Yandex Qazaqstan has introduced the third generation of the "Mini Station" — featuring a refreshed design, an LED screen, enhanced audio, and new capabilities for the virtual assistant. Users can now issue two commands to Alice simultaneously, edit alarms and reminders in the "Home with Alice" app, and receive personalized weather forecasts—these options are now available on all smart devices with Alice.
The "Mini Station 3" comes in lilac, black, and gray colors and has a more harmonious shape compared to the previous generation model. The upper panel with touch buttons is slightly convex to facilitate volume adjustments, swipe track changes, or pausing playback. The LED screen shows the outdoor temperature and time, as well as Alice's reactions during user interactions. For instance, if you say "Alice, show me your eyes!", she will wink from the screen.
The new speaker delivers a more powerful and clearer sound than the previous generation "Mini Station" due to an increased acoustic volume and a more powerful speaker—12 watts instead of the previous ten. With the "Mini Station 3," users can also control smart devices connected to their smart home via Wi-Fi using voice commands. Additionally, devices supporting the Matter over Wi-Fi protocol can be connected to it, allowing them to function within smart home scenarios even if the internet goes down.
New Features of Alice
The virtual assistant can now process two commands at once: for example, "Alice, start the vacuum cleaner and turn off the radio" or "Alice, brighten the lights and play music." There’s no need to wait for the assistant to complete one command before giving another. This will make interactions with Alice more convenient and help save time.
Alarms and reminders set by voice on the speaker are now displayed in the "Home with Alice" app. Users can edit, delete, and set multiple alarms at once. The app also allows for the customization of personal weather forecasts— for instance, Alice can provide updates not only on temperature and precipitation but also on atmospheric pressure, lunar phases, and humidity.
The third-generation "Mini Station" is priced at 54,990 tenge. The new speaker can be purchased at Sulpak, ALSER, "Technodom," and "Mechta."
Alice is Yandex's virtual assistant. She can answer questions, curate music, assist with daily tasks, and manage smart homes. She has her own personality and sense of humor, capable of engaging in conversation, creating slogans, or telling stories. In 2023, the Yandex Qazaqstan team introduced Alice, who can communicate in both Russian and Kazakh languages and switch seamlessly between them. She is available on smart speakers, and in the "Home with Alice," "Yandex," and "Yandex Browser" applications.
Yandex Qazaqstan is a technology company that develops products and services based on machine learning and neural networks. The company focuses on creating and implementing innovative technologies aimed at enhancing users' lives and advancing the digital landscape in Kazakhstan. The country already hosts search, urban, cloud, and entertainment services, and the company is also developing educational and social projects.