Amazon is making it possible to use Alexa "hands free" from within its Alexa mobile app for iOS, reports TechCrunch.

amazon alexa app
Up until now, you had to tap the blue Alexa button at the bottom of the screen before you could issue a voice command.

After updating the app, users will be able to simply speak to Alexa to make lists, control smart home devices, and more, without having to touch their iPhone.

While Amazon calls it "hands free," it's not like you'll be able to invoke the company's digital voice assistant if your phone is locked or when you're in another app.

What users will be able to do, however, is ask Siri to open the Amazon Alexa app, and then they can start using the new hands-free experience from there.

After updating the app, users will be presented with the option to enable the hands-free detection and can then begin to use the feature. According to TechCrunch, a setting is also being made available that will allow users to turn the feature off at any time.

Amazon says the feature is rolling out over the next several days to users worldwide on both iOS and Android.

Tags: Alexa, Amazon

Top Rated Comments

Pulpdiction Avatar
62 months ago
Another nail in the coffin of Siri
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aston441 Avatar
62 months ago

It would be nice to swap out Siri for Alexa. Siri is decent for basic tasks but Alexas is a couple levels ahead in terms of having an actual conversation.
This times one million.

Alexa is the automation in my life, my music, my everything.

Siri is completely useless.

Apple should just pay for the rights to Alexa and swap out Siri until it's ready for prime time
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hagar Avatar
62 months ago

Why would anyone use this? Or any Alexa device?

edit: so many disagree yet no offers of explanations why
Because Siri is infuriatingly stupid. I’m not using her in the car anymore because she is so stupid, I’m affraid 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 switches off her brain. It’s like Siri is operated by actual people, and they all work with different scripts and produce different results.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Airforcekid Avatar
62 months ago
It would be nice to swap out Siri for Alexa. Siri is decent for basic tasks but Alexas is a couple levels ahead in terms of having an actual conversation.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Caliber26 Avatar
62 months ago
Meh. If I’m gonna have to grab my phone to unlock it so Siri can launch the Alexa app, I might as well just go ahead and tap the Alexa button myself.

I’d much rather for Amazon to rebuild the app from the ground up because, as it is right now, it’s got to be one of the worst experiences about the Alexa ecosystem. I love Alexa (she’s infinitely better than Siri) and I love my Echos. But I loathe the app.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Azzin Avatar
62 months ago

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.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. iPhone 17 Pro's alleged design via Front Page Tech Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive a New Perk

Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month. In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 Release Candidate With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music and More

Monday March 24, 2025 10:07 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released the fourth betas. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. With iOS 18.4, Apple is adding the Priority Notifications...
airpods max 2024 colors

Don't Buy Into Apple's Hype About AirPods Max Gaining Lossless Audio

Monday March 24, 2025 4:24 pm PDT by
Apple today announced that AirPods Max with a USB-C port will be gaining support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio with a firmware update next month, alongside the release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4. For context, audio files are typically compressed to keep file sizes smaller. There are lossy compression standards like MP3 and AAC (Advanced Audio Codec), which...
iOS 18

Top 5 New Features Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday March 21, 2025 3:26 pm PDT by
We're not getting new Siri Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.4 as expected, but the upcoming update does have quite a few new additions that will be worth upgrading for. We've rounded up the five best features to look forward to, and if you're not running the beta, you can expect to get access to these in early April. Priority Notifications If you have an iPhone or iPad that supports...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Iridescent Search

Foldable iPhone Expected to Launch Next Year, Costing Around $2,000

Monday March 24, 2025 3:43 am PDT by
Apple will launch its long-rumored foldable iPhone next year with a ~$2,000 premium price tag attached, expects well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. Gurman's comments on Apple's launch plans for its first foldable device appeared in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter. Earlier this month, the reporter said Apple's foldable iPhone could be arriving "as early as 2026,"...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Tuesday March 25, 2025 6:45 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing. Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1. Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
ios 19 messages app

Here's What Apple's iOS 19 Messages App Might Look Like

Tuesday March 25, 2025 11:52 am PDT by
Leaker Jon Prosser today shared a mockup of what he says the Messages app will look like in iOS 19, demoing an interface with rounded, translucent bubble-shaped navigation buttons at the top and softer, rounder corners for the keyboard and word suggestions. Jon Prosser's Messages app mockup The return button, a button for going back to the Messages list, and the FaceTime button have a deeper...