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Amazon ushers in Alexa’s Xbox controls with a free Echo Dot deal

Get a free Echo Dot when you buy an Xbox One S or One X from Amazon.

Amazon ushers in Alexa’s Xbox controls with a free Echo Dot deal

[Photos: Pedro Barros/Unsplash; courtesy of Amazon]

BY Jared Newman0 minute read

Microsoft is now rolling out the Alexa voice controls for Xbox that it announced last month. Just enable the Xbox skill, and you can use an Amazon Echo or other Alexa device to turn on the console, launch a game, control video playback, and capture gameplay footage. (Microsoft’s Cortana assistant has a similar skill for controlling the Xbox by voice from a Windows PC or Harmon Kardon Invoke speaker.) This means you no longer need a gaming headset or discontinued Kinect to control the console by voice.

[Photo: courtesy of Microsoft]
To celebrate the tie-in, Amazon will soon offer a free Echo Dot with certain Xbox One S and Xbox One X bundles on its website. Microsoft says this is a limited-time offer, but it’s unclear exactly when the deal will become available.

The voice controls are part of a broader Xbox One software update that also includes redesigned avatars, more narration languages for accessibility, and Dolby Vision HDR video support on the Xbox One S and Xbox One X.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jared Newman covers apps and technology from his remote Cincinnati outpost. He also writes two newsletters, Cord Cutter Weekly and Advisorator. More


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