Tap to activate Alexa is coming to Fire tablets, including the new Fire HD 8 and 8 Plus. | Image: Amazon
Amazon is bringing more accessibility features to its Fire tablets — including the new Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 8 Plus announced today — adding support for Tap to Alexa, compatibility with Bluetooth switch access controllers, and launching a new Text to Speech feature.
Tap to Alexa is an accessibility feature that lets you interact with the voice assistant using touch rather than voice. Previously only an option on Echo Show devices (speakers with touchscreens), it’s now available on Amazon’s Fire tablets, eighth-generation or newer, in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan.
With Tap to Alexa enabled, a small “tap” icon sits on the screen that, when tapped, opens a dashboard of common commands. These include Stop, Timer, Alarm, Weather, Traffic,…