Amazon announced today that its Alexa iOS app will finally support voice control, so you can interact with Echo devices and other smart home products through an iPhone or iPad by issuing spoken commands. The feature has been a long time coming; Alexa on iOS launched way back in March 2017, and Android users got voice control in January.
Amazon adds voice control to its Alexa iOS app
But it still can’t function as a Siri replacement
But it still can’t function as a Siri replacement
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
is a Senior Producer on Decoder. Previously, he reported on the technology and gaming industries for more than a decade.
Now, with the tap of a button from within the Alexa app on iOS, you’ll be able to ask Amazon’s assistant for music playback, smart home controls, web queries, and other compatible Alexa skills. Unlike on Android, where you’ve been able to set Alexa as the default voice assistant since May, Apple’s operating system is more locked down. So that means you can’t use Alexa as a replacement for Siri. You’ll have to open up Amazon’s app and tap the button to activate the software to use it.
Still, it’s nice to see a more fully fledged version of Alexa on a third-party platform like iOS, especially for those who live in Amazon’s Echo ecosystem. Amazon says the update will be rolling out to iOS devices in the coming days.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
