Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are the two biggest smart assistants in the game. The two of them are in a blow-by-blow competition to stand by your side as the most helpful and obedient digital assistant.

Except in the phone arena, right? If you've got an iPhone, Siri is your best - and frankly, only - bet. On Android, Google has full reign with its Assistant unless you've got a Samsung, in which case you've also got the option of Bixby.

Read this: Google Assistant v Amazon Alexa



But hold up, it turns out your options aren't that limited. On Android, you can actually set Alexa as your default digital assistant, giving you all the benefits of Amazon's AI on the go. No need for compromises.

It's extremely simple ways to make Alexa your default voice assistant on your Android phone; here's how:

On a non-Samsung Android phone

Download the Amazon Alexa app

Sign in to your Amazon account

Open Settings

Choose Apps

Tap the three dots in the top-right corner

Click Default apps

Select Device assistance app

Choose Alexa

On a Samsung phone

Download the Amazon Alexa app

Sign in to your Amazon account

Open Settings

Click Advanced Features

Click Device assistance app

Click Device assistance app again

Choose Alexa

Getting to grips with Alexa

Once you choose Alexa, the setup is largely the same on both devices - you simply hold down the home button to bring up Alexa. You'll have to sign off on some permissions and give it access to your microphone, but then you'll be good to go.

When you bring up Alexa, you'll notice its signature blue-green hue appear at the bottom of the display. The top area will be slightly shaded, almost like it's been darkened slightly.

When you ask your query, Alexa will bring up a visual reference point to your search. So if you ask for the weather, you'll get a full weather report. If you ask for movie times, you'll see the movie poster.

There are, however, a couple of things you can't do with Alexa on Android. You cannot use your voice to activate Alexa, you must hold down on the home button. On the Pixel 2, you won't be able to squeeze the sides of the phone to activate Alexa either.



Don't forget to dive into the Alexa app and link up any skills or devices you want to control from your phone, too. Once you do that, you'll be able to use Alexa to watch videos and do all the things you expect and love from it.