Alexa is getting multilingual. On Tuesday, the online retail giant responsible for the popular AI assistant announced that the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) has now become available for developers in both the United Kingdom and Germany. That means that any device that supports AVS (think the Buy Now and Buy Now , for starters), will be compatible with all Alexa services in both the British and German markets, and will understand British English and German.
“AVS localization provides you with language and region-specific services to expand your audience and delight new customers,” Amazon explained in its announcement. “With a few lines of code, you can upgrade any product with Alexa to access localized languages and skills in the U.K., Germany, and U.S. Now your end customers can speak with Alexa and receive responses and content in their preferred language and region.”
This latest update builds upon previous improvements to AVS — just last year, Amazon opened up the service to all U.S. developers, which allowed them to integrate Alexa with any connected device featuring a microphone and speaker. Since then, AVS integrations have abounded — everything from smart home products to in-car experiences have emerged as a result of this new open platform.
Of course, we should point out that despite Alexa’s availability in these new markets, not all of its associated services will work internationally. As TechCrunch noted, iHeartRadio is only available in the United States, which means that it won’t work in Germany or the U.K. regardless of AVS. The same goes for Kindle book reading and traffic reports.
However, as the world grows ever more connected, it seems safe to assume that even these services will soon be readily available overseas.
So if you’re a German or British developer looking to stretch your development muscles, you can start today with AVS.
Did you think hitting delete on your AI chatbot conversation actually makes it disappear? Georgia Tech researchers just proved that's not entirely true. They have built a forensic tool called ORISA that can dig deleted conversations from your phone and even rebuild them into a working chatbot session you can keep talking to.
How can ORISA bring deleted AI conversations back?
Touchscreen laptops have been around for years. You can get them in all sizes and shapes. Just not from Apple. For years, the Cupertino giant has treated the idea of a touchscreen MacBook the way I treat a meeting that could have been an email: with open contempt. However, Wednesday looks like the day the company could finally change its mind.
The latest Apple invite puts the “Pro and Tell” showcase in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on October 28, 2026. Instead of a regular live-streamed keynote, it is an invitation-only, hands-on event for a handful of press and creators (similar to what the company did for the MacBook Neo earlier this year).
Two residents of Chicago have filed a lawsuit in the US over claims that robots run by Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics captured their facial and hand measurements without consent, bringing renewed attention to the food delivery robots. The cases raise a troubling question: If a robot delivers food to your door, can it also be gathering sensitive information about you?
According to a report by The Associated Press, the proposed class-action lawsuits were filed in Cook County on Oct. 9 and allege violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. The complaints claim that the robots’ cameras and LiDAR sensors captured information on customers’ faces and hands as they approached the machines to pick up their orders. Both have denied the allegations.