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By the staff of AppleInsider
Tuesday, June 26, 2018, 6:10 pm Eastern Time (9:10 pm ET)
About five months after Android users were able to manage Alexa's voice assistant from Amazon via a dedicated application, the e-commerce giant brings iOS-like functionality, transforming an iPhone or an iPad in a practical Echo stand.
The latest update of Alexa's iOS app provides a much-anticipated voice control for the virtual assistant software. Previously, the application was largely relegated to interactions with Amazon Echo speakers, for example by configuring a new device or placing calls to other users.
With the latest revision, Alexa acts more like a full-fledged smart assistant. Users can tap the dedicated Alexa button – a text bubble icon – and use their voice to control smart home appliances, play music, check weather, ask general questions and more. Some skills, such as those related to calendar entries and sports scores, are accompanied by in-app screens that display information in graphical form.
Just like an Echo and Siri Apple device, the Alexa app connects to offsite servers to perform the processing.
Due to Apple's tight control over hardware access, Alexa is unable to monitor the idle words, which means that users must use the graphical interface of the application for enter a command or query. Yet, voice interactions permeate the application with a sense of familiarity for existing Echo device owners. More importantly for Amazon, Alexa on iOS offers iPhone and iPad users a line of direct and portable communication with the virtual assistant.
Amazon initially promised voice support for Alexa's iOS app in January after deploying similar functionality on Android.
Alexa for iOS is a free download from the App Store.
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