Amazon's Alexa App Gains 'Hands-Free' Voice Activation Feature

[Derekeys]

I will use this while driving. Phone is on a mount facing toward me.

"Hey Siri, open Alexa"

(Face ID authenticates and opens Alexa)

"Alexa, ______"

Boom, all hands free

Alexa is far superior to Siri in almost every way. Combining Ifttt and SmartThings Virtual Devices allows me to do infinitely more with Alexa than I could dream of with Siri. A lot of people don't understand the power of Alexa routines, it has added soooo much for actions and triggers.

I'd use Alexa on my iPhone in a heartbeat over Siri.

Fun fact, this was already possible using Amazon Music, that had Alexa listening for the Wake Word already. This setup only changes the app I use.

 

[slcoss]

what's so great about an in-app hands free function when you need to launch the app first💀

Which is why I would love the option to set Alexa as default, I'm not getting my hopes up though

Anyway, with the new Back Tap you can grab your phone and Face ID unblock it, then Back Tap to launch Alexa and presto, easier than it is now at least.

 

[AE_stc]

Well, Echo devices are a lot cheaper than the Homepod (299 vs 99), and the Echo devices have big discounts very often, which means you can buy several for your home (I have 3 devices) without breaking the bank.

Also, Alexa and Google Assistant have a lot more devices in the Smart Home front than Siri, and the ones that are Homekit compatible are usually more expensive than those that are Alexa compatible.

I would gladly set Alexa as my default voice assistant on my iPhone if I could, then I would be able to run home routines while away from home a lot easier. Example, I live in the mexican desert, so this week we have highs of 50 Celsius (that's 122 Fahrenheit), and I hate coming home to an oven so I turn on my AC when I'm heading home.

Fair points, apologies I was being facetious and as one concerned about amazon's intrusive data collection I couldn't bring myself to get one.

 

[Azzin]

Because Siri is infuriatingly stupid. I’m not using her in the car anymore because she is so stupid, I’m affr I would drive off a cliff one day out of frustration. Sending messages, asking directions, getting the weather, turning off the lights...it all works fine one moment, and the next she switched off her brain. It’s like Siri is operated by actual people, and they all works with different scripts and produce different results.

I use Siri regularly via CarPlay, works great.

 

[kaielement]

It's funny to see all the love for Alexa, and so much hate for Siri even though Siri gets better reviews then Alexa. I think people are sick back in the iPhone 4s days when Siri wasn't all that great. Since then Siri has gotten so much better. In my opinion Siri is better then Alexa. the integration is much better with Siri in iOS then Apple would ever let Alexa be.

 

[Akrapovic]

It's funny to see all the love for Alexa, and so much hate for Siri even though Siri gets better reviews then Alexa. I think people are sick back in the iPhone 4s days when Siri wasn't all that great. Since then Siri has gotten so much better. In my opinion Siri is better then Alexa. the integration is much better with Siri in iOS then Apple would ever let Alexa be.

Siri gets better reviews that Alexa? Citation please!

I'm an Apple fanboi, and I don't really like Alexa. But Alexa is miles ahead of Siri. Even just the real basics, such as "Hey Siri" detection. Siri will pick up your voice in your phone, watch and mac together and you'll get 3 Siris trying to take your request. Put 3 Echos together and 2 of them are smart enough to be quiet, whilst the one nearest you does the work. Or how about if you're listening to a podcast through the phone speaker, and you activate Siri, and it picks up the last few words said in the podcast? Alexa integrates with 7000 different IoT brands. Siri does 50. I mean really?

Siri is bad. Yes there are use cases for it (Timers. Activating Shortcuts. In the car.). Of course there are. But in terms of basic usability, Alexa wins every time. Siri has an advantage of deep ecosystem integration and still comes out worse. Apple wants us to sit with Apple devices surrounding us, but still can't stop every Apple device you own shouting at you at the same time when you say "Hey Siri". What an experience that is.

 

[rumormiller]

Siri gets better reviews that Alexa? Citation please!

