• Amazon updated its Alexa app with support for its Alexa voice assistant.
  • With the update, you can now open the app and use your voice to check the weather and more.
  • The update is currently rolling out to Google Play and the Amazon Appstore, with an App Store rollout coming soon.
Up until now, the Alexa app was used to manage settings for the Echo and other connected devices that utilized Amazon‘s voice assistant.  And that was it. Thankfully the app is about to get even better, thanks to Alexa voice integration.

TechCrunch reports that the update allows you to use Alexa to control music, send messages, access Alexa skills, and just about anything else you would typically ask your Echo device. If you do not see the update right away, do not fret. The update is currently rolling out through Google Play and Amazon’s Appstore and so it may take a few days to reach your device. It will even be available through Apple’s App Store, though it might take a bit more time.
Those with certain devices from Huawei, HTC, and Motorola will find the news old hat. Amazon teamed up with these companies to offer customized Alexa voice integration. For everyone else, the update brings some of that functionality to many more devices. Keep in mind that the update does not let you summon Alexa from anywhere, as that is still reserved for those devices with custom integration.
This is an important step for Amazon, which no longer makes smartphones of its own and offers its services on a litany of devices. In that sense, the update could spur more folks to give Alexa a spin and possibly introduce it into their homes.
It was also one that took long enough. Alexa support in the Alexa app seemed like an obvious thing, but for whatever reason Amazon waited a long time to finally bring the voice assistant to its app.