By will-buy
A new Xbox app for Alexa has appeared with no fanfare, allowing voice control of Alexa-enabled devices through the line of video game consoles. The app gives Alexa a privileged position beyond even what Microsoft’s own Cortana voice assistant once offered.
Alexa Xbox
The new Alexa app works together with the whole range of current Xbox consoles, including Microsoft Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, and the Xbox Series X|S. Once installed, the Xbox must be connected to an Amazon Echo or similar device, turning the Xbox into a type of high-powered Alexa accessory. There’s already an Xbox Alexa skill, which launched in 2023 with the ability to turn on the console and launch games by asking the voice assistant, but the new app goes well past that.
Players can talk to Alexa on the Xbox like it’s a good display and the television is its screen, playing music and managing their Amazon account. The smart home connection is definitely the largest upgrade, however. Alexa can run smart home devices with the gaming console, and even show what connected cameras are seeing on the screen. If a person rings the doorbell while you’re playing a game title, you can observe who’s in the door around the TV, without needing to get up and check out an Echo Show or taking out your phone.
“Alexa for Xbox brings our top features for your TV,” the app description explains. “Just ask Alexa to play music, view your Smart Home cameras, manage your grocery list, and more.”
Cortana Fades
The Alexa app expands upon the Xbox Alexa skill by looking into making control reciprocal. Where before Alexa could operate the Xbox to operate games, take screenshots, along with other operations, the new app opens a pathway back to permit the Xbox to run Alexa devices. That puts Amazon’s voice assistant in front of Google Assistant or Cortana. The Google Assistant action for Xbox can run a console’s main functions, although not the other way around.
The dedicated Alexa app and deep integration also make the voice assistant simpler to install and use, which could encourage people to use Alexa over Google Assistant or Cortana. Microsoft’s embrace of Alexa to this extent makes plenty of sense since it removed Cortana voice control from Xbox consoles after 3 years, which makes it available only as a skill on other devices. Removing Cortana from the Xbox One was part of Cortana's larger, ongoing shift from a consumer product to some purely business and enterprise tool.
