Here are just a few examples of what you can ask Alexa to do, but we have a whole separate feature you can read on it too:

For example, to use Uber with Alexa, you'll need to have signed into your Uber account within the Skills section of the Alexa app. Some will require you to link to an existing account or separate subscription to use. To get started, you just have to tap Enable Skill when you've found one that is suited to you - or you can ask Alexa to enable Skills via voice. There are several skill categories within the Skills section of the app, including Connected Car, Food & Drink, Travel & Transportation, Music & Audio, Smart Home, and plenty more. Skills in the Alexa app enable you to customise your Echo device with capabilities to suit your preferences. There are plenty of things you can ask Alexa to do. For example, you can buy a single Philips Hue bulb and set it up with some of the latest Echo devices, without needing a Hue Hub. Some Echo devices take this a step further offering Zigbee support, which will allow you to directly connect and setup smart home devices without needing a separate app or hub for that device. In this sense, Alexa is a great smart home controller - and once linked to Alexa, can be accessed through anything that supports Alexa voice commands. You can connect Alexa to your Philips Hue or other lightbulbs, like Ikea, to turn them on or off with voice, or link to your heating controls so you can check and change the temperature in your house. You can view your Ring Video Doorbell on your Echo Show, for example, as you can with Arlo cameras. It's no longer just about asking for the weather and playing music with fancy voice control - it's also about connecting to and controlling other devices in your home. Smart home control has emerged into one of the most significant areas of Alexa's influence.

Pocket-lint What about Alexa in the smart home? On the display-equipped devices - Echo Show - you can also use touch controls to respond, for example, or to control smart home devices.Īlexa can also tap into information from other devices and services by using Skills (which are like apps), so will be able to give you specific information about your car, your latest weigh-in with Fitbit or to find your Tile. The Echo devices with a display can also return visual information, extending beyond widgets to news videos, recipes or games. Amazon Music is supported, of course, but beyond that, there's support for many more services like Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, TuneIn as well as apps from individual providers, like the BBC. One of the core functions is playing music and Alexa can draw many sources. No matter what Alexa device you ask, all can return these sorts of answers, be that on your soundbar or in your car. Alexa sits in the cloud, expanding the information offered all the time and refining the responses to give you more accurate information. But what can Alexa actually do?Īlexa is able to play music, provide information, deliver news and sports scores, tell you the weather, control your smart home and even allow Prime members to order products from Amazon. Once you say this, Alexa will swing into action and respond to your commands. You can see a range of Echo alternatives here that offer Alexa too.Īll these devices feature far-field microphones that can pick out your voice through background noise and are waiting to take your command when they hear the Alexa wake word. There are plenty of other devices that offer Alexa voice control, such as the Sonos One, Sonos Move, Sonos Roam, Bose Home Speaker 500 or Polk Command Bar. You can see all the Echo devices compared right here. The cheapest Echo device is the Echo Dot, which is a good starting point for building an Echo system and getting started.

There are several Amazon Alexa gadgets too, like the Echo Wall Clock and Echo Flex plug for example.

The Amazon Echo range includes the Echo and Echo Dot, which are all speakers, and then the Echo Show models which also feature a display, so can give you visual feedback, like weather widgets, videos or song lyrics. There are two sides to this question - devices that work with Alexa (such as Philips Hue) - and devices that offer Amazon Voice Services, which is the platform that runs Alexa.įirst and foremost, Alexa is designed around Amazon's own Echo devices.

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