What are the newest Alexa features?

September 2022

Add notes to your Alexa Shopping List

Customers can now add personalized notes to items in their Alexa Shopping Lists. By simply tapping on the item in the Alexa app, customers can now include specific shopping details like if they need a specific type of milk, their preferred yogurt brand and flavors, or how many limes they need to purchase. This ensures that no matter who is doing the shopping in your household, they have all the details they need to get in and out of the store efficiently.

Changes to Alexa's voice in Amazon Kids

In the U.S., Amazon Kids on Alexa now features a slower, more expressive version of Alexa's voice that will answer kids' educational questions within the Amazon Kids experience. For example, if a child is using a device powered by Amazon Kids and asks, "Alexa, why is the sky blue?" Alexa might answer with a fun yet easy-to-understand response like, "The sky is blue because the molecules of the atmosphere scatter blue light across the sky, more than any other color. And did you know blue is the most popular color across the world? I guess the sky must love blue as well!"

Alexa rain and snow notifications

In anticipation of the changing fall and winter weather, customers can now have Alexa notify them when rain or snow is in the forecast by saying, "Alexa, tell me when there is rain" or "Alexa, tell me when there is snow." Customers will be alerted when precipitation starts and ends, as well as the expected number of inches of rain or snow in their area.

Resume listening to Apple podcasts with Alexa

Customers can now seamlessly resume listening to their favorite podcasts with the updated Apple Podcasts skill on Alexa devices. Set Apple Podcasts as your default podcast provider and then ask Alexa to play a specific podcast. For example, you can say, "Alexa, play Radiolab podcast." When you need to take a break from the podcast, just say, "Alexa, pause." When you're ready to continue listening where you left off, just say, "Alexa, resume my podcast."

"Alexa, what should I watch?" on Fire TV

Launching out of beta in September, Alexa's new conversational experience on Fire TV can give you personalized entertainment recommendations and help you discover great content on Fire TV. Just say, "Alexa, what should I watch?" and Alexa will provide you with an on-screen selection of titles to choose from. You can narrow down recommendations even further, by genre, actor, director, app, and more until you find the perfect piece of content to stream.

Tap to Alexa expands to Fire tablets

With Tap to Alexanow available on select Fire tablets, customers can interact with Alexa via touch instead of voice. For the first time, customers can use Tap to Alexa with a compatible Bluetooth switch to navigate and interact with their Fire tablet, which can be helpful for individuals with limited mobility. Additionally, customers can use a new Text to Speech function, where they can type a phrase and then tap an icon to have it spoken out loud. This can be helpful for customers with speech disabilities or unique voice patterns, or who are nonverbal or nonspeaking.

Amazon Kids on Alexa expanding to new countries

Customers in Australia, New Zealand, Spain, and Italy can now enjoy the Amazon Kids on Alexa experience. Families can turn on Amazon Kids on compatible Alexa-powered devices to enjoy kid-friendly responses, jokes, and songs with filtering for explicit lyrics. Amazon Kids on Alexa also comes with a free suite of parental controls, like time limits and automatically disabled voice purchasing.

Amazon 2022 devices and services event news

We recently introduced several new Alexa features and devices to help customers stay organized and entertained-and give some of them extra peace of mind. Visit About Amazonto learn more.

August 2022

Introducing Alexa Widgets on Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 10

Widgets are now rolling out to Echo Show 8 (1st and 2nd gen), Echo Show 10 (2nd and 3rd gen), in addition to Echo Show 15. On Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 10, simply swipe from the right side of the device screen to view your favorite widgets, rearrange their order, or pull up the Widget Gallery. Use widgets on Echo Show devices to keep your family organized with shared calendars and to-do lists, discover new shows, stream music, or view and control your favorite compatible smart home devices.

"Alexa, open SongPop"

Marking the 10-year anniversary of the series, SongPop, the award-winning mobile music-trivia game, is now available on Alexa-enabled devices in the U.S., UK, and Canada. Players can dive into the experience by saying, "Alexa, open SongPop," or via the Alexa app for iOS and Android.

Expanding Multilingual Mode to include mobile customers

Customers who use the Alexa app on Android devices can now update the app to the latest version and ask Alexa to speak in two languages. This makes it easier for bilingual customers to engage with Alexa more seamlessly.

