Amazon has released a new iOS widget, dubbed ”Ask Alexa”, that provides quick access to the company's voice assistant, right from the home screen of your iPhone and iPad.
The beta version of Siri first saw the light of day as an iPhone exclusive in October of 2011. Which means we're nearing the 10-year mark for the digital assistant's debut (for Apple's platform). Since then, Apple has touted the many queries the digital assistant has handled, and made improvements in big --and small-- ways.
As first spotted by The Ambient, users of Amazon's Alexa app for the iPhone and iPad can now send their requests to the assistant via text messages instead of only using their voice.
Apple introduced a tinier version of its popular HomePod called HomePod mini. This smart speaker is not only smaller in size, but also in price as compared to its parent. Both of these features put the HomePod mini more in the running as a direct competitor to the Amazon Echo.
Whether for yourself or a gift for a loved one, you might be trying to decide between the two (or three including the Amazon Echo Dot). To help, we have a comparison of HomePod mini versus Amazon Echo. Hopefully this will help you pick the best smart speaker for your home or someone else’s.
People in Germany who own an Echo device can now ask Amazon's Alexa smart assistant to stream any audio show available on the Apple Podcasts directory.
As companies were jumping on the digital assistant bandwagon, Microsoft launched its own alternative: Cortana. It proved to be plenty helpful, but Google's and Amazon's dominance in this regard (across platforms, and Siri on iOS) forced Microsoft to make some tough decisions.
Amazon has overhauled its mobile Alexa app for iPhone and iPad around first-party features.
It's a relatively painless process to use Siri and ask the digital assistant to launch an app on your iPhone or iPad, but for folks who prefer to use Amazon's option, Alexa isn't quite there yet.
The European Union has decided that yet another investigatory probe is required into consumer-facing products, and Apple is included in this net, too.
No matter how big or small your home is, there’s sure to be a time when you yelled to someone in another room. Whether to tell them dinner is ready or that you need their help with something, we have all been there. But luckily, if you own an Amazon Echo speaker you don’t have to holler anymore!
With Alexa on your device and your Amazon speaker in the other room, you can communicate without shouting. We’ll show you how to use Alexa’s Drop In feature along with additional communication options that can help you finally stop the yelling.
Siri is a great assistant and HomePod is a terrific smart speaker. But these aren’t the only players in the game, right? Maybe you don’t want to spend the money on an expensive HomePod and appreciate that other assistants exist besides Siri.
Alexa and Amazon Echo are excellent alternatives. Plus, you don’t have to have an Amazon smart speaker to use Alexa because the app works on your iPhone without one.
If you want to give the Alexa app a try for your alarms, reminders, and timers, with or without a speaker, here’s how to set them up.
If you enjoy listening to music on your devices, then you may have more than one app for it. Apple Music is a terrific choice that lets you play songs and playlists on any of your Apple devices. But Spotify is another great option for hearing the tunes you love.
With Alexa, you can easily tune in and turn on your Spotify music. Whether on your iPhone or Amazon smart speaker, here’s how to set up and play Spotify music with Alexa.