A few weeks after Google Assistant went live for all Android users (running Android 6.0 and above with not less that 720P resolution), people who own the Huawei Mate 9 are receiving an update that will enable Amazon’s Alexa on their devices.
Jealous yet? Don’t be. Alexa will not be integrated into the Mate 9’s software as well as Google Assistant is. This means you will have to open the Huawei-made Alexa app to use the digital assistant, there’s no calling Alexa using hot word.
Once in the app, you simply tap a button and speak. According to Huawei, Alexa can do the following tasks:
- Get information by asking about famous people, dates, and places
- Find a restaurant, movie or local business
- Order from Amazon Prime (obviously)
- Control connected smart home features such as lights, temperature and appliances
- Provide weather and traffic updates
- Check your calendar
- Provide the news through personalized Flash Briefings
Huawei claims that Mate 9’s Alexa has over 10,000 skills and can help you access smart home appliances, play games with you, become your fitness coach, and more.
When asked whether Huawei’s partnership with Amazon would affect their relationship with Google, Huawei said, “Alexa is a very good third-party software, which offers consumers one more option.” Which in simple words means that Huawei is not picking sides. Huawei also told TechCrunch that Alexa will not prevent Mate 9 owners from using Google’s new baked-in Assistant if they choose to, saying “users have the choice to use either.”
So, those of you lucky enough to have a Huawei Mate 9, have you received the update yet?
