The perky voice of Amazon’s digital assistant Alexa can now be heard across millions of homes. The company’s Echo smart speaker range, and other Alexa-enabled gadgets, have expanded rapidly in just a few years, spawning countless fans.
While Alexa is useful alone — if you need urgent questions answered or want to place an Amazon order — there’s a whole world of opportunities if you pair it with a compatible device or two.
We’ve rounded up the best Alexa-compatible devices on the market, including add-on products, and those that come with the digital assistant built-in. Here’s our top 10.
Best Alexa compatible devices (add-on)
1. Amazon Smart Plug
The first place many people start with Alexa compatible devices is a smart plug. They’re inexpensive and give you instant control over your gadgets. Amazon’s smart plug is one of the best, because it’s affordable, guaranteed to work, and, well, just look at how cute it is!
You can tell Alexa to turn something on or off as you please, but the virtual assistant also supports routines allowing you to give your electronics a schedule. If you want your TV to power off while you’re asleep, Amazon’s Smart Plug can help.
Buy Now: Amazon Smart Plug for $19.99
2. Philips Hue A19 Starter Kit (Hub + 2 bulbs)
The Philips Hue low-energy bulbs are the standard when it comes to smart lighting. These bulbs are easy to set up and can be controlled using Alexa or through a smartphone app.
The Philips Hue bulbs support routines like the Amazon smart plug, while adjusting the brightness settings is just a matter of yelling: “Alexa, dim the bedroom lights” or something similar.
We recommend the starter kit as your first purchase, which comes with two (or four) white bulbs and the hub for voice control. The colored bulbs are more expensive and may not suit all households, but you can add them later if you like — the hub supports up to 50 lightbulbs.
It’s a great Alexa smart home product, but you check out our complete list of best smart light bulbs if these ones aren’t for you.
Buy Now: Philips Hue A19 white starter kit from $69.98
3. Fitbit Charge 3
You might already own a Fitbit device, but did you know it was an Alexa compatible device? You can use the dedicated Alexa Fitbit skill to find out a whole bunch of information including your steps taken, hours slept, weight, and more. Just say, “Alexa, ask Fitbit how I slept yesterday,” or insert any other statistic you want to know more about.
We recommend the Fitbit Charge 3, the latest and greatest Fitbit sports band (read our full review at the previous link). For the full list of Alex/Fitbit queries, head here.
Buy Now: Fitbit Charge 3 from $128.95
4. Nest Thermostat E
Nest introduced its Thermostat E back in August 2017 and it’s still the best smart thermostat out there. This slimmed-down version of the third generation Nest delivers all of the critical functions of its more expensive sibling, with few compromises.
Like the standard Nest, the Nest E learns from your usage patterns to automatically raise or lower the temperature in your home based on your habits. Over time, you may find you don’t need to manually adjust the thermostat at all, though this is always possible with your voice thanks to Alexa.
The Nest E’s body isn’t quite as premium-looking. Its display doesn’t have quite as much information, and it isn’t compatible with quite as many HVAC systems as the third generation model. Otherwise, it’s very similar for around two thirds the price.
Control your temperature automatically, keep your home toasty, and live like a king with the Nest Thermostat E.
Buy Now: Nest Thermostat E at Best Buy for $169.99
5. Ring Video Doorbell
Ring’s smart doorbells pair with other Alexa devices to let you see or hear who’s outside your home. Stick one of these on your doorstep and they’ll alert your Alexa products when pressed or when they detect motion.
The Ring doesn’t require any specific wires or extras to install, just the wires a regular doorbell needs. In that sense, it’s a product for everyone, but you’ll get most out of it if you have an Echo Spot or Echo Show so you can use its camera.
The Ring Video Doorbell 1 comes with almost all of the features of the Ring 2 and saves you $60. If you’re okay trading 1080p video streaming for 720p, and giving up a couple of other minor features, it’s probably the better deal.
Buy Now: Ring Video Doorbell for $99
6. Blink Indoor Camera System
If indoor security is more your thing, this solution from Blink is the best you’ll find. Blink’s battery-powered security camera has motion detection, can be controlled with your voice, and supports live streaming. This feed can be viewed with an Android or iOS smartphone, but as of just last month, Blink now works with video-enabled Alexa devices too.
It starts at $99.99 for one camera, but you can purchase up to five at once to save money on each one. Find out more at the button below.
Buy Now: Blink indoor security system from $99.99
7. Samsung SmartThings hub V3
Samsung’s SmartThings hub is the unifying product that brings a smart home together. It’s compatible with many major smart home device manufacturers — from Bose, to Honeywell, to Philips (yes, the bulbs on this list are compatible), and more — to help you monitor and control your household electronics.
If you’d instead prefer to keep your smart lights, locks, cameras and more, all under one brand — Samsung has you covered there too. You can buy SmartThings hub with all kinds of dedicated sensors to suit your smart home needs — find everything at the button below.
Best Alexa devices (built-in)
8. Insignia 4K HDR Fire TVs
If you don’t want to buy an Echo, a growing number of products ship with Alexa built in. The Insignia Fire TV range is among them, coming in 43-inch, 50-inch, and 55-inch versions.
These UHD TVs boast more than 8 million pixels, voice-control with an Alexa voice remote, and multiple inputs and outputs, including 3 HDMI ports (one with ARC) and USB (in case you want to power, say, a Google Chromecast).
Best of all, they start at $249.99 for the 43-inch version. It’s a bargain.
Buy Now: Insignia 4K Fire TV from $249.99
9. Acer Spin 5 laptop
This convertible laptop is full of great features, like an 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8550U, dedicated Nvidia GTX 1050, and a 15.6-inch Full-HD Multi-Touch Display. It’s capped off by dedicated Alexa integration, meaning you can control your smart home products, create lists, check your calendar, and more, all from your computer.
The Acer Spin 5 has four built-in microphones to help Alexa understand you — this isn’t a token smart assistant integration— and it looks impressive too, in its slimline, steel gray frame.
You can find it here for a little less in a smaller, 13.3-inch version, if that’s more your thing. Otherwise, it’s currently $944 for the 15.6-inch model with all the trimmings.
Buy Now: Acer Spin 5 (15.6-inch) for $944.00
10. Sonos One
There are many capable Alexa-supported speakers, but the Sonos One stands out for several reasons. It sounds great and the voice control is well-integrated. It shows premium quality throughout, despite its price.
The Sonos One review from our sister site SoundGuys had many great things to say about it, but they were disappointed by the lack of Spotify and Apple Music support. Thankfully, it now supports Spotify, and Apple Music integration is apparently on the way.
Buy Now: Sonos One for $198.95
That’s all folks! What’s your favorite Alexa smart home device or accessory? Let us know in the comments.
from Android Authority http://bit.ly/2DKEpWe
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