After more than six years, Amazon is finally giving its smart assistant a new voice. For the first time, there is now a masculine-sounding voice option in the Alexa app, and you can change the wake word for your Echo smart speakers to “Ziggy.” The tech giant also announced it will release some major updates for Alexa this year. Here’s everything you need to know about the newest Alexa updates and how to change the voice and name of your Alexa devices.
What Is Ziggy?
Last week, Amazon quietly released a new voice and wake word for Alexa devices. You can start using the new voice, called “Ziggy,” starting now. Switching Alexa’s voice to Ziggy will not change anything about how the digital assistant functions. It will just make Alexa’s voice sound deeper and more manly.
To hear what the new Alexa voice sounds like, check out this audio sample of Ziggy.
How to Change Alexa’s Voice to Ziggy
To change Alexa’s voice, open the Alexa app and tap the Devices tab at the bottom of your screen. Then go to Echo & Alexa, select one of your Echo speakers, and tap the gear icon in the top-right corner. Finally, go to Alexa’s Voice, and select New.
From here, you can also tap Wake Word to change what triggers your device to listen for commands. So, instead of saying “Alexa,” you can say, “Ziggy.” For example, you can say, “Ziggy, turn on the lights in the kitchen” to trigger your smart lights.
This isn’t the first time Amazon has added a new wake word for Alexa. You could already change it to “Amazon,” “Computer,” and “Echo” before, but those are words that you might use in regular conversation. So, this is surely a welcome change for anyone named Alexa or even Alex.
Other Changes Announced at Alexa Live 2021
During its recent Alexa Live Event, Amazon also announced that it is giving developers the tools to customize their Alexa skills and even create their own voice assistant. So, companies will soon be able to create their own unique wake words, voices, capabilities, and even personalities for Alexa.
For example, Amazon showcased how a car company could create its own voice assistant that can give you directions, open your sunroof, and reserve a parking spot with voice commands. That smart assistant would also work with Alexa, so you could add an event to your calendar, open your smart garage, and order something on Amazon, all in the same interface.
Amazon also announced that it is adding customized pronunciations for certain words to make Alexa sound more natural.
Alexa Devices are Joining Matter
Amazon also confirmed that it is working with Google and Apple to develop Matter, a new protocol that will allow all your smart home devices to connect to each other. Currently, smart home devices only work with certain smart home ecosystems. But, with Matter, you will soon be able to control your Google Nest or Apple HomeKit devices with your Echo smart speakers, and the other way around.
During Alexa Live 2021, Amazon confirmed that it will update nearly every Echo smart speaker to work with Matter. In fact, an Amazon representative recently told The Verge that only a few devices won’t be updated, including the Echo Tap and the first-generation Echo and Echo Dot.
Amazon told The Verge that it will update Echo smart speakers to work with Matter devices “later this year.” Google also announced that it will update all Nest displays and speakers to work with Matter devices, while Apple said that Matter will come built into the iOS 15 update.
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