Echo Auto Brings Amazon Alexa to Vehicles in Canada
Photo: Amazon
Thanks to Echo Auto, Amazon’s popular Alexa voice assistant technology, is now available for drivers in Canada to use with their vehicles.
Coming Soon: Take an early look at the next-generation 2021 Genesis G80 sedan
Amazon’s Echo Auto device syncs with the Alexa smartphone app, connects to car infotainment systems via Bluetooth or an auxiliary cable, and plays through the vehicle’s audio system. Power comes through a USB port or car power outlet.
Once it’s installed, Echo Auto uses an eight-microphone array to pick up voice commands through any road-noise, music, or other sounds inside the vehicle cabin.
Echo Auto came out in the U.S. in 2018 and has also been available in Australia and India. Along with Canada, it’s now being offered in the United Kingdom and several European countries.
Distinguished and Elegant: Elevate everyday driving with the 2020 Genesis G90 sedan
“Customers in Canada tell us they want to take Alexa with them everywhere they go, and we’re delighted to offer them an easy way to add Alexa to the car they already own,” said Celine Lee of Amazon Canada. “With Echo Auto, they can enjoy the convenience of Alexa on the road, giving them the ability to ask to play music, make calls, continue their audiobook, manage their to-do list, and more — all just using their voice, and keeping their hands on the wheel.”
A simple voice command can connect Canada’s Echo Auto users to a wide variety of streaming music options, radio stations, audiobooks, podcasts, and news sources. Users can also access turn-by-turn directions through navigation apps, enjoy travel games, and communicate with home Alexa devices.
Some of these functions are included by default with Echo Auto. Others can be added via Amazon’s Alexa Skills Store, which provides tens of thousands of app-like features and capabilities to help users track their finances, improve their productivity, stay informed, play games, and much more.
A longtime editor/writer and recently transplanted Hoosier, Caleb Cook lives in Xenia, Ohio. His favorite activities are reading and listening to music, although he occasionally emerges from the heap of books and vinyl records in his basement to stand blinking in the sunlight. Once fully acclimated to the outside world again, he can be observed hanging out with his wife, attempting a new recipe in the kitchen, attending movies, walking the dog, or wandering into a local brewery to inquire about what’s on tap. See more articles by Caleb.