Alexa will soon be able to speak to US users in Spanish

Amazon Echo speaker
Image credit: Amazon

Amazon Echo speaker owners in the US will soon be able to speak to Alexa in Spanish, thanks to an expansion of the Alexa Skills Kit. 

According to a blog post by Amazon, the company has added a "Spanish for US voice model", which means that Alexa skills created by developers that are approved for publication will be available in Spanish "to all customers when Alexa launches in the US with Spanish language support later this year".

The new feature will come to Echo speakers (naturally). Amazon says that Bose, Facebook, and Sony will all be releasing devices with built-in Alexa that will support the feature – while Philips, TP Link, and Honeywell Home will release "Works with Alexa devices that support Spanish in the US".

Alexa for all

It makes sense that Amazon would enable Spanish for US Alexa users; after all, the US boasts the second-largest number of Spanish speakers after Mexico.

Amazon hasn't confirmed whether Spanish language support will come to its Blueprints program, which allows anyone to make their own skills with a series of walkthrough templates. 

The company recently opened up its US Alexa Store to allow anyone to publish and share these skills, and with so many Spanish speakers in the US, it would make sense for Amazon to enable have-a-go developers to publish skills in this language. 

Via Engadget

Olivia Tambini

Olivia was previously TechRadar's Senior Editor - Home Entertainment, covering everything from headphones to TVs. Based in London, she's a popular music graduate who worked in the music industry before finding her calling in journalism. She's previously been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diversity in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, What to Watch, Top Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. Olivia now has a career in PR.

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