User:Ylitvinenko/sandbox/Yandex Station

Yandex Station (Russian: Яндекс Станция) is a series of Russian-language smart speakers developed by Yandex and powered by the company's virtual assistant Alice. Users can invoke the assistant by saying the wake word "Alice" (or, alternatively, "Yandex") to ask questions, set alarms and timers, turn on the music, control home automation devices, and use other voice-enabled services. The speakers are integrated with search, mobility and streaming services operated by Yandex, including video on demand platform Kinopoisk, with some models supporting direct connection to a TV via HDMI.

The original Yandex Station, released in 2018, was Yandex's first hardware device and the first smart speaker made for the Russian market. Succeeding models included continuations of the original's pillar-shaped design, as well as smaller, puck-shaped devices resembling Amazon's Echo Dot speakers.

Features
A limited number of Yandex Stations has been offered on a subscription basis, with the price of the device split in monthly payments and combined with a Yandex Plus plan. A red color variant of the original Station had been offered on a subscription only. It's impossible to connect subscription-bound speakers to another account without paying off the cost of the device. To prevent users from buying locked speakers thought secondhand, Yandex lets potential buyers to check a serial number against its database of subscription-bound devices.

___ However, it can play video clips published on video hosting platforms, including YouTube, and stream Internet simulcasts of Russian TV and radio stations. Until July 18, 2019, movies from Ivi had been available for streaming on the Yandex Station.

Reception
_____ However, Meduza criticised both the original Station and the Station Max for their lack of YouTube account sync and recommendations.