Alexa now lets users create and edit playlists

Here is some good news for Alexa users who are also music fans -- Amazon’s digital assistant now allows people to create and even modify music playlists. Users are now granted the ability to either fashion a completely new playlist (even from just one track) and then expand existing playlists by adding new songs.

Support for creating and managing playlists was actually first incorporated into Alexa several weeks ago, but this week has since seen Amazon roll out the feature for users based in the United States. According to the tech giant, the ability to make and edit playlists was one of the most requested functionalities from its user base, and is proof that its customers are indeed taking full advantage of the company’s Echo lineup of smart home speakers when listening to their favorite tracks.

One can probably argue that Amazon’s offerings are not that focused on the musical side of things, that is as compared to third party home audio equipment manufacturers like Harman or Sonos. After all, the Echo line employs relatively lower cost hardware and components in order to enjoy a pricing advantage over the competition. But with Echo’s ability to allow listeners to direct audio to other speakers by way of Bluetooth, plus an auxiliary output, there was no serious need for Amazon to go premium on the sound quality.

Still, it is hard to deny that the addition of a playlist management tool is not a good thing. It is in the nature of music aficionados to always explore new songs or revisit old favorites, and having Alexa help them in compiling songs for every mood or occasion is a really big plus to the whole audio experience.

Amazon’s Alexa has been busy offering new features in the last few months. As recently as January of this year, Amazon had decided to start supporting SMS messaging via devices powered by the digital assistant. The Alexa mobile app for Google’s Android mobile operating system also got support for voice control. Then back in September of last year, Amazon had also began integrating Alexa support to its Amazon Music app for iOS and Android mobile users. 

As for subscribers of Amazon Music and Prime Music, they might be delighted to know that they can now enjoy access to the new playlist management feature. The same goes for those who signed up for an Amazon Music Unlimited Echo plan, which offers premium streaming on a single Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show, or Amazon Tap.