This isn’t just an approximation, either, it takes traffic conditions into account. Drive timeĪsk how long it’ll take you to get from home to your office and Alexa will tell you. Without a calculator, most of us can only remember the most basic arithmetic, which is inconvenient when we’re calculating tips for the pizza delivery guy or we’re trying to figure out quarterly tax payments.Ĭonversions from English to metric can be similarly tricky, especially when we’re actively doing something, like making measurements for a new IKEA couch.Īlexa can understand a range of mathematical questions, such as: “Alexa, how much is $725 minus $48.34?” Or: “What is 324 miles in kilometers?” 7. If you want to know how the temperature is going to actually feel outside, ask Alexa, “What’s the wind chill?” 6. If it’s 50 degrees outside but blustery, it can easily feel like 30 degrees. Then again, the actual temperature means very little when there’s an icy wind slashing through your light spring jacket. If you’re sitting in your living room, just too far away from a phone or an open window, you can say, “Alexa, what is the weather going to be like this afternoon?” Your phone has a basic weather report, and with apps like Weather Underground, you can check precise meteorological patterns. Just ask Alexa, “How far Costco is from home?” and Alexa will use GPS to give you the driving distance. If Alexa knows where you live, you can also just say “home.” You’ll have to give two different geographic points, such as recognizable landmarks (the Eiffel Tower) or a clear street address (221B Baker Street). You can get a much better sense of whether you can squeeze in a Costco run in between meetings with clients and picking up your grandkids. It’s easier to plan your day when you know how far you’ll be traveling. More: We asked Siri, Alexa & Google 40 music questions. ” Then Alexa will say, “‘Good Riddance,’ by Green Day,” and you may be shocked that you never knew the actual title.

With this skill, all you have to do is say, “Alexa, play the song that goes. You can remember that the refrain goes something like, “the time of your liiiife.” But you have no idea what the other lyrics are, nor what the title is. You’re pretty sure it’s a band from the Nineties. Start by saying, “Alexa, open Translated,” then ask, “How do you say in ?” Amazon is planning to develop a real-time translator, so stay tuned. Alexa can already translate dozens of languages, from Spanish to Hindi, thanks to its Translated skill. Science fiction has long anticipated a “universal translator,” and Amazon is working to make that dream a reality. Many of them are useful, some are fun, and others give the illusion that Alexa is as cognizant as we are. Here are 21 commands that even seasoned Echo users may not know. For many owners, Alexa is more than a mere virtual assistant she has become something like a domestic companion, a Rosie or R2-D2 that can also order takeout.

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