Alexa finally features a different name profile and a male voice, Ziggy. Though Ziggy isn’t necessarily a male profile, you can choose either a male voice (the new) or the female voice (the original). Meanwhile, it has also flared up a ton of conspiracies circling around its name. Some suspect Amazon Echo’s new name is an inspiration from Ziggy Stardust, a title character from David Bowie’s album in the 70s. While others are occupied by tying it to the computer-from-future in Quantum Leap, also called Ziggy. But whether it is a futuristic integration of Amazon’s Echo speaker or a long-awaited sex-equality addition to AIs, let’s find out how different this makes the Alexa experience.
How to Change the Wake Word for Alexa?
Calling Alexa by a different name doesn’t quite sound like a big change. After all, we have known Alexa to respond and wake to “Amazon”, “Echo”, “Alexa”, and as well as paid-name profiles like Samuel L Jackson’s and Melissa McCarthy’s. But what’s great is that it’s the first actual name given to it besides Alexa. By changing the name profile for Alexa, the AI will respond to “Ziggy” for waking up and running processes. Moreover, Ziggy is a completely integrated profile unlike the celebrity profiles only limited to whether and a few other lines.
You can change the wake word for Alexa by saying, “Alexa, change the wake word” and call out Ziggy from the names. Or, you can change the wake word by following the below steps.
- Open Alexa app and navigate to Menu.
- Select Decive Settings from the Settings Menu.
- Select the device you want to update the wake word for.
- Pick the wake word you want, i.e., Ziggy, Amazon, Alexa, Echo.
How to Change Alexa’s Voice?
The new update doesn’t only feature a unique name for Amazon’s AI but also a different voice profile, a male one. It is an exact replica of the feminine voice profile and able to perform similar tasks and processes. The only difference is the gender, which is great if you’ve had enough of the feminine voice. You can change the voice profile for Alexa by saying, “Alexa, change your voice.” And then choose the male voice. Or, you can manually change Alexa’s voice by following the below steps:
- Open Alexa App and select Menu
- Toggle to settings and select Device Settings
- Tap on “Alexa’s Voice”
- Change from “Feminine”(Originaly) to “Masculine”(New)
