Alexa, Amazon's virtual voice assistant, can now converse in Arabic and recognizes regional dialects. Al Arabiya will be the voice of Amazon's Alexa's newly announced Arabic-language news service.
Three Echo smart speakers and three Echo smart displays will showcase Alexa's Arabic abilities. The most recent Amazon Echo, the current and prior models of the Echo Dot, and the Echo Show 5, 8, and 10 are all included in the collection. All six are currently available in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Until today, Alexa-enabled devices were not supported in either nation, with any Echo used there requiring connection to the US or UK systems in order to function.
Alexa opening a playlist on an iPad
“We’re incredibly excited to bring Alexa and the Echo family of devices to the United Arab Emirates,” Alexa senior vice president Tom Taylor said in a statement for the UAE, with the same statement sent to Saudi Arabia adjusted accordingly. “The team has worked hard to create an all-new Khaleeji Arabic experience designed from the ground up for Arabic-speaking customers and to optimize the Alexa experience in English for English-speakers to enjoy.”
“On our way to becoming a world leader in Artificial Intelligence, we welcome Alexa to the United Arab Emirates”, said His Excellency Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications. “Much like AI is at the core of Alexa’s personality, we are working on doing the same for the entire nation-building an AI-driven economy that contributes significantly to education, government development, and the happiness of our community.”
The Alexa service is always getting smarter, thanks to its cloud architecture and tens of thousands of third-party developers generating skills all over the world. Alexa allows you to do the following with just your voice:
Listen to the News
Alexa can read the news and provide personalized updates depending on your choices. You can choose from a variety of news and sports outlets, like Al Arabiya, CNBC Arabia, Sport360, SkyNews, ARNradio, and others, to get your news and sports results. "Alexa, what's the news?" is all you have to say. Al Arabiya FM, Al Khaleejia FM, Dubai eye 103.8, Virgin Radio Dubai, Hits 96.7, Radio Shoma, Aloula Radio, and Dubai Holy Quran will be available at launch.
Set a schedule for prayer and recite the Quran
Alexa can recite the Quran verbatim from the surah or juz'u of your choice. "Alexa, play surah Al Kahaf," you can simply say. Customers will soon be able to establish prayer times by telling Alexa, "Alexa, wake me up when it's time for Fajr," as well as check the Hijri calendar by asking Alexa to remind them to get the aydiya before the last 10 days of Ramdan.
Set your Smart Home under control
Before getting out of bed, use any Echo device to turn on the lamp, or dim the lights from the couch while watching a movie. Enjoy hands-free home security with Ring, whose cameras, video doorbells, and alarm systems are all Alexa-compatible, assisting in the protection and peace of mind of your house. To watch your camera stream on your Echo Show device, simply say, "Alexa, show me the nursery." Alexa is also compatible with other smart home devices, such as smart lights and plugs from Philips Hue, Xiaomi, TP-Link, and others.
Make Inquiries
Inquire about famous individuals, dates, locations, calculations, conversions, spelling, and much more using Alexa. "Alexa, what time is maghrib in Abu Dhabi?" "Alexa, when is Eid Al Adha?" "Alexa, when was the Burj Khalifa built?" "Alexa, tell me a joke," and so on.
All of the gadgets launched are available on Amazon.ae, with the exception of the Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Dot with clock, Echo Show 5, Echo Show 8, and Echo Show 10.