It was the year 2019 when Amazon launched a most curious program for Alexa: celebrity voices. Through a series of paid voices, Amazon devices were able to speak like Samuel L. Jackson, Shaquille O’Neal, or Melissa McCarthy, but that’s over. Amazon has put an end to this program and users will no longer be able to access these voices, even if they had paid for them.
Hey Samuel. The actor who plays Nick Fury was the first voice to reach Alexa and the operation of him was as simple as saying “Hey Samuel, what’s the weather like?” or “Hey Samuel, tell me a story.” Alexa, instead of answering with her voice, answered with the voice of Samuel L. Jackson. A curiosity without more, obviously, but a curiosity that has 96,259 reviews on Amazon, which is said soon. The other two available voices weren’t as popular. Shaq’s voice has 4,445 ratings and Melissa McCarthy’s has 4,483 ratings.
September 30, 2023. That is the date set by Amazon to be able to continue using the voices of celebrities. Thereafter, the skill will stop working. In fact, if there is anyone curious in the room who wants to try out the voice of one of the available celebrities, they won’t be able to, since the voices are no longer available for purchase. In the case of the voice of Samuel L. Jackson, the skill was unavailable on April 30, but will continue to be heard until June 7. Regarding the other two voices, the following is stated on their respective pages:
“The Shaquille O’Neal / Melissa McCarthy Alexa voice is no longer available for purchase. Customers who have purchased the experience will be able to continue using it until September 30, 2023 by saying “Hey Shaq/Samuel/Melissa”. If you have any If you have any questions about this update, please contact customer service.”
It doesn’t matter what you buy. These voices were paid. At launch they cost $0.99 and then they cost $4.99, according to The Verge. The problem is that being a kind of Amazon service, if Amazon decides to stop supporting it, it doesn’t matter if the user had paid for it. They are no longer available. However, from Amazon they point out that users can contact customer service to request a refund.
It is not clear the reason. The truth is that Amazon has not explained why it has decided to get rid of the voices of celebrities, let it all be said, they have not received news since 2021. However, recent reports suggest that Alexa has suffered a setback. Amazon’s own senior vice president of devices and services, David Limp, said in an interview that Alexa was still not profitable and that of the 10,000 workers laid off by Amazon a few months ago, some 2,000 affected his division.
Via | The Verge
Image | Amazon
In Xataka | We use Alexa for little more than setting timers and music. That’s a huge problem for Amazon.
