Amazon is making it possible to use Alexa "hands free" from within its Alexa mobile app for iOS, reports TechCrunch.

amazon alexa app
Up until now, you had to tap the blue Alexa button at the bottom of the screen before you could issue a voice command.

After updating the app, users will be able to simply speak to Alexa to make lists, control smart home devices, and more, without having to touch their iPhone.

While Amazon calls it "hands free," it's not like you'll be able to invoke the company's digital voice assistant if your phone is locked or when you're in another app.

What users will be able to do, however, is ask Siri to open the Amazon Alexa app, and then they can start using the new hands-free experience from there.

After updating the app, users will be presented with the option to enable the hands-free detection and can then begin to use the feature. According to TechCrunch, a setting is also being made available that will allow users to turn the feature off at any time.

Amazon says the feature is rolling out over the next several days to users worldwide on both iOS and Android.

Tags: Amazon, Alexa

Top Rated Comments

Pulpdiction Avatar
53 months ago
Another nail in the coffin of Siri
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aston441 Avatar
53 months ago

It would be nice to swap out Siri for Alexa. Siri is decent for basic tasks but Alexas is a couple levels ahead in terms of having an actual conversation.
This times one million.

Alexa is the automation in my life, my music, my everything.

Siri is completely useless.

Apple should just pay for the rights to Alexa and swap out Siri until it's ready for prime time
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hagar Avatar
53 months ago

Why would anyone use this? Or any Alexa device?

edit: so many disagree yet no offers of explanations why
Because Siri is infuriatingly stupid. I’m not using her in the car anymore because she is so stupid, I’m affraid I would drive off a cliff one day out of frustration. Sending messages, asking directions, getting the weather, turning off the lights...it all works fine one moment, and the next she switches off her brain. It’s like Siri is operated by actual people, and they all work with different scripts and produce different results.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Airforcekid Avatar
53 months ago
It would be nice to swap out Siri for Alexa. Siri is decent for basic tasks but Alexas is a couple levels ahead in terms of having an actual conversation.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Caliber26 Avatar
53 months ago
Meh. If I’m gonna have to grab my phone to unlock it so Siri can launch the Alexa app, I might as well just go ahead and tap the Alexa button myself.

I’d much rather for Amazon to rebuild the app from the ground up because, as it is right now, it’s got to be one of the worst experiences about the Alexa ecosystem. I love Alexa (she’s infinitely better than Siri) and I love my Echos. But I loathe the app.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Azzin Avatar
53 months ago

Because Siri is infuriatingly stupid. I’m not using her in the car anymore because she is so stupid, I’m affr I would drive off a cliff one day out of frustration. Sending messages, asking directions, getting the weather, turning off the lights...it all works fine one moment, and the next she switched off her brain. It’s like Siri is operated by actual people, and they all works with different scripts and produce different results.
I use Siri regularly via CarPlay, works great.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
Apple TV Plus Feature 2 Magenta and Blue

Apple TV+ Curbs Costs After Expensive Projects Fail to Capture Viewers

Monday July 22, 2024 5:11 am PDT by
Apple is scaling back its Hollywood spending after investing over $20 billion in original programming with limited success, Bloomberg reports. This shift comes after the streaming service, which launched in 2019, struggled to capture a significant share of the market, accounting for only 0.2% of TV viewership in the U.S., compared to Netflix's 8%. Despite heavy investment, critical acclaim,...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature Purple

These 5 Features Will Make the iPhone 17 the Biggest Update in Years

Monday July 22, 2024 4:02 pm PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 16 models that we're expecting to see in September are going to be quite similar to the iPhone 15 models, but rumors suggest that Apple is making big changes in 2025. We've been hearing hints of an all-new device in the iPhone lineup, and it may be the most expensive iPhone Apple has offered to date. New 'Slim' Design Rumors have taken to referring to the new iPhone 17...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Launch Early Next Year With OLED Display, 48MP Camera, and More

Monday July 22, 2024 7:22 am PDT by
The fourth-generation iPhone SE will offer a series of major upgrades over the current model, the leaker known as "Ice Universe" claims. The information was listed in a post on Weibo, which also detailed the specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup. As previously rumored, the fourth-generation iPhone SE is expected to feature Face ID and USB-C, marking a major upgrade from current and previous ...
bsod

Microsoft Blames European Commission for Major Worldwide Outage

Monday July 22, 2024 11:55 am PDT by
Last Friday, a major CrowdStrike outage impacted PCs running Microsoft Windows, causing worldwide issues affecting airlines, retailers, banks, hospitals, rail networks, and more. Computers were stuck in continuous recovery loops, rendering them unusable. The failure was caused by an update to the CrowdStrike Falcon antivirus software that auto-installed on Windows 10 PCs, but Mac and Linux...