Yandex has announced a significant update to Alice, its digital assistant, and the associated ecosystem, including "smart" devices. The December update introduces more than ten new features requested by users. These include improved Alice integration with Stations and TV Stations, adaptive volume control, New Year's lighting modes, and the ability to integrate intercoms into the Alice Home app.
In the Alice Home app, you can now see personal year-end summaries: how much time you spent communicating with the assistant, how many images were created, and how often "smart" home scenarios were used. In addition, Stations and TV Stations can provide summaries of music listening and movie watching.
Alice can now handle more complex weather requests, so you can ask questions like, "Alice, will it snow on January 1st?" This is made possible by function calling technology, allowing her to analyze and execute various requests.
The "Wonder" New Year's lighting mode has been added to Station 3. When purchasing a Yandex Station, users may be able to choose a personalized greeting that Alice will say when first connecting to the Internet.
Users of the Our Home platform can now connect Sputnik intercoms to the Alice Home app and control them by voice via Station. For example, you can ask Alice to answer a call or open the door.
The Stations and TV Stations also have access to AI sets from Yandex Music, where a neural network compiles tracks into a single music feed. The adaptive volume function automatically changes the sound level depending on the environment.
A special section with New Year's playlists, movie selections, and holiday screensavers has been created for TV Stations and TVs with YaOS. The gaming assistant now works not only with the latest consoles, but also with PCs and older gaming systems, offering gameplay tips and translating inscriptions.