I imagine any smart phone could be listening to you, without your even knowing it.
I still don’t understand the appeal of a voice command, over just typing a search into Google, etc, though.
You can bark or type orders at your VPA and let it do the hard work for you.
I’ve looked over the Alexa history, and most common uses in our household is timers for cooking, light music (jazz and 1970s rock), weather, shopping lists, and daily news updates.
Worth the price? Don’t think so, a good bluetooth speaker paired to a cell phone is likely more useful overall, as Google or Siri has more functionality. But Alexa’s uses are increasing daily, so the gap is continually shrinking. It has been interesting watching all of them evolve in the last year.
A prime example of a function that others have that Alexa doesn’t is sending messages or setting a reminder tied to a location. (Such as OK google, remind me to get wiper blades when I’m at WalMart)
I have one and I use it all the time...it’s particularly handy when you’re cooking or doing some other activity where your hands are occupied, and don’t want to stop what you’re doing or go wash your hands so you can get on your computer or tablet.
Some people have injuries that mean a voice assistant makes devices of all kinds considerably easier to use.