Amazon Alexa is now receiving a new feature in the United States, which allows a user to send SMS messages to Android phones. Amazon has already introduced a calling and messaging system in the US last year, but with the latest update, Alexa can send messages as normal text to Android phones. Users can now ask Alexa to simply send a text message, and the voice assistant will do the rest. Currently, this feature is available only in the US market and Amazon did not reveal any estimated time for the feature roll out in the Indian market.
This feature currently sends SMS messages only to Android phones, because Apple is not offering its messaging APIs to third-parties. Firstly, head over to the Conversations tab on Amazon Alexa application and enable the Send SMS feature hidden under the Contacts section.
After enabling, you're ready to send normal SMS messages from Alexa using your voice. Here's how it works: You have to say Alexa send a message with your inputs and Amazon will automatically detect whether the receiver has an Alexa-enabled device. If not, Amazon will send a standard SMS instead. However, you can even specify up front as 'send a text message,' which will directly send a text message to the specified person.
Amazon is offering several interesting features in the United States with Alexa, but in India, the features are pretty limited. For example, in the US, users can make free voice calls and messages to Alexa-enabled devices, but that's not the case for Indian users. Maybe, Amazon will launch such features in the Indian market when it believes that Indian users are ready for using a smart speaker.
Such features will enhance the user experience and make the human life digital and hands-free. Hopefully, Amazon brings these features to the Indian market very soon. Amazon is selling three Alexa-powered Echo speakers in India currently.
