Amazon’s Alexa can now be set as your default personal assistant on Android phones and accessed through holding down the home button, as a user on Reddit pointed out. Previously, you were only able to swap in Microsoft’s Cortana as the default voice assistant on Android devices.
You can now set Amazon’s Alexa as your default voice assistant on Android
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Setting up Alexa on Android is going to vary depending on which device you have but the general gist is that you update the Alexa app, then head into your phone’s settings under the category for “Assist apps” and change your selection.
Alexa’s functionality on Android is still pretty limited. Alexa can’t pull up maps or make native calls, although it can do a quick Google search. There are also fewer options for summoning Alexa than there are for Google Assistant: you can’t activate Alexa through saying its name or by squeezing your phone.
Users on Reddit confirmed seeing the new option to add Alexa as the default assistant on their Google Pixel 2, One Plus 5, One Plus One, Xperia, Moto G5 Plus, Essential Phone 1, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, and Samsung Galaxy S9 devices.
Image: u/itsallaguesswork on Reddit
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