JBL with the soul of Zeliboba and other new Alice products from Yandex

      In addition to the big update of the paid version of Alice, a number of devices were presented at the Yandex presentation, as well as new features of Yandex Auto.

       Moreover, among electronics suppliers, Yandex entered the list of one of the largest suppliers with revenue of 46 billion rubles in 2024. This was told by Valery Stromov, CEO of Alice and smart Devices. The number of paid subscribers of Alice Pro, based on the YandexGPT neural network, has exceeded 2 million.

      What can Alice do for money?

       According to Vitaly Danilkin, head of the Alice Pro team, Alice has now become a full-fledged AI assistant. What did she learn in the latest version?

      

       Object recognition using a smartphone camera. Now you can ask Alice questions about and get detailed answers about what she "sees".

       Working with files. Alice Pro can now process PDF, DOC, DOCX and TXT files, analyzing them, identifying the main thing, answering questions about the text, etc.

      

       To reason. The new chat mode with Alice is called that – it can be useful, for example, when solving problems, learning a new skill, etc.

      

       Speak English. The paid Alice Pro now knows English and can help with her studies.

      

       These functions appeared thanks to the use of the YandexGPT 5 Pro language model and the Yandex multimodal neural network (Visual Language Model, VLM). If you remember, in 2021 there was such a service "Zeliboba", created by Yandex, the current network is the direct heir of this "neural network".

      Devices with Alice

       Yandex has announced three new speaker models, including the first portable speaker with Alice, the Street Station.

      

       All of Alice's familiar functions remain available if you connect the speaker to your smartphone in modem mode, and voice control of music is possible even without an Internet connection. When connected to a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, the speaker will not only play your favorite tracks, but will also be able to search for information on the Internet, set timers and perform other household tasks, as well as keep up a conversation on various topics. Even without Internet access through the speaker, you can listen to music and control it using your voice. It is enough to connect the Station to your smartphone via Bluetooth and start playback from any music service. The novelty has a power of 30 watts. The color schemes of the Street Station were apparently chosen to suit our realities: protective khaki or gray. The device is protected from dust and moisture according to the IP67 standard, which means that dust particles do not penetrate into the column and it can withstand temporary immersion in water.

       The second novelty, the Mini 3 Pro Station, is designed for users who want to control their smart home with their voice. This speaker supports the connection of various sensors, light bulbs and sockets via Zigbee or Matter over Wi-Fi. A portable battery and a module with temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide sensors will be available with the speaker.

      

       The new version of the Light 2 Station, the most affordable speaker in the Yandex line, will be offered without a watch, but will retain all the standard functions of Alice. Users will be able to listen to music, control their smart home, set alarms, and search for information online.

      

       In addition to launching new speakers, Yandex is planning to upgrade the Duo Max Station, the flagship smart speaker with a screen. As it turned out, many users have installed the device in the kitchen, where they use it as a TV and tablet. The interface will be completely redesigned, with the addition of new features, including karaoke mode. Users will be able to simultaneously open multiple applications on the screen, as well as view camera videos and sensor data.

      

       The first device in the security category, a smart IP camera, will also appear in the line of Yandex smart home devices. She transmits the video to the Home with Alice app, saves the recordings, and sends notifications to her phone when motion is detected in the frame. This camera allows you to monitor your apartment or pet when you are on vacation or at work.

       Unfortunately, prices for new items were not announced.

      Smart home or nothing!

       Alexandra Timchenko, head of the Smart Home team with Alice, outlined her dream at the presentation: "We believe that one day buying an apartment without a smart home will be as strange as buying an apartment without electricity."

      

       What is being done for this? But: "In the near future, we plan to implement several projects in partnership with developers, in which apartment buyers will gain a new experience of living in a smart building."

      Yandex Auto

       Ekaterina Dapkus, head of Yandex Auto, showed a prototype of the Yandex Auto multimedia system, which allows voice control not only of Yandex services, but also of car functions. For example, you can ask Alice to lower the window or adjust the climate control without distracting from the road. This makes trips more convenient and safer.

       Read also

       What has the legislator prepared for us in the field of information security?

      The year 2025 has not had time to begin, as he presented us with two legislative novels that have passed all three readings, which means that by the time you read the IT-World material, they may already have been signed by the President and entered into force.

      

      

       Convenience and safety in general are the main things that the speakers emphasized. However, when I asked how such statements correlate with the inability to display navigation on a regular screen using Android Auto and Carplay without a paid subscription, I received the answer that this is the responsibility of the cartography department, and everything works for free in cars with pre-installed Yandex Alice. Another argument in favor of supporting a domestic manufacturer, because the current version of Yandex Auto works in LADA cars.