Most don't --- it's typically out of sight, out of mind.
Most consumers don't care that credit cards consume 2.5% of the purchase price. But they ultimately pay for it.
Likewise with Amazon, their projected $10 billion loss on Alexa toys this year alone affects the price of everything else you buy from them.
If I get my value out of the product before it is bricked
And if you don't? It takes time, effort and money to fully incorporate Alexa into your home. The speaker is only the first part of the cost.
Personally, I'm reluctant to do this if I know the product is a marketplace loser on the verge of being axed.
Precisely the point.
$10 billion is a decent hit to the bottom line. If they choose to absorb it, it typically rolls down to the consumer somehow.
If not, I can see a dead simple way to add $10 billion to profit --- shut down Alexa.
Neither of these options inspires a lot of confidence in the future of the product.
This is a separate question on whether you can get $15 a value out of a speaker before they cancel the program.
Uber might not have a long-term viable business model, but that won't stop me from taking a ride if I like the price. I'm a consumer not a investor.
If your point is that consumers might care about the long-term support for Alexa, then I agree that those consumers should be wary.
They just screwed up lol and customers who took advantage won out.
These devices just collect audio data and send it to Amazon for processing. Without the backend service, they are useless.
Why would consumers care if they are sustainable? If I get my value out of the product before it is bricked, I don't care if the company lost billions or even trillions of dollars?