (Photo: Edward C. Baig) BARCELONA--The virtual Google Assistant is going to spread its voice beyond Google's own Pixel devices. Google announced that starting this week, it will roll out a software upgrade that brings the Assistant to all Android phones running Android 7.0 Nougat and Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Google Play Services. That's the software Google uses to update Google apps and services on Android devices. Google says the rollout will come first to English users in the U.S., followed by English users in Australia, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, as well as German speakers in Germany. More languages will be added over the course of the year.

According to Amazon and Motorola representatives here at Mobile World Congress, the two companies have teamed up to explore ways to bring Amazon's voice-controlled assistant onto Motorola hardware. Amazon's Jon Kirk took the stage to run through a a very short concept video in which a Moto phone was connected to a Harman Kardon-made speaker Mod that doubled as an Amazon Echo. That's not all, either: we're also told that Alexa support will be baked into "most" Motorola devices going forward, and that shift is expected to being later this year. Motorola isn't first to make this sort of announcement -- Huawei did the same back at CES -- but it's pretty clear Alexa is quickly becoming the voice assistant of choice for device makers who would rather avoid the soon-to-be-ubiquitous Google Assistant. The presentation was light on the really juicy Alexa details, but we wonder if the 5th-generation Moto G Plus -- which was also officially unveiled today -- will be the first Moto device to get the Amazon treatment.

Assistant might be the future of voice-controlled intelligence on our Google devices, but Google hasn't made it easy to get it. There are versions of it on Google Home, the new LG watches, or in Allo chats, but if you wanted the full mobile Assistant experience you had to commit to buying one of the Pixel phones. That's all about to change with a coming Play Services update. Right on the heels of LG's declaration that the G6 would be the first third-party phone to feature Assistant, Google announced that it would be bringing its voice-activated conceirge to all phones running Nougat and Marshmallow. As it is with the Pixel, users will be able to summon Assistant by saying OK Google or long-pressing on the home button.

Amazon Alexa users with health issues can now have Alexa call Healthtap's Doctor AI to help figure out what's wrong and direct them to act accordingly. Doctor AI initially supported Apple iOS and Android devices and its first voice application, Talk to Docs launched for those same devices in 2013. But support for Alexa, the smart voice-activated software that debuted with the Amazon Echo connected speaker, brings Dr. AI to home users who might not be adept at using screens. "We'd been doing text and video before, then expanded into voice and that's exciting in healthcare because we serve many populations that are older, disabled, or frail," said Ron Gutman, founder and chief executive of Palo Alto, California-based digital health company which claims 107,000 doctors in its network. Records and data from those doctors make up Dr. AI's health care data trove.

New measures to support Britain's world-leading AI sector are set to be announced as part of a bold Digital Strategy to boost growth and deliver a thriving, outward-looking digital economy that works for everyone. Accenture has estimated AI could add in the region of £654 billion ($814 billion) to the UK economy by 2035. So the Strategy, due to published by Culture Secretary Karen Bradley MP on Wednesday (March 1), builds on the plan set out in the Government's Industrial Strategy to capitalise on Britain's existing strengths and back new technologies where the UK can take a lead. Britain already has a competitive advantage in Artificial Intelligence, with some of the world's most innovative AI companies based here and a rich ecosystem of investors, employers, developers and clients. It is a fast-growing area for research and commercial investment, including by major global digital companies, and was identified as one of the technologies that could be supported through the Government's new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and the Challenger Business Programme.