"Alexa, play The Rings of Power"

The epic series that tells the story of Middle-earth's Second Age just premiered on Prime Video, and Alexa and Fire TV can help you get fully immersed in Tolkien's world-just ask, "Alexa, play The Rings of Power" to tune in. Plus, new exclusive looks will be dropping every Saturday right on your Fire TV home screen. To bring Middle-earth to life in your kitchen, simply say, "Alexa, show me The Rings of Power recipes," to view recipes created by chef Marcus Samuelsson, inspired by the people, places, and environments of this beloved fantasy world that fans can make at home.

Alexa Game Control

Amazon launchedAlexa Game Control, which lets gamers use their voice to get a more immersive video game experience. Powered by Alexa, you can chat with non-player characters (NPCs), engage enemies, navigate without hitting a million controls, change weapons, and more-just by using your voice. For in-game voice commands, a player says the supported request without "Alexa"-i.e., "swap to my best weapon." If a gamer wants to invoke an Alexa request outside of the game, such as turning off the lights or ordering a pizza, they can simply say "Alexa, order me a pizza." Players do not need an Echo or another Alexa-enabled device to play video games with their voice. They can use any microphone or headset connected to their PC or console. The upcoming game Dead Island 2 will be the first to feature Alexa Game Control. To learn more, visit Alexa Game Control.

July 2022

"Alexa, start Photo Frame"

Photo Frame is now available on all Echo Show devices in the U.S., CA, UK, DE, FR, IT, ES, JP, and AU, giving customers the ability to showcase their memories and personal style with the help of Alexa.Previously only available on Echo Show 15, this feature turns your device into a beautiful, three-hour photo slideshow, creating the perfect ambiance for a party or evening in. Just say, "Alexa, start Photo Frame," and Alexa will automatically create your customized slideshow after you've connected your Amazon Photos account, which offers Prime members free unlimited photo storage and 5 GBs of video storage. You can also use available collections of artwork, Facebook photos, and stock imagery. To return to the home screen after you've enabled Photo Frame, simply say, "Alexa, go home." Learn more on how to sync Amazon Photos to your Echo Show.

Weather-related sound effects on Alexa Kids

Alexa Kids customers in the U.S. will now hear fun sound effects in their weather update when they ask Alexa for the forecast. Just say, "Alexa, what's the weather?" to hear corresponding sounds-including thunder, wind, and rain-along with their weather forecast.

"Alexa, open Star Trek Trivia"

Customers in the U.S. can now advance through the ranks of Starfleet Academy by testing their Star Trek knowledge with the new Star Trek Trivia skillon Alexa-enabled devices. Narrated by Wil Wheaton, the skill features trivia from Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Customers can play solo or use multiplayer mode to challenge friends and family. Just say, "Alexa, open Star Trek Trivia" to get started.

June 2022

"Alexa, show me My Stuff"

Customers can access My Stuff (previously called Library) by saying "Alexa, show me My Stuff" for access to their watch lists, video libraries, and DVR content on Fire TV.These enhancements to the navigation experience provide a streamlined look and feel, making it easier for customers to find the content they want faster.

"Alexa, play Trivia with Samuel L. Jackson"

Customers can test their knowledge about Samuel L. Jackson through a new interactive trivia experience available on Alexa-enabled devices. Just say "Alexa, play Trivia with Samuel L. Jackson" and the actor will walk you through a series of multiple-choice questions about his life, movies, and more.

May 2022

Call Captioning country and language expansion

Starting today, Call Captioning, which displays captions in near real time during one-on-one Alexa video calls, will now be supported in Spanish, French, and Portuguese languages and available to customers in Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. In addition to helping customers who are deaf and hard of hearing, this language and country expansion reflects the diverse world we live in today, making video calls more inclusive, notably for those in multilingual homes, and helping loved ones stay connected across countries. Call Captioning is available on all Echo Show devices. To learn more, visit the Alexa Accessibility hub.

New Alexa Together features

We introduced new Alexa Together featuresto help aging customers feel more comfortable and confident living independently and to give their families peace of mind. An aging customer can now have up to 10 caregivers pitching in and helping out with the Circle of Support. And coming soon, Remote Assist functionality-if enabled by the person receiving support-will allow the primary caregiver to remotely set up Alexa Routinesfor their aging loved one.

