The Alexa-enabled Amazon Echo, Tap and Echo Dot will soon be able to control both Nest and Honeywell thermostats, with support set to arrive by the end of the month.
Amazon’s foray into the world of hardware has been hit and miss over the years, with successes such as the Kindle being marred by such things as the Fire Phone. With Amazon Echo and its Alexa digital assistant though, it looks like Amazon has another killer winning product in hand. The Echo itself is a tubular speaker that, while also capable of simply being used as a bluetooth audio outlet, can do so much more thanks to Alexa, and right now, both Alexa and the Echo itself are enjoying quite the purple patch.
With owners already enjoying the countless ways Alexa allows them to speak commands from in and across the room and then have the answers spoken back, it’s the assistant’s ability to interact with services and devices around the home that has the potential to make it indispensable. By the end of the month, people will be able to control smart thermostats made by Honeywell or Alphabet’s Nest by simply speaking to Alexa. With HomeKit-compatible Ecobee3 support added just last month, these will be the second and third smart thermostat manufacturers added to the virtual assistant’s repertoire.
While the Echo is Amazon’s first entry into this particular market, it has also just announced the Tap and Echo Dot. Both new devices have Alexa capabilities and offer a similar experience to their bigger brother but in different form factors and, importantly, price points.
Amazon’s new budget Echo Dot (left) and portable Tap (right)
We’ve already covered Amazon Tap and Echo Dot in detail so be sure to read up on that. Right now, we’d argue Amazon is doing some of the most interesting work in this space, and in Alexa, it has one of the best voice-based digital assistants around.
If you haven’t got one of Alexa-enabled Amazon Echo devices yet, you are probably missing out on one of the coolest gadgets around today. If you are still unsure of what exactly it can do, you should check out the video here 50 Alexa Voice Commands To Use With Amazon Echo [Video] to see the full potential of the product.
Buy: Amazon Echo, Tap or Echo Dot: $89.99-$179.99
You may also like to check out:
- Watch This Tesla Model S Be Voice-Controlled Using Amazon Echo [Video]
- You Can Now Create Custom Voice Commands For Amazon Echo With IFTTT
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