3 Reasons We Love Alexa’s Latest Speed Update

#1. You can now personalize Alexa’s speaking speed

Whether you’re asking for the weather, setting reminders or timers or asking about upcoming calendar events, now Alexa can answer you in one of seven speed settings. There are 4 faster speaking rates and 2 slower speaking rates.

#2. Just say “Alexa, speak faster” or “Alexa, speak slower”

If you want to go back to “normal” speaking speed, all you have to do is say “Alexa, speak at your default rate” (it’s going to sound really slow once you’ve played around with the faster speech settings!).

#3. Adjusting speed furthers the goal of “Alexa for everyone”

One of the best things about “voice-first” technology like Alexa is that anyone who can talk can use it. And Amazon says that improving inclusivity even more was a key reason for this new feature.

Some hard of hearing customers shared with Amazon that they love talking to Alexa, but they sometimes want to slow her down so they can better understand her. On the other hand, low vision or blind customers accustomed to listening to lots of audio content want to listen more quickly. This new feature helps personalize Alexa for your needs.

Pro Tip: You still can’t speed up podcasts and news briefings

If you listen to podcasts on your phone, you’re probably familiar with the ability to speed them up to 1.25x+. You can’t do that yet with Alexa, but hopefully, that will change soon!