Delivering on a promise made at CES 2017, Huawei announced today that Mate 9 owners will soon see Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant on the critically acclaimed smartphone.
The Amazon Alexa app will be loaded on Mate 9 smartphones by way of an OTA update, bringing “intelligent voice control” to the many great features the Mate 9 has.
“We’re excited to bring Amazon Alexa to the Huawei Mate 9, helping customers easily perform everyday tasks while on the go – using just their voice,” said Steve Rabuchin, vice president of Amazon Alexa. “From controlling their smart home and checking the news to shopping and listening to Audible content, we think customers are going to love interacting with Alexa while on the go. We can’t wait for customers to try this out.”
Alexa on the Mate 9 does truly bring a lot of new intelligent voice control the phone. With Alexa, you’ll be able to control your smart home devices, play games like Jeopardy, shop online, assist you with your fitness, health and so much more.
Mate 9 owners should see Amazon Alexa arrive on their phone over the next couple of weeks.
We’ve got the press release below.
PLANO, Texas, March 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the highly-acclaimed Huawei Mate 9 includes Amazon Alexa. Delivering on a promise made at CES in January, over-the-air (OTA) updates will commence today, pushing the Huawei Alexa app to Mate 9 customers in the United States.
“At CES we shared that Amazon Alexa would come to the Mate 9,” said Zhendong Zhu, president, Huawei Device USA. “With the new Huawei Alexa app, we add intelligent voice control to the rich features already available on Mate 9. We look forward to collaborating with Amazon to further develop more voice-activated mobile experiences.”
“We’re excited to bring Amazon Alexa to the Huawei Mate 9, helping customers easily perform everyday tasks while on the go – using just their voice,” said Steve Rabuchin, vice president of Amazon Alexa. “From controlling their smart home and checking the news to shopping and listening to Audible content, we think customers are going to love interacting with Alexa while on the go. We can’t wait for customers to try this out.”
Huawei Mate 9 with Amazon Alexa
Using the Huawei Alexa app on Mate 9, consumers can bring Amazon Alexa with them, taking advantage of its natural user interface. Since Alexa was designed based on the assumption that users are not looking at a screen, it is a primarily voice-driven experience, ideal for people on the go.The Huawei Alexa app offers mobile access to features and scenarios consumers expect from Amazon Alexa including:
- Home Automation: Mate 9 with Amazon Alexa makes it possible to manage your smart home even when you’re on-the-go by controlling lights, thermostats, locks, fans, sprinklers and more.
- Games/Trivia: Mate 9 with Amazon Alexa can make every trip more entertaining with games like Jeopardy, Magic Door and Twenty Questions.
- Shopping: Mate 9 with Amazon Alexa makes it easy to get more done using just your voice — Quickly create lists, order items to be sent to your home, get food delivered or have your favorite coffee ready with Amazon voice shopping, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Amazon Prime restaurants, and more.
- Fitness/Health: Mate 9 with Amazon Alexa helps travelers stay fit with access to skills like 7-Minute Workout, FitBit and Stop, Breathe & Think.
- News: Mate 9 with Amazon Alexa is a convenient way to stay informed with access to news anytime via Flash Briefings from NPR, CNBC, Reuters, Fox News, The Skimm, WSJ, AP, BBC, CNN, and many more.
- Entertainment: Mate 9 with Amazon Alexa puts entertainment in reach with access to a wide array of podcasts and Audible content.
To use Alexa voice commands on Mate 9, users must first initiate the Huawei Alexa app. Once the app is launched, users can ask Alexa various things, including:
- Get information by asking about famous people, dates, and places
- Find a restaurant, movie or local business
- Order from Amazon Prime
- Control connected smart home features such as lights, temperature and appliances
- Hear weather or traffic updates
- Check your calendar
- Hear the news through personalized Flash Briefings
Alexa has more than 10,000 skills, and new Alexa skills are added all the time, delivering even more capabilities. However, not all capabilities will be applicable at this time, including Timer/Alarms, Music and Tunein (in flash briefing), but these abilities will come later this year.
About Huawei Mate 9
Huawei Mate 9 features a dynamic interplay of industry-leading hardware and advanced software including the new Kirin 960 chipset and an intelligent Machine Learning Algorithm that ensures Mate 9 stays fast, even after 18 months. Featuring a second-generation Leica dual-lens camera, the intuitive EMUI 5.0 user interface, and now with Alexa Voice Service, Mate 9 is a step ahead of what consumers expect in a smartphone.Huawei Mate 9 is available in more than 600 Best Buy stores and on BestBuy.com, as well as on e-retailers Amazon, Newegg, B&H, and Jet.com.
About Huawei Consumer BG
Huawei’s products and services are available in more than 170 countries, and are used by a third of the world’s population, ranking third in the world in mobile phone shipments in 2016. Sixteen R&D centers have been set up in the United States, Germany, Sweden, Russia, India, and China. Huawei Consumer BG is one of Huawei’s three business units and covers smartphones, mobile broadband devices, home devices and cloud services. Huawei’s global network is built on 20 years of expertise in the telecom industry and is dedicated to delivering the latest technological advances to consumers around the world. For more information, please visit: http://consumer.Huawei.com/
Brad is a tech enthusiast, writing and tinkering with all things technology since 2011. He currently bounces between the LG G3 and his beloved Moto X! His interests include reading, entrepreneurship, the gym, and of course, queso.
