You can now use Amazon's Alexa instead of Google Assistant by default on your Android phone.
The new option was noticed by a user on Reddit over the weekend.
That means you can hold the home button and pull up Alexa. This is particularly compelling if you own an Amazon Echo at home, where you might already be used to using Alexa to check the weather, play the news or add goods to your shopping list.
I'll show you how.
How to use Alexa instead of Google Assistant on your Android phone
- Download the Amazon Alexa app from the Google Play Store.
- Open it and sign in to your Amazon account.
- Open Settings on your Android phone
- Open Apps
- Tap "Default Apps"
- Select "Assist & voice input"
- Choose Alexa instead of Google Assistant.
If you're on a Samsung Android phone, the steps are different
- Download Alexa
- Open Settings
- Tap Advanced features
- Select Device assistance app
- Choose Alexa
After you've followed the steps above, you'll see a prompt to talk to Alexa instead of Google Assistant. It'll ask for permissions, so tap "Allow" to let Alexa hear your requests, call and message family members, control devices in your smart home and provide location-relevant search results.
That's all there is to it. Now you'll be able to hold the home button to pull up Alexa. You can use Alexa to turn on smart lights at home ("Alexa, turn on the living room lights," for example), order products from Amazon by voice ("Alexa, order soap") and more.