Best Buy Health's Lively Urgent Response Skill

Customers in the U.S. can now link their Lively and Alexa accounts together, giving them access to Lively Urgent Response services with a simple voice request whenever they need help. Agents can assist with emergencies where proper authorities need to be dispatched, as well as non-emergencies, like hearing a concerning noise outside the home or experiencing a non-life-threatening medical concern. Once enabled, customers can say, "Alexa, call for help" to their compatible Alexa-enabled devices in the home, and they'll be connected to the Lively Response team.

"Alexa, play 'Become' podcast"

You can now tune into the Become podcast, a new health and wellness Amazon Original podcast series availableexclusively on Amazon Music. Each episode is designed to help you de-stress by guiding you through a short and simple meditation practice. Just say, "Alexa, play Become podcast on Amazon Music" to get started.

Alexa is available on more devices

The next generation of Fire 7, Amazon's most popular tablet, has been upgraded to deliver even more for the whole family. You can ask Alexa to play videos and music, open apps, shop online, check the weather, access compatible smart home devices, and more. With the compact size, you can watch movies, play games, and stay connected at home or on-the-go with up to 10 hours of battery life, USB-C for easy charging, a 30% faster processor, and double the RAM. Learn more about the Fire 7 tablet.

Amazon Fire TV and Hisense announced the availability of the U6HF, the first Hisense smart TV with Amazon and Alexa built-in. The smart TV is accompanied by an Alexa Voice Remote, which allows customers to use their voice to easily change channels, launch apps, search for titles, play music, and control compatible smart home devices just by asking Alexa. Available exclusively on Amazon, the new 50-inch U6HF offers Fire TV's content-forward experience, with access to more than 1 million TV episodes and movies in the U.S. It also features Hisense's proprietary ULED technology, along with 4K Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10/HDR10+ for stunning clarity, deep contrast, and vivid colors.

April 2022

New Amazon Pharmacy features on Alexa

Amazon Pharmacy customers can now receive proactive reminders from Alexa when it's time to refill their prescriptions and order their refills. Customers with Echo Show devices can now see detailed information about their prescriptions on screen when they use the Amazon Pharmacy skill, including pictures of pills, Prime and insurance pricing, remaining refills available, and additional drug information. To hear proactive reminders from Alexa or see information about their prescriptions on their Echo Show device, customers will need to provide their PIN number and confirm their voice via voice profile.

Alexa person and package detection announcements

Once enabled on supported cameras or video doorbells, you can receive a push notification from the Alexa mobile app, hear an announcement from your Echo device, and automatically view live video feeds on your Echo Show, Fire TV, and Fire Tablet when your camera detects a person or package. You can also set up a Routine, such as turning on a porch light, when a person or package is detected. Person detection announcements are available for all Ring video doorbells and cameras that work with Alexa. Coming soon, it will also be available for Google Nest Cam (outdoor or indoor, battery), Nest Cam (indoor, wired), Nest Cam with floodlight and Nest Doorbell (battery), Abode IOTA, and outdoor cameras. Package detection announcements are available on the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2, Ring Video Doorbell (2020 release), and will soon release for Abode IOTA and outdoor cameras.

"Alexa, follow the Seattle Mariners."

Customers can now ask Alexa to follow their favorite baseball teams to be proactively notified of important updates like scores, team news, and reminders for upcoming games. Just say, "Alexa, follow the Seattle Mariners," and Alexa will notify you on the latest team updates through the Alexa app or on your device.

"Alexa, listen to sports."

Just in time for baseball season, you can now easily discover and listen to live audio streams of major sporting events by simply using your voice on any Alexa-enabled device. Just say, "Alexa, listen to sports" to find out what's currently available on TuneIn Live or stream your favorite team's game by saying "Alexa, listen to the Seattle Mariners game," or any baseball team to listen to a specific game.

More ways Alexa keeps you connected at home and on the go

We've introduced new Alexa featuresto make it easier to connect with your family and friends, no matter where you are. Now, you can reply directly to your VIP Filter contacts and even send text messageswith Alexa on Echo Frames without having to pull out your phone. You can also ask, "Alexa, what are my notifications?" and Alexa will share any unread notifications from your VIP contacts or apps on Echo Buds, Echo Frames, and Echo Auto, so that you don't miss an important text from mom or alerts about top news stories.

Audio streaming for hearing aids on Fire TV Cube

Fire TV Cube (2nd gen) customers with compatible Bluetooth hearing aids from Starkey can now stream audio directly to their hearing aids including audio from Alexa for private listening. Hearing aids pair at the Fire TV system level, so you can enjoy improved sound for movies and shows from your favorite streaming services, music, and games. To pair your hearing aids, visit Fire TV Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Aids, and connect them like you would with Bluetooth headphones.

