What's the difference between hands-free and push-to-talk Alexa phones?
Best answer: Alexa Built-in Phones with Hands-Free Alexa allow you to access the assistant at any time by just saying "Alexa." With Push-to-Talk phones, Alexa is accessed by double-pressing the power button.
- Hands-Free: OnePlus 8 ($700 at Amazon)
- Push-to-Talk: Moto One Action ($200 at Amazon)
If you go to buy an Alexa Built-in Phone, you'll notice that there are two types available - Hands-Free and Push-to-Talk. Both make it easy to access Alexa on your phone, but how you do so is a little different.
The first of those does just what you'd expect. If you want to talk to Alexa on a Hands-Free Alexa Built-in Phone, just say "Alexa" similar to how you would with an Echo. The phone will hear your command, whether the screen is on or off, and Alexa will start listening to whatever you have to say.
There are a few different Hands-Free phones available, including:
Push-to-Talk is like an Alexa walkie-talkieAlternatively, Alexa Built-in Phones also come with a Push-to-Talk option. Rather than accessing Alexa by just saying the "Alexa" hot word, you'll need to double-press the power button.
This isn't quite as cool as the Hands-Free method and means you'll need to be holding your phone to use Alexa, but even so, it's still faster than unlocking your device and tapping the Alexa app like you'd have to do on a non-Alexa phone.
Push-to-Talk phones are cheaper than the Hands-Free ones, and consist of the following:
Hands-freeOnePlus 8
Premium design with a suitably-high price
Need a device with the latest internal hardware and a premium design? How about one with hands-free Alexa access? Then the OnePlus 8 is the way to go.
Push-to-talkMotorola One Action
$200 at Amazon$200 at Best Buy$200 at B&H
Want to save money? This is the phone to get.
The Motorola One Action is the best phone at this price. It offers a great display and camera package at a competitive price.