Amazon has announced that its voice assistant Alexa will offer a range of new services for the Holy Month of Ramadan, including features designed to help users have a more spiritual and entertaining experience. The new features build upon existing services such as requesting prayer times, setting reminders, and adding quizzes and recipes. The goal is to make people’s lives easier and simpler and to provide an optimal smart home experience, according to Amazon.
The new features include the “Quran on the Screen” feature, which allows users to ask Alexa to recite the Quran and read the surah and ayah recited on the device screens of the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 10. Users can also access Dua’a for each day of Ramadan, as well as eight stories about the Prophets and other thematic spiritual events.
For families, Alexa is adding a range of activities, including Fawazeer Ramadan and introducing quizzes through the Quizzical tool. The Fawazeer Ramadan feature will allow customers to ask Alexa for a riddle. In response, Alexa will say the riddle, wait, and then give the answer. Users can also tune into their local stations during the day and live-stream Ramadan radio programs, including spiritual, cultural, and local news content.
The “Deed of the Day” feature returns with new daily suggestions for acts of kindness that users can practice every day. Additionally, one of Amazon’s long-standing partners, Fatafeat, will offer video recipes for sohour and iftar on Echo Show devices.
Dr Raf Fatani, Regional General Manager, Alexa, Amazon MENA, stated that Amazon is committed to creating meaningful experiences for Alexa customers in the UAE and the region during the most spiritual time of the year. The company’s goal is to continue to improve and add new offerings as it grows in the region.
