Apple’s iPhones and Google’s Android devices come with their own digital assistants in the form of Siri and Google Assistant. One of the advantages of having a native digital assistant is that it is deeply integrated into the operating system, allowing them to do things that third-party digital assistants can’t.
However, it seems that Amazon’s Alexa will soon start to creep into more iOS and Android apps as Amazon has announced what they are calling Alexa for Apps. This is a new feature that is currently in preview and basically what it does is that it allows Alexa more access to iOS and Android apps, where users who prefer using Alexa can now launch and control these apps to a certain extent.
According to Amazon, “With Alexa for Apps added to a custom skill, customers who make requests using the Alexa app, Alexa built-in phones, or Alexa mobile accessories such as Echo Buds, can use their voice to interact with mobile apps. Key use cases include using voice to quickly search, view more information, and access any functionality inside your app.”
It should be noted that Siri and Google Assistant can already do things that Alexa plans to offer to users, and the onus will be on developers to integrate Alexa into their apps. These are hurdles that Amazon needs to overcome, but at least it will give users more options. In the meantime you can check out an example of Alexa integration with TikTok in the video above.
Filed in . Read more about Alexa, Amazon, Android, Apps, iOS and Siri. Source: developer.amazon