How to Activate Dark Mode in the Alexa App

The Alexa mobile app receives dark mode. One of those improvements that, perhaps, will arouse little interest in some users, but it will be important for those who have certain vision problems by improving accessibility. If you want to know how to activate it and those advantages it implies, we will show you below.

Alexa improves the accessibility of your mobile app

Dark Mode in the Alexa App Alexa , despite being a voice assistant and being designed so that you interact with it based on commands and not through a touch interface, it has an application that is essential . Because through it you configure all the devices with integration of the assistant, how to establish groups, create routines, activate different skills, access services such as Amazon Music, adjust the volume, etc., among many other things . And some of these actions, although it can be done with its respective voice command, it is not always as fast and effective.

For all this, Amazon continues to give great importance to the development of its app and hence from time to time we see improvements in different aspects. Sometimes they only affect the organization of the different settings menus, others how the information is displayed so that it is much more visual and easy to understand and on occasions like the current one, design changes are added that beyond what they may seem to you more or less static look for other benefits such as improving accessibility.

With Alexa’s dark mode in particular it is that. For some it will be a simple change that fits better with the aesthetics of the rest of the applications they use daily and that, in addition, provides advantages such as a small energy saving when you use OLED screens with that black interface.

However, the use of dark mode goes further and brings accessibility benefits . Because there are users who have vision problems and having this mode allows them to see better in low light situations or gain legibility thanks to that higher contrast. What’s more, it must also be said that not only the dark mode is what improves in this new version of the application, the text scaling allows increasing the size of the letters and making them easier to read.

How to activate dark mode in the Alexa app

Dark mode has arrived in the latest update of the Alexa app for iOS devices . Only iPhone and iPad users will be able to take advantage of this new way of viewing the content and other options it offers. For those who use devices with Android, Google’s operating system, the update that enables this same mode is yet to come, but it will do so soon. So it’s just a matter of time and patience.

Regarding iOS, activating the dark mode of the Alexa app is as simple as activating it in the system settings. That is, this mode is activated automatically when we have configured the operating system to display in its respective dark mode or dark Mode .

So you don’t have to do anything really new or different if you want to enjoy the improvements and benefits that dark mode brings. Simply go to Settings> Screen and there activate the dark mode or the automatic option that what it does is to go from one to another depending on the time of day that you can set so that it is when the sunset arrives or on a schedule personalized.

Regarding text scaling, this also depends on the setting you have established. It is not something that you only apply individually for the app, because if you need larger letters in it, it is logical that in the rest as well.

Alexa accessibility features

The dark mode that the Alexa app launches on iOS and iPadOS devices is not the only way that Amazon has to take care of the accessibility of its voice assistant. The company has long strived to make it easy to use for all types of users. Hence, it offers improvements that affect vision, hearing, mobility and speech. Which are all collected on its website.

Vision

  • Large text font can be set on both Android and iOS
  • Audio instructions for multi-step setup on Amazon Alexa devices
  • Support for the use of screen readers in the Alexa application. So you can use those included in iOS 8 or higher through VoiceOver, also in macOS, on Android devices (5.0 and higher) with TalkBack and PC with JAWS and NVDA
  • Device settings to activate “wake up” and “end of request” sounds
  • Adjustable volume by voice or by pressing on Amazon Alexa devices
  • High contrast in the Alexa app to improve visibility

Hearing

  • Option to link Echo devices to compatible Bluetooth speakers
  • Volume of timers, alarms, and media playback on compatible Amazon Alexa devices can be adjusted to suit user needs
  • Music playback controls for your device (play, pause, next, previous) in the Alexa app
  • Alexa Captions shows you captions for supported responses on display-enabled Echo devices
  • Color coding to indicate different Alexa statuses and actions
  • Alexa devices with a display provide visual feedback on actions

Mobility

  • Support for keyboard navigation in the Alexa app and web browsers, even during the device setup process
  • Far-field speech recognition with Echo devices
  • Control compatible smart home devices with your voice

Speaks

  • Customize the trigger word
  • Add new items to lists with text input in the Alexa app
  • Select the question icons or write your request with the Tap To Activate Alexa functionality in Echo Show
  • Use of skills to control third-party apps and devices

As you can see, there are many options that Amazon offers in order to improve the user experience of any user, regardless of their possibilities or limitations.