At the end of 2023, Yandex released a new smart speaker with voice assistant Alice called Yandex Station Duo Max. A special feature of the device was the presence of a large built-in touch screen, which, according to the creators’ idea, should increase the capabilities of the device, allowing you to combine voice control with physical control.
Many reviews have already been made on this station, so in this material I will share with you my impressions of using the Duo Max Station for several weeks.
The text will be as honest as possible, because the real pros and cons of such a complex device appear after about 4-5 days of regular use, when the euphoria of an enthusiastic researcher subsides, and you already understand in which chains you can maintain correct interaction, and in which it is easier to use smartphone or laptop.
📍 You can evaluate the Duo Max Station yourself, and you don’t even need to buy it. Go to our Telegram channel, where we will give away one such station tomorrow 😉. How to take part in the draw – see here.
If you are too lazy to read, here are brief conclusions: Yandex Station Duo Max has great potential in the future and even now can pleasantly surprise with its capabilities, such as in terms of sound (it’s a column after all), and in terms of the interaction of voice in the form of gestures. Because of this, it is especially disappointing when Alice finds herself powerless and cannot choose simple but logical actions.
Intrigued? Well, let’s quickly get to the point:
Why did you like Yandex Station Duo Max?
The design is laconic and fits into any interior.
The name itself clearly hints that the device is the flagship of the entire chain of smart speakers from Yandex and is on the same level as the Max Station, which is already well known to many. The word “duo” shows that the station can be controlled in two ways, both by voice and using the touch screen, and this is really very convenient and interesting.
Well, for example: if I want to know the temperature, I ask Alice a corresponding question like “Alice, what’s the weather like outside?” If I ask a question about this Max Station, the answer I will hear is something like “Now it’s so many degrees outside, it’s heating up so much” The new Duo Max Station, in addition to voice response, also displays a weather clock on the screen. So you get more complete information.
The large 10.5-inch screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels is perfectly readable from any angle.
You can also control music using the screen, when you can turn on the voice of an album, and then jump from track to track with random taps. Or, in general, the button for the artist goes into the discography and then selects albums and tracks according to your mood.
Integration with KinoPoisk allows (if you have a Yandex.Plus subscription) search and watch movies. Moreover, these actions can be performed without hands, only with your voice: just say “Alice, turn on the movie such and such“, and if it is available in the KinoPoisk HD database, the search for it will begin.
A screen for strict control of smart home devices built into the smart speaker, if you have one. The simplest example is that you can only use your voice to adjust the glow settings of a smart light bulb, and using the screen you can ask, move the slider along the palette of keys and select any of the millions of shades.
A separate feature of the Duo Max Station is the presence of a 13 MP front camera for video calls via Telegram. To activate this function, you need to log into your TG account, and then simply ask Alice to call any person, pronouncing his name as he wrote to you in Telegram contacts. Alice accurately recognizes names and during the week of using this function I did not have a single false dial.
To check audio and video calls via Telegram, you need to log into your TG account.
In addition, Alice understands requests like “turn off video and leave only audio“When there is an active video call, or upon request, it hangs up on its own.
These are all examples of my personal data, on the basis of which the smart Station from Yandex is used. Surprisingly, Duo Max Station literally provokes you to communicate with Alice and ask her questions, because listen and watch Her answer is more interesting than just listen.
When Alice is activated, the column is beautifully illuminated at the base.
Yandex Stations Duo Max is perfect for those who perceive information better visually than auditorily. I’m just one of those people: it’s important for me to see information with my EYES in order to assimilate it. If you are from the same category of people, having a screen on which some information is shown in addition to the audio response will be calm for you.
It seems that here it is, an ideal device that combines two main ways of delivering information – auditory and visual. You get used to it very quickly and think that you have found a common language with Alice as much as possible.
But it was not there.
What you didn’t like about Yandex Station Duo Max
A glossy screen creates a lot of glare in a room with a lot of light sources.
After several days of regular communication with Alice at Duo Station, Max begins to believe that she can do anything. And immediately after this realization you are faced with subtleties that not only disappoint, but simply spoil the impression. This is how the fall can be restructured when the parent cannot answer a simple question, and the thought arises that it turns out “dad is not the smartest and most omniscient person on the planet“
I’ll explain with a specific example.: You think that Duo Max was created simply to help you in the kitchen while cooking, because it is so convenient to display this or that recipe on the screen. And how to do it? – It’s right that you need to show Alice, for example, recipes for potato pancakes.
No text replies. Select the finger roller.
And what does Duo Max Station show for this request? A shows a list of videos found on YouTube in which you need to click a button to start them. Moreover, changing the request to “show TEXT recipe for pancakes” does not affect the result. And your hands are already in flour. You feel deceived.
Or, for example, communication via Telegram: Video calls can be made easily, but if you want to voice dictate a text message in a chat with someone from your contact list, Alice will answer that this is impossible due to the person being included in her contact list.
When you create a dictate text message in Telegram, the quest begins.
You need to separately record a contact in Alice to send text messages through the “cart”, but you don’t need to do this for a video call through the same “cart” to the same person – it’s a mystery to me.
Well, the last fly in the ointment is that Yandex Station Duo Max is not yet able to distinguish the voices of family members, unlike the usual Station Max. I am sure that this can be solved programmatically by updating the firmware, but so far, alas, there is no such item in the Duo Max Station menu settings in the Yandex application.
Impression. There are still more pros than cons
A physical shutter securely covers the camera. Privacy lovers will appreciate it.
I spent a little over a week in the company of Yandex Stations Duo Max, and I can say with confidence that this device leaves more impressions. Basic functions, including entertainment, the device works without failures or dependencies.
The built-in 60 W acoustics produce loud, balanced and bassy sound, I like it. For privacy lovers, there is a screen curtain that can be used to cover the front camera view. The screen can be tilted and flipped from portrait to portrait mode and vice versa, and the interface automatically adjusts to each of these modes.
An interesting situation: there is a rocker on the case, which is located on the upper border in a horizontal position. When rotating the screen in portrait mode, the zoom button appears below the button button, so for moving the buttons are automatically remapped to avoid user confusion. It’s a small thing, but nice.
Considering that this is the first such device in the range of devices from Yandex, and even at a price of 42,990 rubles, I want to express my respect to the engineers and everyone who took part in the creation of the Duo Max Station. It is clear that the device is actually being created, and has not been copied with some ready-made solutions of average quality.
📍 You can evaluate the Duo Max Station yourself, and you don’t even need to buy it. Go to our Telegram channel, where we will give away one such station tomorrow 😉. How to take part in the draw – see here.
Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
