Amazon Introduces Child-Friendly Alexa Features

Amazon launched the child-friendly Alexa feature. (photo: twitter @amazon)

JAKARTA - Amazon has used today's hardware event to unveil Alexa's newest feature equipped with LLM technology, highlighting how easy it is to immediately converse with this bot in a natural conversation.

This also applies to kids, as the company just announced "Explore With Alexa." It's a simplified and updated version of a kid-friendly chatbot, which specializes in topics like animals and nature. In fact, this bot will play quiz games with children and provide fun facts every day.

Of course, this is aimed at children, so this technology has been developed with safeguards to protect them from the more dangerous parts of the Internet. Amazon said that "Explore With Alexa" will launch before the holidays. It will then expand beyond the previously agreed topics of animals and nature.

To accompany this new Alexa technology, there are several kid-friendly devices coming. Echo Pop Kids is a smart speaker designed for younger family members. It will come in two SKUs that align with generally accepted notions of gender.

There are Avengers themed ones and Disney princess themed ones. The Avengers model specializes in information about Earth's mightiest heroes, while the Disney princess model specializes in Mulan, Cinderella, and the like. Echo Pop Kids will be released next month for $50 and includes a six-month subscription to the Amazon Kids+ service. Pre-orders can be made today.

Apart from that, there is also a pair of tablets that will be launched. The new Fire Kids tablet is aimed at younger kids, while the Fire Kids Pro is aimed at older kids.

It's a 10-inch tablet that's 25% faster than the previous generation, with a 1080p FHD display, 3GB RAM and access to kids-specific apps. Each tablet costs 190 US dollars (IDR 2.9 million) and comes with a one-year subscription to the Amazon Kids+ service.

You also get a two-year guarantee from the start that covers the types of accidents that parents typically face every day. Pre-orders can be made this week and shipping starts next month.

Both tablets have access to the company's new feature called "Play Together" which gives kids access to online multiplayer games, like chess, and an app called "Music Maker." This experience allows kids to become “composers,” combining instruments and other sound effects to create unique compositions with the help of artificial intelligence, all through touch.