Amazon’s Alexa can now be set as the default personal assistant on Android phones and can be accessed by holding down the home button, as a user on Reddit pointed out. Before this update, only Microsoft’s Cortana could be the default voice assistant on Android devices, other than Google assistant.
How to get Alexa on your Android smartphone:
If you want to set up Alexa on Android, it is going to vary depending on which device you have but the general steps are,
- Update the Alexa app,
- Open your smartphone’s settings under the category for “Assist apps”.
- Change your selection and select Alexa
Although Amazon assistant, Alexa’s functionality on Android is still pretty limited. The assistant is unable to pull-up maps or make native calls, but it can do a quick Google search.
However, there very limited ways to open Alexa, not like our favorite Google Assistant. You can’t activate Alexa by saying its name or by squeezing your phone.
Some of the users on Reddit have confirmed that seeing the new option to add Alexa as the default assistant on their Essential Phone 1, Google Pixel 2, Xperia, Moto G5 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, One Plus 5, One Plus One, and Samsung Galaxy S9 devices.
