07/27/2021

Alexa Finally Gets a New Name and Voice

How to switch them up on your Amazon Echo

The digital assistant I've always called 'Alexa' has a new name option -- Ziggy -- and a new, masculine-sounding voice to either pair with "Ziggy" or not. You're free to mix -- and remix -- those options however you want, since there are separate settings for voice and wake word (and one isn't linked to the other).

Alexa already had several other, er, "names" (if you can call them that): Your Echo device could already to respond to "Amazon," "Echo" or "Computer," as well as "Alexa." "Ziggy" is the first name name to appear as an option besides "Alexa." 

Some have assumed "Ziggy" signals a "masculine" name, but I'm not so sure. For me, it's evocative of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust persona -- an alien androgyne from the future, sent to help Earth.

Please select this link to read the complete article from C|Net.