There’s been a four-year wait for the 2016 Rio Olympics, but today’s the day: the torch will be lit, the games will officially open, and there will be a media frenzy to get breaking information and news about the world’s largest sporting event. Tech has changed a lot in four years, and what better place to see the latest innovations than the Olympics?
Voice your questions with Amazon Echo, stream with Fire TV
We’re all on the go, and the games wait for no one. There’s a good chance you’re going to miss a lot of the action, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait to find out who’s won the gold. Amazon is turning the Echo into an Olympics results powerhouse so that you can get all the news you want exactly when you want it.
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A whole bunch of Olympics-related commands are being added to Echo’s Alexa voice command system. You can ask general things like “what are the Olympic medal standings?” to get a count of the overall results, as well as things like “how many gold medals does the USA have?” to get specific results. Amazon has also added the ability to ask event-specific questions about winners, schedules, and recaps.
If you’ve cut the cable TV cord for pure internet streaming the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick will allow you to watch the games. The NBC Sports and Sling TV apps are both streaming the Olympics, and both apps are available free on the Amazon App Store.
Dive deep with Google’s detailed results
The Echo and your Fire TV aren’t exactly as portable as a smartphone, but don’t worry: Google has you covered. Olympic-related searches will turn up specialized info, as well as links to highlight videos and news stories. As a bonus, searching within the Google app on iOS or Android adds the option to get mobile notifications for your search query.
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Google is also using YouTube and mapping tech to give Olympic fans direct access to the games. YouTube is sending 15 of its top Creators to Rio to live stream the games. There’s also new street view mapping of Rio, and even backpack mapping of the Olympic park itself. You might not be able to get to the games, but Google is trying to give you an immersive experience.
SiriusXM: 24-hour coverage
SiriusXM subscribers will be able to follow the games 24 hours a day on channel 106, but don’t assume you’re going to be able to tune in to every single game: they’re focusing on live coverage of Team USA basketball and soccer.
The SiriusXM Olympic channel will feature a nightly recap called Tonight in Rio, so you’ll still be able to get an update if you want to stay up from 10:00 p.m. eastern until midnight to get the news.
Prefer Olympic coverage in app form?
If Echo, Google searches, and digital radio aren’t your thing you can always keep up on the latest Olympic news with these 10 Olympic apps. No matter how you’d prefer to get your Olympic news the modern world has an option for you!