Contents
Unpacking and review of the new Yandex.Station Max smart speaker with Alice, as well as reflections on where the Russian-speaking voice assistant is taking us – in the material Trends
The first “Station” appeared in 2018 and even then it impressed with non-standard design solutions, good sound, the ability to display a picture on TV, and most importantly, it was the only “smart” speaker on the market with an adequate Russian-speaking assistant. For two years, Yandex managed to release Station Mini and put its voice assistant Alice in smart speakers from such large manufacturers as JBL. Cool, but something was still missing: status indication, a full-fledged graphical interface for the TV, and tight integration with the smart home.
And now, at the YaC-2020 conference in the new “coronavirus” video format, Yandex Managing Director Tigran Khudaverdyan says: “Alice is doing well … 45 million people use her.” And then we are presented with the “Station Max”, in which all of the above issues are resolved: they added a display, made a showcase for video content, and even put a remote control in the kit. The developers also provided the opportunity to add “smart” devices from most manufacturers to the Yandex ecosystem.
What does Yandex.Station Max sound like?
To “Station” two years ago there were no questions about the sound. The column easily “pumped” any, even the largest room. “Station Max” has become even larger, and this additional volume is noticeable in the sound: the bass is now deeper, and the comfortable volume without turning into a wheeze is now even higher. And, by the way, different groups of speakers began to be responsible for different frequency ranges, and the total power of the three-way system increased to 65 watts.
You can make it louder or quieter by asking Alice about it. But Yandex also decided not to give up on the big round regulator. And they are unlikely to refuse in the future, even despite how quickly assistants and speech recognition are developing. People need (and most importantly pleasant!) an interface that can be touched and influenced directly and predictably. It calms and gives a feeling of control.
What Yandex.Station Max can do
It is unlikely that we will ever get rid of graphical interfaces. At least not until we implant a chip in our brain. And this is clearly understood in Yandex. On the one hand, the voice interface itself is not enough, and on the other hand, it can even be redundant.
– Alice, turn on the garland.
– Okay, I turn it on.
But you could just silently turn it on. Or wink there with an eye … Oh, wait a minute! So after all, “Station Max” was taught just this – to wink and somehow respond graphically to the request in some other way.
Display
The new column provided a small display, which displays the time, weather icons, and sometimes emotions – in the form of two cartoon eyes.
The display resolution is only 25×16 cm and it is monochrome. But because of the way he was beaten, it turned out even elegantly and quite in the trend that modern devices fit into the interior rather than draw attention to themselves. The matrix was placed under a translucent acoustic fabric, so that all images are obtained simultaneously both in contrast and scattered between tissue cells. And when there is nothing on the screen, you can’t say that there is a display.
TV and remote
Another innovation in “Station Max” is the interface for the TV and a separate remote control for it. And that brings us back to the idea that just an audio interface isn’t always enough. Turning up the volume with a voice command or switching the channel is convenient, but scrolling through the media library in Kinopoisk is already uncomfortable.
It is assumed that after unpacking, you will immediately connect the “Station” to the TV (by the way, there is already an HDMI cable in the kit, Z – care!), give it access to the Network, it will be updated to the latest version, and then you will need to connect the remote control. Interestingly, this is a separate and non-trivial process. You need to say: “Alice, connect the remote.” The speaker will display prompts on the TV screen: which buttons to hold down so that the remote control goes into detection mode, contacts the “Station” itself and updates its firmware (sic!). After that, you can use it to scroll through the menu on the TV, as well as give voice commands from other rooms – the remote control has its own microphone.
In 2020, users have special requirements for picture quality. Therefore, “Station Max” supports 4K resolution. True, this only applies to content in Kinopoisk, but YouTube videos are played only in FullHD. And in general, you can’t just go to YouTube from the main menu – you can only make a voice request. From a user’s point of view, this is a bit annoying. But if you put yourself in the place of Yandex, which develops its own ecosystem and competes with others, this is logical. It is more profitable to keep customers “closer to the body”, especially since the monetization model is clearly based not on the sale of the “Stations” themselves, but on the provision of services and content. And the “Station” is just an additional convenient door to them. Now most players in the market are betting on the service model, and the further, the more. But, as Steve Jobs said, if you want to make cool software (read, service), you need to make your own hardware.
Alice and smart home
In fact, Alice is developing on her own and in parallel with all the “Stations”, but it is impossible to talk about a new column and ignore the voice assistant. Two years have passed since the announcement of the first “Station”, and during this time Alice has learned to distinguish voices, call a taxi, manage a bunch of devices in a smart home, and third-party developers have written many new skills for her.
The voice assistant is updated every few months at night and without your participation. That is, Alice becomes “smarter”, as it were, on her own, and at the same time she gradually gets to know you better. If you use Yandex services, the company already knows your daily routine based on regular routes, food preferences from orders in Lavka, which movies and TV shows you like from queries and ratings in Kinopoisk. Fasten it all daily queries in the search engine. And if Yandex knows it, then Alice knows it too. It remains only to tell the column: “Remember my voice,” and it will begin to distinguish you from other family members, responding differently to the same requests.
Internet giants are already able to compete on equal terms with telecom operators. And Yandex, of course, is no exception. Therefore, you can call Max Station from the Yandex application. It will turn out to be a kind of voice call with the ability to connect the video from the smartphone’s camera and display it on the big screen – after all, the “Station” is connected to the TV. You are watching the series, and then Alice says in a human voice: “Mom is calling you.” And you to her: “Answer!”. And now you are talking to your mother on TV.
But, by the way, the matter is not limited to TV. Alice can connect and control almost any device that has Internet access. And it doesn’t have to be Yandex gadgets. TP-Link smart sockets, Z-Wave sensors, Xiaomi robotic vacuum cleaners – anything – there are dozens of partner services and brands in the catalog. In fact, you will not connect a specific device to Alice, but give Yandex access to a third-party brand service through the API. Roughly speaking, tell them: “Be friends!”. Further, all new devices will appear in the menu automatically, and, accordingly, they can be controlled by voice.
The children were not neglected either. For them, Alice has audio books and many interactive games in the skills catalog. Even the smallest child will be able to say: “Alice, read a fairy tale.” And the column will understand. And read. And parents will have a free hour to calmly cook dinner. And our children, it seems, will live in a world where talking to robots as people is completely normal.
Final impressions
If you think about it, Yandex not only updated its Station by adding some new nice features, but integrated Alice more closely into people’s lives. Now Alice is not only on the smartphone and on the shelf at home, but also on the TV and smart gadgets of all stripes. A large screen opens up a lot of possibilities and is potentially capable of making interaction with Yandex services more convenient. It is easy to imagine how in 2021 we say not only “Alice, turn on an interesting movie”, but also something like “Order milk and bread at Lavka” or “Find the nearest car at Drive”.
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