Users of Huawei Mate 9 in the United States will receive today the Alexa update. The virtual assistant feature is installed through an over-the-air update.

It can be recalled that during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this year Huawei Mate 9 announced that they will be the first ever non-Amazon device to have the Alexa feature. When the phones were shipped to the US, the Alexa virtual assistant was not yet installed. The company, however, assured the users that Amazon Alexa will be available within the year. And today, Huawei make good of that promise.

The inclusion of the Alexa app in the Huawei Mate 9, intensified the intelligent voice control feature that the device already have. Zhendong Zhu, president, Huawei Device USA, was quoted saying that they are looking forward into working with Amazon to further enhance more voice-activated mobile experiences.

However, Huawei Mate 9 Alexa app will not yet work system wide. In other words, unlike the Google Assistant, to use Alexa, you will need to physically access the device's new app to ask for the virtual assistant's help. This is a way defeats the very purpose of having a voice assistant.

Huawei Mate 9 Alexa app can help users get information about famous places, people, and dates. Alexa can also be used to locate a movie, local business, or a restaurant. Aside from those, you can use the virtual assistant to order from Amazon Prime.

Other things that the Huawei Mate 9 Alexa app can do includes controlling connected smart home features including appliances, temperature, and even lights. You can also hear traffic and weather updates, as well as check your calendar with Alexa.

According to Huawei, Alexa has a pre-programmed support for more than 10,000 skills. Users will soon have access to a wide range of functions that the virtual assistant can do upon user's command. Over time, this list will grow and soon Huawei Mate 9 Alexa will be even more useful.