Amazon Alexa calling can now be used on tablets

Thomas McMullan Read more March 12, 2018

Amazon is today expanding Alexa calling and messaging, bringing the ability to place calls and send messages to Fire, Android, and iOS tablets.

Amazon Alexa calling can now be used on tablets

Up to now, calling via Alexa has been limited to Echo devices and smartphones. With the update, anyone that has the Alexa app downloaded on their tablets can now set up calls, meaning you don’t need to have an Echo on your shelf to take advantage of free calls and messages.

Users of the Alexa app on smartphones have already been able to take advantage of free calls, and the update essentially rolls out this capability to tablets. To get Alexa calling and messaging on your tablet, you just need to download the latest version of the app.

Amazon recently made it easier for Alexa users to ask follow-up questions. Instead of having to repeatedly say “Hey Alexa” for every question, ‘Follow-up Mode’ will have the digital assistant continue to listen for a few seconds after an initial question. So far, this is only available for US English users.

Alexa was also tweaked recently to stop it breaking into random fits of laughter. A number of users reported their Echo devices breaking into unnerving chuckles, seemingly unprompted. The company decided this was the cause of mistaken voice signals, and not demonic possession.