Amazon Alexa - SlashGear

Alexa custom assistant gives car dash tech a unique voice – and FCA is first onboard

Chris Davies | Jan 15, 2021

Amazon is opening up Alexa for automakers to make their own, custom virtual assistants, and Fiat Chrysler is first onboard to include it in future dashboards. While Alexa has already found its way into multiple cars and trucks already, allowing for music playback, remote smart home control, and more, the Alexa Custom Assistant will allow for more unique features as well as a vehicle-specific wake word.

Alexa ‘Tell me when’ offers dynamic reminders for the absent-minded

Brittany A. Roston | Jan 9, 2021

If you relying on smart devices to help keep your life organized, Amazon's new Alexa feature 'Tell me when' will quickly prove useful. The feature was added as part of Alexa's December 2020 update, adding the ability to get 'dynamic, event-based reminders' for upcoming moments, including everything from future emails you anticipate getting to reminders for when your favorite show will air.

Turn off your Alexa when you’re done: A quick reminder

Chris Burns | Dec 30, 2020

If you got a new Amazon Echo Dot for Christmas, consider turning it off. Chances are you got the device as a gift, opened it immediately, and got to work asking about the weather, movie facts, and told it to sing a song. If you're like me, chances are you then sat the device on a shelf and forgot about it. It's probably still powered up and listening to you right now.

Amazon Echo will play Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas message this year

Brittany A. Roston | Dec 20, 2020

Amazon has a special treat for Echo device owners, at least those who have their speakers set to English: Queen Elizabeth's Christmas Day message. The ability to request the message will make it easier than ever for many people across the world to hear the broadcast, one that may otherwise be a bit more difficult to access outside of the UK.

Amazon Echo gets group calling and other key features for the holidays

Brittany A. Roston | Dec 18, 2020

Amazon has announced new features for its Alexa assistant and related Echo products, including group calling and support for new video conferencing options on its Echo Show 8. The features come just ahead of the year's biggest holidays, giving users new ways to connect with their friends and family while staying socially distanced.

Alexa Live Translation feature arrives on Echo with six language pairs

Brittany A. Roston | Dec 14, 2020

Amazon has announced the arrival of Live Translation on its Echo devices, enabling users to have a conversation in two different languages in real-time with Alexa serving as a translator. The feature is arriving for Echo devices in the US with a total of six language pairs to kick things off, including English - Spanish.

iPhone users can now text Alexa their requests and commands

Brittany A. Roston | Dec 3, 2020

If you can't or simply don't want to talk to your Alexa assistant, you'll soon be able to text it instead. Amazon quietly rolled out the feature to iPhone users, enabling them to fire off a text message to their assistant rather than using voice to communicate with the speaker. Not everyone has access to the feature at this time, however.

Fitbit Sense, Versa 3 now put Google Assistant on your wrist

JC Torres | Nov 19, 2020

The acquisition deal might still be incomplete but Google and Fitbit are already bridging the gap between the two's distinct wearable platforms. No, Fitbit still has its own operating system but this latest update to version 5.1 puts at least two of its smartwatches closer to Google's Wear OS. Going beyond Amazon Alexa, Fitbit is now opening the Sense's and Versa 3's doors to Google Assistant while also adding more health monitoring features that make the smartwatches even better than before.

Amazon Echo Frames available to all – Alexa smart glasses upgraded

Chris Davies | Nov 19, 2020

Amazon's Alexa glasses, the Echo Frames, are graduating from the retailer's tech preview and going up for general sale, with a bunch of new updates for those eager to wear the assistant on their face. At the same time, fellow Amazon Day 1 Editions product Echo Loop - effectively a ring for interacting with Alexa - is being discontinued, the retailer says.

Amazon just revealed a bright new PRODUCT(RED) Echo speaker

Chris Davies | Nov 18, 2020

Amazon has revealed a new, limited edition version of its latest Echo smart speaker, with the PRODUCT(RED) model promising a share of the price goes to charity. As with other PRODUCT(RED) launches we've seen, sales of the red-finish Echo will include a contribution to the Global Fund to support HIV and AIDS programs in sub-Saharan Africa.

Alexa gets new Care Hub feature for monitoring aging relatives

Brittany A. Roston | Nov 11, 2020

Amazon has launched Care Hub, a new Alexa feature that enables users to keep tabs on family members who live independently, but who may need assistance from time to time. The feature is particularly useful amid the pandemic, making it easier to connect with isolated elderly parents and more without the risk of in-person visits.

Alexa is getting chattier as Amazon’s AI guesses what you really wanted

Chris Davies | Nov 11, 2020

Alexa is about to get chattier, but Amazon thinks a more vocal AI will be welcome if she can correctly intuit what you might want out of the conversation. While Alexa-powered smart speakers have been able to run in conversational mode for some months now, asking back and forth questions, a new update being rolled out will help the assistant figure out what Amazon is referring to as "latent goals" from users.