March 2022

Discover more savings and deals with Alexa

Prime customers can now have Alexa notify themup to 24 hours in advance if there's an upcoming deal on an eligible item on their wish list, in their shopping cart, or saved for later. You can ask Alexa to remind you about the deal when it's live or even order it on your behalf-so that you never miss out on a deal for the items you're looking for.

"Alexa, find my car"

Echo Autocustomers can now get help finding the location of their car by using the "Find My" feature on any Alexa-enabled device. Customers can enable "Find My" in the Alexa app, and then say "Alexa, find my car" to receive the last-known location of their parked car. They can also use the Alexa app or the Maps widget on their Echo Show 15 to see their car's location on a map.

Full Routines support for Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor

Customers in the U.S., CA, UK, DE, ES, FR, and IT can now create an Alexa Routineto set up custom alerts and control their Alexa-enabled air purifier, humidifier, fan, or smart thermostat when the indoor air quality changes. Simply select the air quality metrics and the values the device measures for each to trigger an action based on your preferences.

Fossil and Alexa

Alexa is now available on Fossil Group Gen 6 devices, enabling customers to make hands-free calls, play music on their favorite services like Amazon Music and Spotify, set timers and alarms, create workout reminders, track fitness goals, control smart home devices, and more.

February 2022

"Alexa, check my symptoms"

Alexa can now help you check your symptoms and provide a list of possible medical conditions for common ailments like fever, rash, stomachache, runny nose, and headaches to help you make better-informed decisions about your health. As part of this conversational experience, Alexa will ask you a series of questions to better understand your individual situation. Alexa will then share a set of possible causes for your symptoms and basic information about each cause, utilizing clinical care guidelines provided by Amazon Care. This feature is designed to provide information for educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. To get started, just say, "Alexa, check my symptoms," and explain the symptoms and severity of the symptoms you are experiencing.

This symptom checker experience was inspired by the COVID-19 self-checker feature our Alexa teams launched in March 2020. With that feature, you can say, "Alexa, what do I do if I think I have COVID-19?," and Alexa will ask you a series of questions. Based on your responses, Alexa will provide you with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) given your risk level and symptoms. Customers told us they found this feature helpful, and more than a million customers have used it, so we wanted to do even more.

Privacy is foundational to how we build and design all of our devices and services, and symptom checker is no different. This is an optional experience that customers can choose to use, and they can choose to skip any questions they don't feel comfortable answering. As with all features, after using the experience, customers can choose to view, hear, and delete their voice recordings through Alexa Privacy Settingsor in the Alexa app at any time. To delete by voice, you can also say, "Alexa, delete what I just said," or "Alexa, delete everything I said today."

This symptom checker experience is one of several health features you can try with Alexa. Amazon Pharmacy customers can simply say, "Alexa, refill my medications," to reorder their prescriptions. You can say, "Alexa, where can I get a COVID vaccine?," or "Alexa, where can I find a COVID vaccine booster shot?" to hear a list of nearby vaccination locations. Alexa will send a notification to your phone with a link to make an appointment. You can say, "Alexa, I want to talk to a doctor," to get connected with Teladoc and get a call back on your Echo device from a Teladoc doctor. Teladoc on Alexaoffers virtual visits related to non-emergency health needs, such as experiencing symptoms of a cold, the flu, or allergies.

Notify When Nearby

We've introduced Notify When Nearby, a new accessibility feature designed to make notifications better for all customers. After customers enable this feature, Alexa can detect if they are near an eligible Echo device and alert them to any unread notifications by replaying a notification sound. It's especially useful for customers who may not be able to see visual alerts, like the Yellow Ring light or banners on Echo devices; that way, they don't miss important notifications or Alexa alerts.

"Alexa, open the guide"

You can now customize your integrated channel guide on Fire TV and say "Alexa, open the guide," to access the guide. Within the Live tab, just select the guide to see what's on now and simply press the menu button on your Alexa Voice Remote to bring up the "Add Channel" option. From there, you can easily add additional live channels from your favorite free and subscription-based apps for a customized live experience. You can always use Alexa to jump right into your favorite live-TV programs or events. Learn moreabout the channel guide on the Fire TV blog.