A new accessibility feature rolling out to Amazon's Echo Show devices will let those with speech impairments interact with Alexa.
Dubbed "Tap to Alexa," the feature lets you communicate with the virtual assistant without needing to speak a command. You can use it to set a timer, get traffic information and the weather, and more, Amazon said.
To try it out, just go to the device settings on your Echo Show, select accessibility settings, and toggle on Tap to Alexa. From there, you can select from a menu of preset options for popular commands or type in personalized requests.
Meanwhile, Amazon also today announced that Alexa Captioning, which launched in the US a few months ago, is now available to customers in the UK, Germany, Japan, India, France, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand as well. That feature lets you read Alexa's responses on Echo devices with a screen. To enable Alexa Captioning, go to the device settings on your Echo Show or Echo Spot, select accessibility settings, and toggle on Alexa Captioning.
"We hear from customers every day that Alexa has changed their lives for the better, and we're pleased to deliver these new features that make Alexa accessible for our customers who are deaf and hard of hearing, and those with speech impairments," Amazon said in a statement to PCMag. "As with all Alexa features, these new features will continue to improve over time."
Amazon's Echo Show earned a "good" rating in PCMag's review; we praised its "useful" touch screen but called its design "dated" and its audio quality "unimpressive." The Echo Spot, on the other hand, earned an "excellent" rating and our coveted Editors' Choice award.
"Amazon invented the ideal smart alarm clock in the Echo Spot, the perfect bedside companion for anyone in an Alexa-powered home," PCMag's Sascha Segan wrote in the review.