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Amazon Tap gets hands-free mode with latest update

Amazon has rolled out a software update to the Tap speaker that allows you to launch Alexa with your voice, without pressing the button.
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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.

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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.

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