Amazon is launching a new group video or audio calling
feature for Echo devices, that it had announced back in September. The Echo
devices that support this feature include the Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo
Show. The feature is being launched in Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada,
France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, the US, and
the UK.
Users of Echo devices will be able to create and name groups
via the Alexa app, and give commands like “Alexa, call my family” to connect to
a created group. Moreover, Amazon is planning to roll out the group calling
feature for the Alexa app as well.
This new feature could replace Zoom or other video calling
services for Echo owners. Up to 7 people can join an audio or video group call
on their Echo device and there will be no limits on call time. The only
obstacle for now is that the feature relies on hardware only, without being
supported by the Alexa app.
In addition to releasing the group call feature, Amazon is
also rolling out new Alexa features for users in the US. This includes the
Echo Show 8 devices providing support for joining video calls on Zoom and
Amazon Chime using Alexa and call captioning for Echo Show devices.
