Alexa on your phone won’t exactly be like an Echo in your pocket.
Imagine if Siri and Google Now had an app store filled with 7,000 extra tricks you could teach them for free. That’s the promise of Amazon ’s cloud-based Alexa assistant on a phone, which debuts with the Huawei Mate 9 in February (for US markets only right now).
Alexa, which initially appeared on the Amazon Echo speaker, made it possible for families and roommates to ask for music, headlines and Amazon services in a shared space like the living room or kitchen. Since then, Alexa has gained control over thousands of apps and services, which anyone with Alexa-based hardware — like the Echo, Echo Dot or Tap and even a lamp or a smart refrigerator — can trigger with a voice command. Alexa has become especially important for controlling various smart-home devices — but until now, that only worked when you’re within shouting range.
But what about when you’re out? This is where Alexa on a phone comes into play. We take a look at what Alexa on a phone can and can’t do for you.
First off, don’t expect an Echo in your pocket. The Mate 9 doesn’t have Amazon’s far-field beam-forming microphones, so it won’t be able to hear you whisper „Alexa“ from across the room. Even if it could, you’ll need to boot up the Alexa app first: Unlike the Mate 9’s built-in Google Now functionality, Alexa won’t be always listening.
When you have the app running, Alexa on a phone will give you access to her world of skills without having to buy an Alexa-enabled device. It will also give you voice control over your smart-home devices even when you’re away from home, which is something you can’t get on at-home devices. Yes, you could just as easily open that Philips Hue app on your phone to turn on the lights with a few taps. But with Alexa on there too, you can ask her to turn on the heat and the kitchen light, and open the garage door before you even pull into the drive.
(Of course, without a phone to test out real-life scenarios, the question of how well the system works is up in the air for now. But we’ll take the Mate 9 on a thorough ride as soon as Alexa lands on our Mate 9.)
Alexa is getting into everything from fridges and lamps to phones.
Surprisingly, Alexa on phones won’t be able to set a timer or alarm.
Note that Alexa will let you control multiple compatible devices with your voice, but if you have an iPhone and HomeKit-compatible devices, you can do the same in one fell swoop if you’ve set up Scenes .
Many of Alexa’s skills are tied to specific hardware and services you might need to have in order to use, like Spotify or Philips Hue lights, so you won’t be able to use every skill right off the bat.
For now, Alexa will cohabitate with Google Now, but I’d be surprised to see it come to the iPhone.
In many other cases, you need to remember the right invocation words to launch a particular skill. For example, „Alexa, ask Garageio to open my garage door“ versus „Alexa, open the garage door. “ So Alexa on a phone is ultimately as useful to you as the number of services you have accounts for, or the number of services you can remember.
As a platform attracting plenty of app and device makers, Alexa has some clear advantages over Google and Siri’s mobile assistants, mostly because more devices currently work with Alexa than they do Google and Siri — and fewer with caveats that also require you to own specific hardware like an Apple TV or Google Home. That said. Alexa will complement, not replace, the voice powers your phone already has.
Siri and Google Voice\/Now are tied to the phone services where Alexa isn’t yet, which gives them two distinct advantages: 1) They know where you are (geolocation), and 2) They’re either always-on when the phone’s unlocked, or launch with a quick gesture or tap (like Siri’s long-press of the home button).
Amazon’s Alexa assistant will find a stronger foothold — if it can do those things and also make it onto more phones before Google and Apple find ways to elbow into Alexa’s capabilities and start pushing Amazon out.
Alexa may be the leader today, but the tide could easily turn if any other competitors find a way to strengthen their grip.<\/p>\n