I’ve used Amazon’s Alexa+ upgrade for a week and there’s an obvious upgrade to home devices
Households with an Amazon device can get a free upgrade as the newest Alexa+ is rolled out, including on Echo Dots, Fire TV Sticks, Echo Shows, and TVs
It brings better communications, quicker response times, and a virtual assistant that’s a lot more in tune. From likes, dislikes, third-party booking apps and even British slang added to its vocabulary.
A host of upgrades make it a lot more useful to have in the home. That’s my opinion after trying it, as I downloaded it to the Echo Show 11. This is one of its flagship devices (alongside the new Echo Show 8, to name a few), built to handle the demands of Amazon’s new generative AI.
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Smoother conversation and fewer commands needed
At first glance, Alexa+ has managed to make commands feel a lot more natural, conversational and a little less awkward. My most-used requests for playlists and song recommendations feel smoother, with fewer hiccups and more follow-ups.
Of course, I enjoy that there’s less ‘Alexa’ to say in between each question; once at the start of the command is enough. Alexa+ is also a lot more fluid, another standout upgrade I like, a feature brought with its Natural Multi-Turn dialogue.
Echo Show 11 with Alexa+
The 2025 Echo Show 11 is the newest generation and comes with early access to Alexa+.
My favourite feature of Alexa+
In the video above, where I asked it for a recipe idea to match ingredients I had at home, I asked it multiple prompts, but only said ‘Alexa’ once. I opened with: “Alexa, I have a red pepper, cucumber, and an onion, what lunch idea can I make with this?”, to which it suggested Joe Wicks’ 10 Minute Speedy Greek Salad, as it pulled up the method. After this, I carried on the conversation, but without prompting ‘Alexa’ again, I continued: “How about adding in some more protein?” where it then pulled more suggestions. The blue Alexa bar at the bottom of the screen indicated that Alexa was engaging and listening to my prompts/conversation, making it feel more natural.
Alongside the fluid conversation, Alexa found suggestions based on what I had at home in my fridge and cupboards. I didn’t ask ‘Alexa find me a chicken salad recipe’; instead, I listed the simple ingredients: a pepper, a cucumber and an onion, and it found a recipe to suit… a lot more helpful than previous editions.
My one gripe with the chatty new style of Alexa+ is that it can take it a step too far sometimes. Once or twice, its joyful replies have felt long when I simply want an answer to a question.
Alexa+ devices
The newest Alexa+ is available on devices including the newest Echo Dot Max – now on sale at Argos – the Echo Studio, and the Echo Show 8 and 11. TVs aren’t exempt either, with Fire TV models and Fire TV Sticks are compatible.
This includes the Fire TV Stick HD, which shoppers can stack with our recently backed deal. Shopping at Amazon via the deals site TopCashback effectively drops the price below £9, once cashback has fallen in.
Get a Fire TV Stick HD for less than £9
The newest generation of Fire TV Sticks are also compatible with Alexa+, including the cheapest HD model – and we’ve got a sale tip that drops the price below £9. New members of TopCashback can stack Amazon’s £23.99 sale price and get it for £8.47 – once cashback has fallen in.
User recognition
In a busy household, another new Alexa+ feature that is noticeable to me is the ‘Hello Harriet’ each time I walk close to the Echo Show 11 or speak – as Alexa+ has noticed (out of four of us living at home) that it’s me speaking, or close to the camera. Setting up the profiles means that all content Alexa+ pulls for recipes, calendars, and emails is suited to individuals.
There is no slider for the Echo Show 11, but the camera can be turned off by either saying ‘Alexa, turn off the camera’ or swiping down from the top of the screen and pressing ‘camera off’.
Restaurant bookings with Alexa+
Alexa+ can now navigate third-party apps like Uber Eats and OpenTable, but this may be hit-or-miss depending on the user. Overall, this new Alexa+ feature is super handy, on paper, allowing users to book dinner, lunch, drinks and order food through Alexa as I have done: “Alexa, book a drinks table at Piccolinos in Chester for five of us”. However, it may not be for everyone. A downside to this is that OpenTable isn’t available everywhere in the UK, like in some small villages.