Currently, there are a couple of Android smartphones that have Alexa integrated within them so that the user can make voice command to their smartphone that Alexa would recognize and execute. The models that we are referring to are HTC U11 and Huawei Mate 9. However, the Amazon Alexa application can be downloaded and used on any modern Android device. Down below, we will go over the main functions of the application and we will show a tutorial on how you can set it up and use it to order commands to the Alexa assistant.

Getting started

Of course, before you do anything else, you’d need to download the actual app from the Google Play Store. Here is a link that you can use to do that.

Once you download the app and open it, the first thing that you’d need to do is fill-in your Amazon account’s username and password. If you don’t have an account yet, go ahead and make one. You will need to allow the application the required access permissions before you can use it so give your agreement so that you can open the app.

The next thing that you might want to do is take a look at the options available to you and get to know the application’s interface. Tap on the main menu (three lines, top-left) and you will see several options: Music, Video and Books; Lists; All Skills; Smart Home; Settings. Here is an overview of the main options available on Alexa and what you can do through them.

Music, Video and Books

This where you can choose which music/video/e-book services to sign into or out of. However, one thing to note is that music services do not work for HTC U11 and Huawei Mate 9 so keep that in mind.

Lists

In Lists you can see your shopping and to-do-lists with the entries that you have added through voice command (for HTC U11 and Huawei Mate 9) or manually with any other Android smartphone. There you can add, change or remove any of the list entries.

All Skills

The All Skills section handles the third-party apps connected to Alexa. There are hundreds if not thousands of different applications that you can connect in order to add more functionality to the AI assistant. There is an All Skills button at the top-right corner – tap on it in order to see what third-party applications you have installed.

Smart Home

Through Smart Home, you can manage the smart devices that are in your home – anything from your TV and security cameras to the vacuum cleaner and the lightbulbs (provided that they employ the smart technology). If you want to set up new devices and connect them to Alexa, tap on the Discover button. You can also organize the different devices into separate groups for easier control.

Settings

Settings allows you to alter other general Alexa options such as time zones, location, measurement system, etc.

Conclusion

This is most of what the Android application for Amazon Alexa would offer you as functionality. However, if you are using either one of the two smartphone models that we mentioned above, there are some extra features that you’d get through the app. As we already mentioned, the most notable one are the voice commands.

That being said, the functionality of the application is still limited when compared to the Alexa Echo speaker. For instance, the app cannot set reminders or be used for alarms. Also, as was noted earlier, the music services are limited for the two smartphone models that support Alexa voice-recognition. Still, though, it is a useful tool that would make integrating Alexa in your life even more effective.

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Split case due to battery expansion

The current issue with a number of iPhone 8 smartphones has to do with their batteries. Users from Japan, Korea and Taiwan have reported that during charging time, their device’s battery started to swell and expand causing it to break the case of the smartphone and pop out of it. Naturally, this leads to the device becoming unusable. One of the unfortunate customers pointed out that the charger that they used was the official iPhone 8 charger so the accident hasn’t occurred due to use of a faulty or low-quality charger.

How bad is it?

Those reports might seem quite distressing, especially considering the high cost of an iPhone 8 device, yet it is important to note that such technical flaws are to be expected every now and then, especially with devices that get produced by the millions each day. So far, there is no evidence to suggest that this issue is of global scale and that more devices contain this battery flaw. Even though it is certainly not pleasant to hear that your new iPhone might get destroyed due to a flawed battery, the chances of this happening are extremely low according to the information available at this moment.

A lot of users might be worried that this accident might be similar to what happened to Samsung Galaxy Note 7 last year, where a big number of Samsung devices from that model caught on fire due to a flawed battery. However, there are no indications that the current issue with iPhone 8 is the same. Furthermore, the fact that the cases of the affected device split might have been what prevented them from catching fire.

Apple is aware of the problem

Apple have stated that they have been informed about the expanding battery issue and are currently looking into it. No information has been disclosed as to what might have been the cause behind the problem but more than likely, it has something to do with the expanding of gasses inside the devices’ batteries leading to the unwanted expansion.

One of the users who have had this happen to their iPhone 8 posted pictures of the aftermath of the accident on their twitter account. Here is a link to the images where you can clearly see how the case of the smartphone has been split.

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