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Amazon Tap gets hands-free mode with latest update
Published onFebruary 16, 2017
Amazon Tap is different than the company’s other voice-controlled speakers like the Echo or Echo Dot. If you want to use Alexa, you have to manually press a button in order to wake up the device. It looks like Amazon has now removed this limitation. The company has rolled out a software update to the speaker that allows you to launch Alexa with your voice, without pressing the button.
To use the new hands-free function, you first have to activate it through the Alexa mobile app. When you do, make sure that the Tap speaker is connected to a Wi-Fi network. Amazon claims that the new feature won’t have a big impact on battery life. The cylindrical shaped device still offers about eight hours of use and can survive on standby mode for up to three weeks.
The online retail giant claims that the speaker now also supports “echo spatial perception”, which basically means that in case you have more than one Alexa-powered device in your house, the one closest to you will respond to your commands.
The newly added hands-free feature makes it a lot easier to use Amazon’s digital assistant. Now, you can just sit back on your couch and launch Alexa without having to press a button. The only thing is that the company might now want to consider changing the name of the device. Amazon Tap doesn’t really make much sense anymore.