Amazon has been adding a steady stream of features to its Echo device family dating back to the release of the first Echo back in 2014. In May, the company announced the ability for Echo owners to make free calls to any Alexa-enabled device, including smartphones with the Alexa app. Now, Amazon is expanding that even further.
AFTVnews reports that that Echo owners and those with the Alexa smartphone application can now make free calls to any phone number in the US, Canada or Mexico completely free with no additional hardware required. The other end of the phone call won't have any idea you're using an Echo device since the recipient will see it is coming from your phone number. If you'd like, you can opt out of sharing your number, in which case the recipient will see the call is from an "unknown caller."
This feature will let users dial contacts by either stating the person's name (if the app has permissions to view contacts) or by simply speaking the phone number. For the Modern Dads out there with multiple users in the same home, you'll need to switch to a different user profile on the Echo in order to load the correct user's contact list. Also, note the calling through Alexa cannot be used for emergency numbers. Users will be able to control volume or hang up a call via voice commands as well, which would be a fantastic way to end a dramatic phone call.
One final note is that users will not be able to receive calls from landline phones through Alexa without the Echo Connect plugged into a landline phone at their end.
Are you interested in free calls through your Amazon Echo? Let us know down below!
