Amazon is working to tackle a frequent complaint about smart home speakers by adding Adaptive Volume, which would cause Alexa to react louder if it senses that you are in a noisy area. The mode, according to the company, is designed to ensure that Alexa’s replies can be heard over background noise. According to Amazon, the functionality is presently accessible to US customers and can be enabled by asking “Alexa, switch on adaptive volume.”
Amazon does not mention adaptive volume operating in the reverse direction, becoming quieter if there is no background noise, although there are other ways to dynamically lower the level. One of these is Whisper Mode, in which Alexa will respond silently if you speak to it gently.
It’s important to note that the Adaptive Volume function is not the same as the Adaptive Sound feature on the spherical Echo fourth generation, which uses the device’s microphones to adjust music to sound better in your unique space. This isn’t the first time a smart assistant has attempted to modify its loudness to the user’s surroundings. Google Nest’s Ambient IQ promises to do something similar for spoken word content or assistant responses.