I'm an Apple fanboi, and I don't really like Alexa. But Alexa is miles ahead of Siri. Even just the real basics, such as "Hey Siri" detection. Siri will pick up your voice in your phone, watch and mac together and you'll get 3 Siris trying to take your request. Put 3 Echos together and 2 of them are smart enough to be quiet, whilst the one nearest you does the work. Or how about if you're listening to a podcast through the phone speaker, and you activate Siri, and it picks up the last few words said in the podcast? Alexa integrates with 7000 different IoT brands. Siri does 50. I mean really?

Siri is bad. Yes there are use cases for it (Timers. Activating Shortcuts. In the car.). Of course there are. But in terms of basic usability, Alexa wins every time. Siri has an advantage of deep ecosystem integration and still comes out worse. Apple wants us to sit with Apple devices surrounding us, but still can't stop every Apple device you own shouting at you at the same time when you say "Hey Siri". What an experience that is.

That's bizarre as I have multiple Hey Siri capable apple products in the same room and only the nearest responds. The oldest device is an iPhone SE 1, so I'm not just using the latest and greatest. I also have Amazon Echo devices. Alexa has the advantage of working with many more devices and often cheaper devices but if you have HomeKit enabled devices like my Ikea Tradfri stuff there is no advantage to using Alexa at all. On the other hand a lot of these cheaper smart devices will probably have more security and longevity issues.

On the smartness front, I find Siri is far superior to both Alexa and Google Assistant at pronouncing names correctly. In terms of questions the new Siri in iOS 14 I believe has taken the lead in being able to have a natural conversation with follow-up questions and sensible prompts.

Don't get me wrong I still appreciate Amazon producing these cheap smart devices as it would be mighty expensive to replace each of them with a HomePod. Especially as I use them a lot as an intercom.

 

[Akrapovic]

If I say Hey Siri at my desk, the MacBook, iPhone and Watch all respond immediately. And then all 3 will talk over each other.

There is a support document talking about this exact issue, which doesn't look good either:

How Siri works with multiple devices – Apple Support (UK)

Find out how Siri responds when there are multiple devices.

support.apple.com

By the time you get to the end, there is no fix and it suggests closing your Mac and turning the feature off. So even the support document agrees that Apple are absolutely not on top of the Siri issues. Siris pronunciation of things is indeed excellent. But its abilities lack far behind Alexa. Just look at the Alexa skills options for ideas on what that thing can do.

I personally don't like voice assistants. I think beyond hands free driving and timers they are basically glorified accessibility features (which is a good thing in its own right). I really don't like Alexa and the creepiness, and I'm a huge Apple fanboi...but I still think Siri brings absolutely nothing of value over the other voice assistants.

 

[twistedpixel8]

Another nail in the coffin of Siri

When you only use Siri to open another assistant 🤣 I almost feel bad for her at this point.
[automerge]1594300538[/automerge]

Why would anyone use this? Or any Alexa device?

edit: so many disagree yet no offers of explanations why

Alexa seems to work with just about every smart device I own, always understands me and does the correct thing.

Siri can barely control anything I own, never hears/understands me and HomeKit is a bit of a joke right now.

Maybe this is anecdotal but it just seems to me that Alexa is the better of the two.

 

[Airforcekid]

Why would anyone use this? Or any Alexa device?

edit: so many disagree yet no offers of explanations why

Its kind of like the 21st cnetury version of not owning a car its not needed I could still use a horse or walk and at times that may be easier for now but controlling my whole home through my voice is incredible. I havent touched a light switch or remote in months and it feels so weird to got to a friends house or hotel and physically have to take action to turn on a light or the tv.

 

[HouseofG]

Couldn't figure out how to add Alexa via double tap because I didn't see it (or apps in general) as an option in that accessibility menu (I now understand you need a shortcut), so I did a Youtube search and came across this app, Voice in a Can

It simply allows you to immediately talk to Alexa when opened.

This is a pretty cool option because you can also add the app as an Apple Watch complication. With one click on my watch I'm talking to Alexa now.

None of this is better than being able to opt out of Siri and into Alexa, but it's something!

 

[nickdalzell1]

Siri isn't the only one bad about multiple devices answering...

