‘Alexa, Ya Hala!’ Amazon Introduces Alexa in Khaleeji Arabic and English
Echo devices are also launched in the UAE.
Amazon announced that Alexa, that powers the Echo device family, is coming to the United Arab Emirates, offering customers an all-new, localized language experience in Khaleeji Arabic as well as in English, new features built with Gulf customers in mind, new smart home integrations with many compatible devices, and nearly 200 Alexa skills.
Echo devices are voice-controlled speakers designed entirely around voice. Alexa runs in the cloud, receives new feature updates on an ongoing basis, and is therefore always getting smarter, answers questions, plays music, reads the news, recites the Quran, sets timers and alarms, provides sports scores, controls lights at home, and more. With Echo’s far-field voice control, you can do all this from across the room, using just your voice.
In the UAEs, Alexa delivers a localized experience, including a Khaleeji Arabic voice with local pronunciations and intonation; local knowledge; and nearly 200 Alexa skills from regional developers and brands, including skills from Etisalat, Expo 2020, Domino’s, Fatafeat, Careem, Emirates NBD, DEWA, and more. Customers can also use Alexa in English and enjoy features such as setting timers, adding reminders, creating to-do-lists, sharing announcements, and more.
“We’re incredibly excited to bring Alexa and the Echo family of devices to the United Arab Emirates,” said Tom Taylor, Senior Vice President of Amazon Alexa, in a statement. “The team has worked hard to create an all-new Khaleeji Arabic experience designed from the ground up for Arabic-speaking customers and to optimize the Alexa experience in English for English-speakers to enjoy.”
“On our way to becoming a world leader in artificial intelligence, we welcome Alexa to the United Arab Emirates”, said His Excellency Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications. “Much like AI is at the core of Alexa’s personality, we are working on doing the same for the entire nation – building an AI-driven economy that contributes significantly to education, government development, and the happiness of our community.”
Manal Al Bayat, Chief Engagement Officer at Dubai Expo 2020, said, “Not only is Alexa coming to the region with Arabic capabilities but Expo 2020 Dubai content is very much part of its introduction. It has been an amazing experience to work with Amazon on this, and to create new and inspiring ways of delivering Expo’s message to the world. This kind of innovation and cutting-edge technology is in the spirit of Expo 2020 and its themes, and we hope Alexa users have fun discovering even more about this once-in-a-lifetime event.”
“As the region’s leading digital music platform, we’re thrilled to team up with Alexa, providing customers with access to millions of international and Arabic songs and podcasts”, said Elie Habib, Co-Founder and CTO of Anghami. “Only by using their voice, customers can ask Alexa to play any song from the region’s largest music catalog in Arabic – this adds a new dimension to our customer experience.”
