9 things Alexa can do now that she couldn’t before

Alexa continually improves its sound detection capabilities. The Amazon voice assistant is enriching its functionalities to such an extent that now we can apply the colloquial phrase of having a very fine ear. And now, we can create new types of routines with Alexa based on sound detection improvements.

Through voice commands, Alexa can do countless tasks for us. Turn the lights on and off, put on our favorite music or movie or remind ourselves throughout the day of tasks that we cannot ignore. And now, with the sound improvements applied to the voice assistant, it is possible to create new types of routines.

9 things Alexa can do now that she couldn't before

Water running

Water Running or running water allows Alexa to activate a series of certain actions when it detects the sound of an open tap . If we configure this routine, Alexa will notify us by means of a notification on our mobile in order to detect that a leak is taking place in our house or that, by mistake, we have left a house tap open and there may be a risk of flooding the neighbor down.

Appiance Beeping

On the other hand, and as a novelty, the “Appiance Beeping” routine also arrives. Sounds such as the beep of the washing machine or any other appliance that has finished its function have been added with which Alexa can detect that this task has already come to an end and, for example, notify us through a notification that we can now hang the clothes that we have washed.

It should be noted that, until recently, Alexa was only able to recognize sounds of glass breaking, dog barking or baby crying for linking of specific actions through routines.

Ultrasound Motion Detection

Ultrasound motion detection can cause the lights to turn on or off as we approach our fourth-generation Echo devices. This function has also been improved when it comes to detecting sounds that occur in rooms.

Teaching preferences

From now on we can further customize the experience with Alexa by teaching our preferences ourselves. Amazon’s voice assistant is able to remind us of some of our preferences such as “Alexa, I’m a vegetarian” when we ask her for ideas about recipes or recommended restaurants or “Alexa, I like soccer” when we ask her if we want to watch a sports program.

Cocinar con Alexa de Amazon

Alexa, what can I eat?

Alexa now makes it even easier for us to inspire new recipes for our daily meals. We can also teach Alexa our culinary preferences so she can make personalized recommendations without running out of dining ideas or wanting to prepare a special meal to share with friends.

Join the conversation

This feature is currently only available on the Echo Show 10 in the United States. Conversation mode allows for more natural conversations with Amazon’s voice assistant without repeating the activation word. So if we say Alexa, join the conversation ”Alexa will respond when we call her and now pauses if she is interrupted.

Tik Tok at the Echo Show

Another novelty that comes to the voice assistant is that we can ask you to open Tik Tok. Using the command “Alexa, open Tik Tok” , users who have an Echo Show will be able to watch Tik Tok videos through it and ask Alexa to play specific videos such as “Alexa, find funny pet videos on Tik Tok ”.

Echo Show

Amazon Pharmacy

Another feature that is only available in the United States is Amazon Pharmacy. Through this function we can ask Alexa to refill our medications based on the prescriptions that the doctor has given us.

Verizon Compatible

Verizon customers can now make and receive audio calls hands-free with Alexa-compatible devices, even if the mobile phone is turned off or out of range.

What do you think of all the news from Alexa? Which one do you most want to start using?