Alexa gets new features to make it a better listener

Speaker 1: Amazon is finally taking on some responsibility around here. The smart assistant can listen for when the washing machine is done, it can streamline refilling your prescription meds. It can even let you know when grandma is up and about. We're talking a, about a whole bunch of updates and putting a couple to the test right now. Speaker 1: This is an [00:00:30] Amazon echo dot. It's a device called a smart speaker and brace yourselves. You can just issue a voice command to it and it'll respond. You don't need to hit any buttons or anything. How wild is that? So yeah, Amazon rolls out new features for its digital assistant all the time. It rolls out new devices all the time. This didn't used to be a sphere. It used to be a hockey puck and it transmogrified soon Amazon is dropping a [00:01:00] wall mounted, smart display called the echo show 15. So building up to that, it's rolled out a bunch of new bells and whistles. And fortunately those new features generally get passed on to existing devices. So if you already have an echo or an echo show, you can take advantage of a lot of this new stuff right now. Well, please keep watching the video to find out what the features actually are, but then, but right then, so I'm gonna talk about my favorite of [00:01:30] the new list of features. And then we're gonna give it a quick test to check its capabilities. And then I'll walk through all the rest of the updates and talk about what they mean. Speaker 1: The first new feature. Amazon can tell you when your laundry is done, when your dishes are dry. Thank goodness. Well kind of it can listen for new sounds like appliances beeping and water running, and you can use those sounds to trigger routines, which are grouped commands. So, [00:02:00] and I'm leaving routines could lower the thermostat at close the blinds and lock the doors. For example, with this feature, you no longer have to worry about a nightmare scenario where you're in the basement writing and the washer stops, but you don't hear it. So you just keep writing and you're blanky is just sitting there soaking wet. And a few hours later, you have to go to a meeting, but you don't have your business blankie because you forgot to switch the washer. [00:02:30] And so how are you supposed to go to an important business meeting without, without your business blankie? So this feature's literally life saving with this feature or your echo. Here's the washer, a light fly lashes in your writing room, and you can put everything in the dryer properly. Speaker 1: Honestly, it is handy and the running water bit is also nice. As you can get a reminder, if you didn't turn off the sink all the way. So let's test them both. [00:03:00] First up, we need one washing machine, one, Amazon echo, and one smart light bulb. You can trigger whatever routine you want, but we're gonna keep it nice and simple for this test. And it doesn't really work with the washer at the scene at smart home, lots of newer and appliances have done away with traditional beeping and their jolly new tunes. Don't trigger Amazon's routines, but it did respond well to the old school beeping of [00:03:30] our dishwasher. So your mileage may vary on this one based on what your appliances actually sound like when their cycle ends and test number two, subtract one washer and add one running faucet. This one was more inconsistent. Speaker 1: It worked sometimes it once even tripped when it heard the dishwasher drain. It's a little slow, which I guess is good. You don't want it to trigger while you're actually using the sink, but it was hit [00:04:00] or miss while the sync was actually running for a while, triggering roughly 50% of the time. Amazon probably needs to update the software here. If you want to use this one reliably, the other big news is the launch of a program called Amazon together. Note. It's not actually called Amazon together. It's called [inaudible] together, but I don't wanna wake your devices. So Amazon together is a subscription program designed to monitor the wellbeing of senior citizens. It's [00:04:30] $200 a year or $20 a month. And there are a few bells and whistles, but really you're paying for access to a 24 7 urgent care line. You can just say a word I need help. Speaker 1: And your echo can connect to a hotline which can call the proper authorities note. It's not actually calling 9 1 1 and the hotline can't call emergency services on your behalf, unless they talk to the person who called for help and confirm there's a [00:05:00] problem, but it can provide some peace of mind, albeit of the expensive variety. You can also use the service to sync your echo with third party devices for fall detection. And if you set it up for your elderly parents, you can use the service to get a sense of if they're up and about, and Amazon will give you a general sense of their wellbeing without going into all the minutia of their activity and your elderly parent can opt into remote [00:05:30] assist so that you can provide tech help and work on the features of their echo from afar. One of the other new features helps make this one better. Speaker 1: Amazon can use ultrasound to detect presence so you can use that to trigger routines, or you can make sure your elderly parent is active without them needing to actually interact with their smart speaker. Some of the others you can use voice commands to refill meds. If you use Amazon pharmacy, [00:06:00] Amazon is expanding the opt in conversation mode to new devices. So you can talk to your assistant without always having to say the wake word. You can teach the assistant, your preferences, like your favorite sports teams, and you can pull up TikTok vis now on some of the smart display. And there we go, comment below to let me know how you plan to use these features to change your existing routines. And let me know whether your appliances beep or sing to you when [00:06:30] their cycles are done. And let me know if you've ever had to go to a meeting without your business blanking. I was just talking in hypothetical. I can't actually imagine going through something like that. Thanks for watching. Please hit that thumbs up button. If you enjoy the video and subscribe to C net's YouTube channel for much more, including a review of the upcoming echo show 15, once we get a chance to put it through its paces. Thanks again.