Amazon is about to release a new chat app that could be the WeChat of North America.

You may think “Really!? Yet another messaging app?”

However, the idea is not that far-fetched for several reasons:

1. Amazon has already been building messaging services, both for enterprises and consumers.

2. Amazon has already started to dip its toes into consumer communications, namely with Alexa Calling.

The free calling and messaging service, Alexa calling, was launched in May.

It’s not so hard to get that Amazon was from the start expanding the communications experience outside of the Echo-device ecosystem: people could also use their Alexa apps — on smartphones and other hardware — to communicate with each other.

And it makes a lot of sense that Amazon would develop a more focused, standalone messaging experience as a progression of that.

Anytime hopes to be an all-in-one feature rich service that could even rival social networks.

Some of the possible features are:
- Food ordering in group chat
- Bill splitting
- Embedded gaming (remember they own Twitch)
- Video calls with filters
- Ability to make reservations
- It will have gifs!
- Video and audio calling
- Secure messaging and photo filters
- Support for video and photo filters
- Ability to @mention other users (just by name)

We’ll see how ecosystems like Alexa, Prime Video, and Anytime will bridge the consumer into the Amazon experience; that will be able to facilitate everything, not just shopping, anytime they want.

Interesting times :)

https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/14/amazon-messaging-app-anytime/