Yandex Start Android

Find whatever you need on the Internet faster with Yandex's virtual assistant for Android devices

Artificial intelligence is now a reality for smartphones at the user level. We have seen this with virtual assistants such as Siri for iPhone or Sherpa, Google Now, or Cortana in the case of Android devices. Yandex, one of Russia's leading technology companies, published its own virtual assistant that leverages its search engine features. We are talking about Yandex Start (formerly known as Yandex.Search), a service that provides users with everything they may want or need when searching the Internet.

Yandex Alice: the voice assistant to help you solve your problems

Yandex's new voice assistant, called Alice, is available for download in APK format for Android devices. Like the other assistants mentioned above, it can solve many everyday problems with the help of your smartphone. In other words, it can find answers to common questions such as how to get to a place, the result of your favorite soccer team's last match, the weather forecast, or the most important news of the day.

A complete assistant that will make your life easier (at least in Russia).

This virtual assistant has an advanced AI system that does not just offer some predefined answers but can improvise during the conversation to adapt to the user's needs. These are some of the functions that Yandex's artificial intelligence is capable of executing:

• Voice search: find websites, images, videos, and more.
• Check the weather forecast in detail.
• Follow all the latest Russian news.
• Access online TV from free-to-air channels.
• Check out the TV programming.
• Find nearby ATMs, pharmacies, and more.
• Receive advance notifications of relevant information, such as difficult or extreme weather conditions.
• Consult the map for public transportation services.
• Receive articles that you might find interesting to read based on the websites you visit.
• Find the supermarkets with the best deals and discounts for your shopping.
• Find out what movies are playing in theaters and read their synopsis.
• Scan QR codes.

The downside? Well, for now, you will not be able to enjoy Alice's benefits unless you are fluent in Russian, as this app is not translated into English or Spanish. So, in the meantime, we can keep using on our Android device all the other assistants offered to us by companies like Google and Microsoft.

Requirements and additional information:

• Minimum operating system requirements: Android 5.0.