Alexa+ is starting the public preliminary test in Germany

After the pilot phase in the USA concluded in February, Amazon is today activating free test access for Alexa+ in Germany. The new variant of voice assistance is based on generative artificial intelligence and is intended to represent an alternative to AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Perplexity.

Access to Alexa+ requires one of the Echo Show 8 and 11 smart displays or an Echo Studio 2 or Echo Dot Max speaker. Anyone who orders copies from Amazon from May 7th will receive them delivered from the factory with Alexa+ that can be activated. For existing devices of the models mentioned, you can register for an invitation to the new voice assistance at amazon.de/neuealexa. Once activated on the devices mentioned, Alexa+ is also available on many other Amazon Echo or Fire TV devices. The change cannot just be initiated there. In any case, a few Amazon devices that were released before 2019 are left out.

First free, later 23 euros or a Prime subscription

Alexa+ can be used free of charge during early access. According to Amazon, an expiry date for this test phase has not yet been set. Once it ends at some point, using the new voice AI costs around 23 euros per month if you don’t have a Prime subscription. However, if you pay for Prime (9 euros per month or 90 euros per year), you will receive Alexa+ as a free bonus. There are currently no plans to increase the price of the Prime tariff.

To be on the safe side, Amazon is labeling the starting phase as Early Access in case the newly Germanized Alexa+ still works incorrectly in local households. Amazon has gained enough self-confidence for a wide release after the quiet launch of Alexa+ in Germany. Since April 2026, a hand-picked portion of German-speaking customers have received invitational access. Now it should also take place in measured waves, but on a much larger scale, said an Amazon spokesman.

Alexa+ chats, understands context, remembers

At a media event in Berlin, the Germanized Alexa+ appeared talkative, intelligent and error-free. It was not necessary to repeat the activation word “Alexa” every time to have a dialogue with her. She understood context and picked up an earlier thread even after changing topics. Her conversational tone usually seemed charming, rarely inauthentically artificial.

Amazon staff demonstrated locally adapted use cases, the basics of which the company had already shown at previous Alexa+ presentations in the USA. In natural dialogue, an Amazon manager created complex smart home routines without having to struggle with if-then mechanics in graphical interfaces. In conjunction with surveillance cameras from Amazon’s Ring brand, Alexa+ was also able to analyze recordings and determine where a yellow ball was last seen and whether the blue garbage cans were placed on the street.

In the kitchen, Alexa+ helped plan a birthday, with the AI ​​assistant able to give very individual tips based on knowledge of the family’s and the recipient’s food preferences and gift interests. The beginnings of her agentic abilities were also evident, for example when she used OpenTable to check for available reservation options at suitable restaurants in the neighborhood and, after consultation, made the final table booking and noted the result in the family calendar.

Alexa+ could identify a film based on the mere verbal description of a promotional poster, play a song from the soundtrack, and broadcast it to other speakers if desired. When asked, Alexa+ used the camera in the Echo Show to examine an Amazon manager’s outfit and judge whether it was suitable for going out. Using visual diagnosis, the voice assistant should also be able to give care tips for plants that appear limp.

In addition to the Echo Show camera, this also works with a smartphone. In the future, images and other documents can be uploaded to Amazon’s server in the Alexa app. Alexa+ can extract content from this. In addition to immediate advice, she is then able to analyze timetables and family recipes, and if necessary, pull relevant information from her memory and turn it into tips. Alexa+ should also be accessible in the browser “soon”. There is no exact start date.

Amazon stores the files and their extracted content until revoked. It was said that the data protection portal should be revised to coincide with the launch of Alexa+.

Completed and planned German tutoring for Alexa

For the German launch, Amazon fed the new Alexa with humor, cuisine and cultural peculiarities in addition to the local language. At the start, it is familiar with technology and content from Bosch and Siemens Hausgeräte, ARD, Bild, Der Spiegel as well as 1000 local radio stations from ARD Sounds, RTL Radio and Radio FFH. A collaboration with Kinoheld, GMX and Web.de is expected to follow later this year.

Alexa+ is also finding its way into the on-board system of BMW vehicles. In Berlin, Amazon showed how the voice AI as the basis of the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant makes it easier to access the navigation and comfort functions of the BMW iX3 electric car using natural language. A route with several intermediate stops could be created and changed. In addition, instead of “Open the side windows,” it was enough to just say “Hey BMW, I’m warm.” The iX3, which has been rolling off the production line since mid-April, already has Alexa+ in it, and vehicles produced before that will receive an update from the end of May.

(dahe)