Amazon releases the updated Alexa app, which now resembles the Google Home app.
After much anticipation, the Amazon Alexa app is getting redesigned, and it now resembles the Google Home app almost exactly.
Amazon officially unveiled the new Alexa app for iOS and Android in a post today. Along with new features, the redesigned app gives users a whole new appearance.
A customizable “Favorites” section featuring live camera previews and quick controls for smart home appliances has been added to the homepage. Additionally, a section at the top featuring frequently used device categories, like smart lighting, has been included. A feature called “Home Shortcuts” that allows users to customize shopping lists, alarms, routines, and more is also mentioned by Amazon.
Additionally, there’s a “Devices” tab that lists every smart home device you own. You can use filters to find the device you want quickly, and you can find devices in groups to find all of the devices in a particular room, like the kitchen or bedroom.
Along with returning features like the Map View, which displays your devices in the floorplan of your house but is limited to iOS, the new app also has a dedicated button for Alexa.
Nevertheless, the updated look is currently available for iOS and Android.
And there’s probably a reason why it looks familiar. The new Google Home app and the Alexa app look a lot alike, even down to the devices list and favorites on the home tab. Amazon’s rapid adoption of Google’s major redesign, which debuted in late 2022 and was widely released early this year, may not be a coincidence.
Notably, Amazon provides a similar explanation of the new design as does Google, stating that the goal was to simplify the management of a sizable smart home because “millions of customers have more than 20 devices connected to Alexa.”
When it unveiled the new Home app, Google stated that the “average US household has 25 connected devices” and that maintaining a user-friendly interface while “[reflecting] the unique needs of your home” was the aim of the redesign.
Splattering advertisements throughout the Alexa app is undoubtedly one thing Amazon is still doing differently. Scans provided by The Verge demonstrate how openly Amazon promotes its goods on the “More” tab. To be fair, Google kind of does this too; earlier this year, the Home app sent users a notification promoting the Pixel Tablet, but it’s not a constant feature.
Now on iOS and Android, the new Amazon Alexa app is broadly accessible.
