Alexa hits HTC U11 phones in the UK

UK owners of the HTC U11 can from today download Amazon’s Alexa smart assistant on their handsets, giving users the choice of two AIs on their handset.

The U11 already arrived with Google’s Assistant on board, but following in the footsteps of the US the HTC Alexa app can now be updated on UK handsets to bring Amazon’s talkative helper to the fore.

Essentially the app turns your HTC U11 into an Amazon Echo (or Echo Dot) that can leave the house, giving you the cloud-based voice service from the at-home device in your pocket.

You can even program the U11's squeezable Edge Sense feature to launch Alexa with a resolute grip of the phone - making it easier to wake.

Double trouble?

While it's nice to see additional functionality brought to handsets with software updates, it is a little strange that the U11 now has two smart assistants.

Google's pre-installed Assistant doesn't have any major drawbacks compared to Alexa.

While owners of the Echo or Echo Dot at home may welcome the unified experience across their mobile device as well it seems redundant to have two very similar offerings on one handset.

We didn't see the app in the update section of the Play Store, but a quick search for it and it was returned in the results with an 'Update' flag on it. A swift tap of the update button and the app was on our U11 and ready to use.

You'll be prompted to sign in with your Amazon account when you open the app for the first time, and once that's done you're good to go.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.