UPDATE: Skype calling on Alexa is available now in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Canada, India, Australia, and New Zealand with support for other countries rolling out soon. Microsoft recommends updating to Skype version 8.34 or later.
If you’ve got an Amazon Echo device, you’d soon be able to call your friends and family on Skype via Alexa – no matter what device they are using. Of course, with the SkypeOut subscription, you’d also be able to call mobile and landlines phones in up to 150 countries worldwide.
The integration, which was announced a couple of months ago, should be available pretty soon as the skype.com/alexa page is now live.
While the basic Echo range will only allow voice calls, obviously, devices like Echo Spot and Echo Show that sport a display, will bring support for video calling. Skype integration with Alexa is available for all Echo devices from the first generation to the current third generation. However, no third-party Alexa devices are listed as supported at the moment.
Calling via Alexa is quite seamless. You can say, “Alexa, Skype Mom” or “Alexa, call Mom on Skype” and even “Alexa, call 206-555-0155 on Skype.”
To get started, all you need to do is set up your Alexa device using the Amazon Alexa App for Android or iOS or on alexa.amazon.com. Go to Settings > Communication > Skype to link your account and sign in using your Microsoft account that you use for Skype. At the time of writing though, this option wasn’t available.
When you link Skype to Alexa, you also get 100 minutes of free calls per month for two months to mobiles and landlines in select 34 countries.
The Skype integration with Alexa is another step in an increasingly close partnership between the two Seattle neighbors – Microsoft and Amazon. While Amazon recently launched Alexa app for Windows, Xbox One too supports Alexa now.
