What you need to know
- Amazon has released an Alexa app for Sony Android TVs.
- The new app allows you to control your TV, play music, and show your cameras on Sony Android TVs.
- Amazon and Google came to an agreement earlier this year to bring YouTube to Fire TV and Chromecast support to Prime Video.
Amazon has released a new app making Alexa available on select Android TVs. According to the release notes, it appears to only be available on Sony Android TVs, at the moment.
Once you install the app and set it up for your TV, it will allow you to use an Alexa enabled speaker to view your cameras or play music through your TV. For example, you'll be able to say "Alexa, play music on the (TV name) or "Alexa, show my security camera on (TV name)." Alexa will also be able to change the channel, adjust the volume, switch inputs, and control media playback for your TV.
In the past, if you wanted similar integration with your TV and Echo speakers, you'd be forced to buy a Fire TV product. However, now you'll be able to enjoy voice commands on your Sony Android TV without the need for extra hardware. Hopefully, Amazon will decide to add this capability to more Android-powered TVs and devices in the future.
It's fantastic to see greater integration between Amazon and Google products and services. This could be a result of the agreement the two companies came to last April. In the past, Google and Amazon haven't always gotten along — much to the detriment of the consumer. Over the years, we've had to deal with a long absence of Prime Video on Android or Android TV devices. Then there was the incident where Amazon removed the Chromecast from its store, and of course, Google pulling YouTube support on Amazon devices.
Thankfully, the two companies finally came together and decided to make peace. This lead to more devices gaining access to the Prime Video app and Youtube is slated to come back to Amazon Fire TV later this year.
