Amazon is working on a new feature for its voice assistant Alexa that will allow the software to launch Android and iOS applications using voice commands, a novelty for the Amazon assistant and a bold expansion of its strategy to position Alexa as an alternative. independent of Apple’s Siri platform. and the Google Assistant. Called Alexa for Apps, the new feature will launch today as a preview, which means Amazon is working with select developers on how they would like to use it.
For example, Amazon imagines users on an iPhone or Android device asking Alexa to open Twitter and search for a hashtag, and the app would then allow the Alexa companion skill to do the job of launching the app and entering the term of search. The results would appear on the phone instead of being read aloud. Another example Amazon offers is using a voice prompt to start TikTok and start a hands-free video recording (in case it’s being filmed).
It is a new type of interaction that Amazon hopes to capture and help better position Alexa as a viable competitor to Apple and Google digital assistants, who are deeply integrated into their respective operating systems and have greater access to applications and to system level. features as a result. Amazon tried and failed to launch its own phone in 2014 using a forked version of Android. And while its tablets, the Echo family of devices, and the line of Fire TV streaming devices continue to use more advanced versions of that forked operating system, Amazon still struggles with the fact that it can’t directly reach consumers on mobile devices without going first by Apple and Google.
Adopting such a feature is an obstacle to the fact that while Alexa may be more widespread in the smart home, developers must already manage two competing digital assistants that are much more used on phones. You can now use Siri to order an Uber or ask the Google Assistant to play an episode of BoJack Horseman on Netflix App creators now have to adapt these integrations to work with Alexa to support the feature, or at least take the Alexa skills (if any) and redirect them to work for the new app launch format. But that’s why Amazon is launching in preview form before it’s more widely available as a beta, and then as a fully consumer-ready feature.
Amazon has many other Alexa news announcements today that match their Alexa Live presentation. They include a beta version for a more powerful conversation AI model for Alexa that will allow users to speak more naturally with the wizard and updates to the technology used to create Alexa experiences (called APL) that will allow for improved audio applications and best browser-based Alexa games. .
Amazon is also rolling out a skills resume feature so you can pause a bit to continue performing a task and check with Alexa about the progress of a previous request. Lastly, Amazon flaunts a beta quick links feature that will allow developers to launch Alexa skills from mobile apps, websites, and even ads, as well as the ability to make purchases on Echo devices with screens or from Amazon. com.