Google Assistant still hasn't figured out handoff at all. For example, I have a couple of Google Nest Hubs in my home and my Motorola. All Assistant-powered. I ask my phone Assistant 'hey Google, text Lisa'. Since my Nest Hub is close by, it answers, my phone says 'answering on another device' and the Hub claims 'Text messaging isn't supported yet'.

Google still hasn't figured this one out!!!

Used to have my home filled with Echo Dots. Still got them, actually, just boxed up. Problem with it was I'd talk to one, which would do what I asked, but had to deal with at least two-three others nearby saying 'Sorry, I don't know that one'. Don't even get me started on using 'Computer' as a wake word and watching Star Trek. Chaos ensues. One will think it heard a song request, and start playing. Another would assume I wanted all my lights on. instant light show.

The last straw was one or more Dots spontaneously talking usually in the middle of the night for no apparant reason. I live alone. No dog or animals. I woke up twice to my bedroom Dot just up and saying 'Hi. My Name is Alexa. What do you need help with?'

I said nothing period to it. I found out that's one of its responses to 'what's your name?' or 'Introduce yourself'. Nothing in the app showed any log of the event. Was downright creepy. Another time a dot in the living room started having some type of conversation with itself around 3AM. I thought I heard my TV going and went into the living room to see the Dot's blue light ring lit and Alexa chatting away some sort of trivia. I told it 'Alexa! Stop!' and it turned off. After that, I pulled their plugs.

 

[rumormiller]

I asked Alexa and Siri the same question "Who scored in the 1966 World Cup Final?"

Siri on Big Sur Beta gets it right.

Alexa on iOS and Echo's gives the same answer not to my question but to "What happened in 1966 in the UK?"

Here's the strange thing on iOS14 beta Siri gives a different answer than the correct Big Sur Siri.

 

[jdoll021]

I’m affraid I would drive off a cliff one day out of frustration

I don’t use SIRI for this reason but I would never use Alexa either. SIRI may drive you off the cliff out of frustration, but Alexa is likely to direct you off a cliff out of malice. I don’t know what Bezos is planning with Alexa, but, whatever it is, can’t be good for the rest of us.

 

[jdoll021]

I personally don't like voice assistants. I think beyond hands free driving and timers they are basically glorified accessibility features (which is a good thing in its own right). I really don't like Alexa and the creepiness...

Yep, I really only ever use SIRI for shortcuts and setting timers and that‘s about it.

I agree with you on Alexa’s creepiness. I remember reading somewhere, from someone who was former CIA, saying that you should never use an Amazon Echo. The fact that Alexa can distinguish individual voices and identify specific individuals in a crowded room means she would make an excellent espionage tool. And this was 4 years ago! I shudder to think what Alexa is capable of now and how much we just don’t know on what or how her data mining is being used. If you have people like Bezos (a known ******) saying things like “trust me, I have your best interests at heart,” you should be afraid. Very afraid. People like him care only about their own self interests, not ours. They can lie to themselves, and us, all they want, but that’s all it is, a lie.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so preachy. I’ll get off my soap box now.

 

[nickdalzell1]

I don’t use SIRI for this reason but I would never use Alexa either. SIRI may drive you off the cliff out of frustration, but Alexa is likely to direct you off a cliff out of malice. I don’t know what Bezos is planning with Alexa, but, whatever it is, can’t be good for the rest of us.

Think you got Siri mixed up with iOS 6 Maps. But even that was completely blown out of proportion.

 

[jdoll021]

Think you got Siri mixed up with iOS 6 Maps. But even that was completely blown out of proportion.

I actually just had a positive experience with Apple Maps today. It found a closed road that was not on Google Maps or even the DOT’s app.

 

[nickdalzell1]

I never had issues with iOS 6's maps either. It had no issue getting me where I needed to go. That was back when I had recently upgraded from a 3GS to a 4. I think it was overblown in the media. Shame what came after.

Voice control of any kind, be it Google Assistant, Alexa, Siri, S-Voice, or Bixby, I have no favorites. So long as it understands me, and avoids needless fingerprints on my screen, I don't care which it is. I don't use what I don't like but functionally, they all work much the same these days, unlike the vast differences in function from S-Voice to Google Now back in 2012.