Last year, Amazon announced the launch of Alexa+, a new and improved version of its voice assistant. Stuffed with generative AI-powered features, it promised to be more conversational, more context aware and better able to act on your requests than ever before.
Now, more than a year after it was first unveiled, Alexa+ is finally coming to the UK. The levelled-up Alexa+ speaks more fluidly, letting you chat without having to repeat “Alexa” every single time, while also learning your preferences the more you chat.
Smarter than ever before, the upgraded Alexa can now book a table at a restaurant, manage your calendar, act on multiple commands at once and order your favourite takeaway thanks to its integration with apps like OpenTable and Just Eat. Rolling out today, here’s everything you need to know about Alexa+ and how you can get it in the UK.
Alexa+ release date: When can you get Alexa+ in the UK?
Alexa+ begins rolling out in the UK today as part of an invite-only early access programme. But if you buy one of Amazon’s new Amazon Echo devices – specifically the Echo Dot Max (£99.99, Amazon.co.uk), Echo Show 8 (£179, Amazon.co.uk), Echo Show 11 (£219.99, Amazon.co.uk) or Echo Studio (£219.99, Amazon.co.uk) – you’ll gain immediate access to the all-new Alexa+ right out of the box.
If you already own an eligible Amazon Echo smart speaker, you can sign up for an invitation to Amazon’s early access programme. Alexa+ will work on most newer Echo devices. Smart speakers that aren’t supported include the 1st-gen Echo Dot, 1st and 2nd-gen Echo Show.
The company says it plans to bring Alexa+ to hundreds of thousands of UK customers over the coming weeks.
Alexa+ price: How much does Alexa+ cost in the UK?
In even better news, if you’re an existing Amazon Prime subscriber, you’ll get Alexa+ for free. Not an Amazon Prime subscriber? Alexa+ will cost £19.99 per month.
If you’re not already an Amazon Prime member, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial, unlocking unlimited same-day delivery on eligible orders, Prime Video and, of course, Alexa+ included for no extra cost.
What is Amazon Alexa+?
The Independent attended a briefing with Amazon ahead of the launch today, where the company demoed how Alexa+ works in the home. Instead of spitting out rigid voice commands (we’ve all learned how to talk the language of Alexa over the past decade), Alexa+ can actually have conversations. It can now understand follow-up questions, carrying context between requests, and even remember details over time to make responses feel more personal.
In one demo, Alexa+ was able to find somewhere to eat, check availability via OpenTable and then book that table, all while double-checking it didn’t clash with something in the calendar. It then drafted a message to a friend to share the details. You didn’t need to jump between apps.
Amazon also showed off how Alexa+ can learn your habits over time. Ask it to “order my usual”, and it can figure out what that means based on previous conversations, whether that’s your usual Friday night takeaway or bougie coffee order.
Another interesting demo showed how Alexa+ could analyse images and take action. It was able to scan a photo of a relative’s football schedule, pull out key details like dates and locations, and then answer follow-up questions about it. You could even ask it to send those directions to your phone.
For those with a kitted-out smart home, Alexa+ can now build routines on the fly based on what you ask, rather than forcing you to set everything up manually, and even personalise things like lighting depending on your preferences, down to changing the colours to red when your favourite football team won.
Alexa+ can also analyse your Ring doorbells footage and surface clips when prompted. In one example, The Independent saw how asking whether anyone “stood on a bin” brought up the exact moments where that happened.
And instead of being super rigid about the names of devices, like having to ask Alexa to move the music to “Alex’s living room Echo Show 8”, you can just ask it to move the music to the left, or to the dining room. It’ll understand what you mean, just by context.
Amazon shopping is – to no-one’s surprise – also baked into the Alexa+ system. You can ask for shopping recommendations, hear an overview of the Amazon reviews and even ask for alerts for when the price drops.
We’ll be trying out the all-new Alexa+ for ourselves over the coming days.
Amazon Echo Dot Max: £99.99, Amazon.co.uk
If you can’t wait to get your hands on Alexa+, the Amazon Echo Dot Max is one of four devices that will come with Alexa+ right out of the box. An updated version of the fourth-generation Amazon Echo, the Echo Dot Max has three times the bass of the regular Echo Dot and comes with a built-in smart home hub, ultrasound motion detection, temperature sensors and Amazon’s omnisense technology, meaning it can sense occupants and start routines without a camera.
For more, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about the newest Amazon Echo devices
