Amazon’s Echo and Echo Dot are pretty cool, but what if you don’t have one yet—or aren’t home to use yours? That’s where Astra comes in. It’s an iPhone app that links to your Amazon account so you talk talk to Alexa just as if you’re right in front of your own Echo. The app lets you do pretty much everything your Echo or Echo Dot can handle, except for music playback or reading audio books. You can also remotely control your Echo-aware smarthome devices with your voice, which is worth the app’s US$0.99 price tag all by itself. You can get Astra at Apple’s App Store.
Check It Out: Turn Your iPhone into an Amazon Echo with Astra
It’s worth noting that you have to press the microphone button to get the app to listen to you. There is no voice command to prompt the app to start listening even if it is always open. So if your like me and have iPods for light switches this isn’t an easy way to get alexa in every room. Cool concept though and maybe more features will come with updates