Since the voice-controlled virtual assistant Alexa created by Amazon arrived in Spain, many households have an Echo speaker. This range of devices is reserved to work with the Alexa voice assistant, but can I only use Alexa if I have an Echo speaker?
The Amazon Echo are Bluetooth speakers that allow us to play music on Spotify for free with Alexa, use voice commands to turn the lights on and off in our house, check the weather, record reminders or activate hidden Alexa modes among many other functions. But the Alexa voice assistant doesn’t just work on Echo speakers, it also integrates into other company products.
What devices are supported?
The functions of Alexa basically depend on two key elements. On the one hand, the voice commands that it integrates with which you can make countless requests and then there are the skills, which are add-ons that we can install to add more functionalities. Alexa integrates with Amazon and allows you to make purchases with your voice and also inform you of the status of your shipments.
In addition, being compatible with Amazon Echo speakers, there are more devices that integrate the Amazon voice assistant. Alexa is integrated into company products such as Fire TVs, as well as some AmazonBasics brand appliances: plugs, wall clocks, microwaves, etc.
Amazon has also reached important agreements with electronic brands such as Samsung or Hisense that allow the Alexa voice assistant to be present in various types of home appliances of these brands. Amazon is working on agreements that you can bring Alexa to televisions from brands such as Sony, Hisense, LG or Toshiba, Volkswagen or Toyota cars.
Alexa has also broken into the world of computers after its agreement with Microsoft, as well as other manufacturers such as Lenovo, ASUS or HP. Brands like Huawei have smart speakers with Alexa and Acer with a projector that also integrates the voice assistant. And this is just the tip of the iceberg in a race to conquer a growing sector such as virtual assistants. Given the circumstances, we can expect the list of Alexa-compatible devices to continue to grow in the coming years.
Where can I use Alexa?
To better understand where we can use Alexa, it is important to distinguish and separate the hardware and software elements. The Alexa voice assistant service is completely separate from hardware. Echo speakers are a specific set of hardware products that Amazon has created for the use of the voice assistant. As we mentioned before, an Echo speaker without Alexa is still a powerful Bluetooth speaker that with Alexa becomes a very powerful complement for your home.
In the beginning, it was difficult to know if we could use Alexa on other devices, since the Echo speakers were the only Alexa-enabled product on the market. Over time, Amazon has been expanding the number of devices that integrate Alexa such as the Fire TV. In addition, there are countless Alexa-compatible devices on the market: light bulbs, smart plugs, switches, surveillance cameras, robot vacuum cleaners, televisions or routers, among many others.
