If you use the Amazon app on your iPhone to shop you can use it to talk to Alexa, too, even if you don’t own an Echo or Echo Dot. The online retailer is rolling out in-app Alexa support for iPhone users over the next week which means pretty much everything you do with an Echo or Echo Dot can happen right on your smartphone.
Placing orders with your voice, tracking shipments, playing music, and controlling your smarthome devices can happen inside the Amazon app whenever you tap the microphone button. Adding Alexa Skills still requires the Alexa app, so you’ll need to download that, too.
The change makes Alexa available on the go, much like Apple’s Siri, but don’t expect it to take over your iPhone voice control. Apple’s voice assistant responds to, “Hey Siri,” but Alexa on the iPhone requires you launch the Amazon app and tap the microphone button.
Amazon is moving deeper into Siri’s territory by making its voice assistant available outside your home, and without requiring anything more than the smartphone you already have. That’s a pretty clear shot across Apple’s bow and a sign it’s time for the iPhone maker to step up its voice control game.
The Amazon shopping app and Alexa app are both free to download at Apple’s App Store. If you aren’t seeing Alexa support now, be patient. It’ll be there by next week.