Alexa News

Alexa calling, the feature that lets users place voice

and video calls from Alexa devices, like the Echo, is

now coming to tablets. Amazon announced this

morning added support for calling as well as messaging

features on tablets, including iPads, Android tablets

and, of course, its own Fire tablets.

On the Fire HD 10, Alexa calling and voice messages

will be available hands-free — you can just ask Alexa

to take action. Meanwhile, on the Fire 7 and Fire HD 8

or older generation Fire tablets, you’ll instead press the

Home button to place a call or send a message. The

devices will also support Drop In — the feature that lets

you use Alexa devices as an intercom system of sorts,

where you can instantly connect with other devices

around the home, or in friends’ and families’ homes,

if you choose to enable it.

To use the calling and messaging features, you’ll need

the latest version of the Alexa app and will need to verify

your phone number and import your contacts.

The expanded support for voice calls and messaging is

the latest example of how Amazon’s Alexa app is becoming

more than a utility for managing the settings on Echo

devices or Alexa’s smart home integrations.

Amazon had announced in January that the app would

also be expanded to include voice integration, meaning

users could speak to Alexa in a dedicated app instead

of only through Alexa devices (or oddly, the Amazon

shopping app, which got Alexa integration first.)

With support for calling, messaging and voice commands,

Amazon has a way to establish a presence on mobile,

where it had earlier failed with its own Amazon-branded

Fire Phone smartphones. It gives Amazon a chance to

dive into social and messaging, too, where it had never

directly competed before.

The new calling support is available in the latest version

of the Alexa iOS and Android application, says Amazon.