Hot on the heels of reports that Amazon’s Echo voice-activated assistant was randomly laughing at some users, Amazon has rolled out a new feature that makes the device’s response to commands significantly briefer.
This less chatty Alexa feature, called ‘Brief Mode,’ was first uncovered on Reddit. A user asked Alexa to turn their lights on and was greeted with the voice-activated assistant stating that this would be the last time it would verbally confirm the command.
When Brief Mode is enabled, a task’s completion is now signalled with an audible “beep.”
Brief Mode can be enabled through voice commands, or directly in the Alexa app, but requires version 2.2.202313.0, the latest iteration of Alexa. To find this new setting in the Alexa app, first navigate to ‘Settings,’ then ‘General,’ and finally, ‘Alexa Voice Responses,’ where the option to turn on Brief Mode is located.
If you’re like me and use your smart speaker to control a number of different Wi-Fi enabled devices, including smart lightbulbs, Brief Mode is likely a feature you’ve been waiting for.
I’ve always found Alexa confirming it has heard specific commands with a complicated, multi-word response, was unnecessary.
While I haven’t been able to try out the new feature yet, Brief Mode has appeared in the Alexa iOS app on my iPhone X.
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