Amazon adds important offline capabilities to Alexa Auto

Voice assistants are becoming more useful as companies like Amazon, Apple and Google are trying to penetrate as many markets and industries as possible. It’s great to have a car that allows you to make a call or ask for information concerning the weather without having to touch anything.

Voice control has become a convenient way to do all these tasks while driving thanks to digital assistants like Amazon Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant. The majority of the features offered by these assistants rely on connectivity, so when you’re driving through tunnels, parking garages or areas with a weak signal, these features are unavailable.

To reduce the chance of being unable to access Alexa, Amazon launched something called Local Voice Control Extension, which is available in Alexa Auto SDK 2.0. The new feature enables offline access to Alexa in vehicles so that you can use music and radio, search and navigation, calling and messaging, as well as car control even when connectivity is intermittent or not available at all.

With the latest version of Alexa Auto SDK, automakers will be able to add a lite version of Alexa’s cloud-based service to a car’s infotainment system, which kicks in when your car is no longer in an area with decent connectivity.

The in-vehicle voice service will impact the purchasing decision of 59% buyers, and most (76%) people want continuity from their voice service at home to vehicle, Amazon claims. That’s why the name of the voice assistant vehicles offer could become a major selling point in the coming years.