Amazon Updates Alexa With New Features For Home, Apple iCloud Calendar Support

The Amazon Echo has been the online retailer’s main way to popularize its Alexa home assistant, and it’ll soon be getting a handful of small but useful updates.

First, all Echo devices will be able to take reminder requests. By making a full request to the Echo, you’ll be able to remind yourself or others about requests for household tasks or events. Users simply need to make a request to Alexa that includes the event name and time. Active reminders can be tracked within the Alexa app.

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Within Alexa, users also will be able to set names to timers. With this feature, you’ll be able to set separate timers that could be used in situations like home cooking. For a dinner, you could set multiple named timers to let you know when to pull specific dishes from the oven or stovetop.

Both features are available in the U.S. now and will launch internationally within the next few weeks.

The Echo and Alexa also will be getting an update from an unlikely partner. Amazon announced Thursday Apple users will be able to sync their iCloud calendars with Alexa. To do so, users simply need to put the iCloud credentials into the paired Alexa app. With the new feature, users can ask Alexa about upcoming events or add new appointments exclusively via voice commands.

MacRumors noted the feature makes iCloud Calendar the latest calendar service to be supported by Alexa. Other services that can be synced with Alexa include Google Calendar and Microsoft Office. The service will launch Thursday for U.S., U.K. and German users.

Both features are relatively minor updates, but they reflect the increasingly broad scope of Amazon’s Alexa as it broadens its reach throughout the home. Thanks to its ease of use for developers, you can do everything from make purchases to play games exclusively through Amazon’s various Echo devices. For Amazon, the Echo’s reach has similar upsides, as it keeps users within Amazon’s ecosystem for longer periods of time.

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While voice control has been the primary way to interact with Alexa, Amazon also plans to add to the Echo’s functionality. Last month, Amazon unveiled the Echo Show, a variant that features a physical display. In addition to standard Echo functionality like Alexa support, the Echo Show features the ability to make video and voice calls to other users akin to a Skype session or telecom unit.