Alexa Update

In a big Alexa update today, Amazon doles out a ton of

new smarts for its voice assistant, including location-

based routines, reminders and discovery; Wait Actions

and more controls over timers; app notifications; and the

ability to read and summarize your email vocally with

voice-to-text replies.

For instance, you can now set up routines and reminders

that trigger when you enter or leave an area. When you're

out of reach of your smart speaker, it will send a notification

via the Alexa app. It can also use your location to find and

call nearby businesses.

Time-based capabilities in routines introduce Wait Actions --

for example, a Night routine of  "Alexa, turn off the lights 30

minutes after entering Do Not Disturb" -- oh, and there's now

a Do Not Disturb available within routines, too. You can set a

music sleep timer, and control all timers via voice (including

adding and subtracting time for an existing timer).