Alexa just got an awesome upgrade — and you can try it now

Alexa merely got an crawly upgrade — and yous can attempt information technology at present

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Amazon giveth and taketh away. This calendar week the visitor has removed the power to read and reply to emails from your Echo smart speaker, but introduced the ability to move music from device to device.

The latter is a commonly requested feature, equally Echo enthusiasts tend to have multiple devices in different rooms, ofttimes relocating previous generations as new models sally. Previously you would have to stop and start music on different devices, but now you lot tin make Alexa pick upwards where you left off.

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This can exist washed in a number of means. The get-go is to move your sound between groups. Only say "Alexa, motion my music to [grouping proper noun]" and whatever you're playing will be redirected to the speaker of your pick. The 2d is to verbally suspension your music on the current device, and so say "Alexa, resume music here" to the Echo you want to take over.

The third fashion is specifically for owners of Echo Buds. Just say "Alexa, move my music here" in one case connected to your phone, and the music should relocate to your earbuds.

In improver to adding this Alexa feature, Amazon is removing one that isn't widely publicized: the ability for Alexa to read your emails, and dictate spoken responses. Echo owners using the feature were sent an e-mail giving them just a week's notice for the feature being taken away, which is unusually precipitous.

"Nosotros're writing to inform you that commencement on November 8th, 2021, email access will no longer be supported for Alexa customers," the electronic mail from Amazon reads. "This means you volition no longer be able to link your Gmail or Microsoft electronic mail account with Alexa to browse or manage your electronic mail, and any linked email account(s) will automatically exist unlinked."

This means that email routines and email notifications will besides no longer piece of work, nor will Alexa's ability to runway packages via shipment notifications. It can still rails Amazon packages, simply it's a chip of a accident for people who aren't completely exclusive to the retailer'due south ecosystem. Outlook and Google calendar integration is still supported, Amazon added.

Amazon didn't give a reason for the retirement of the feature, other than to tell TechHive that the Alexa team "regularly evaluate the features and experiences bachelor to customers and prioritize those that make customers' lives easier and let them to become the most of their Alexa experience." That sounds like an elaborate way of saying that in that location weren't enough people using the feature to justify maintaining it.

But for those that were, the feature proved invaluable. On Reddit, a couple of commenters mentioned that it was especially handy for elderly relatives who find keyboards or tablets difficult, only still need to use electronic mail to stay in touch. It's also a blow to visually impaired users.

That's the problem with cloud-based services like Alexa: if the host company decides a feature is more trouble than it's worth, then there's no guarantee it'll be available indefinitely. At the very least, a Santa Claus voice can be enabled.

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Freelance correspondent Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are institute all over the spider web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing upwardly the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more than likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.