On Friday SmartThings took to their blog to announce the company was teaming up with Amazon to provide home automation support to Amazon Echo.
SMARTTHINGS FEATURES
SmartThings is a home automation company that is owned by Samsung, and happens to be one of the more popular and user-friendly home automation platforms out there. The new Echo-friendly features allows users who use SmartThings devices like lights, switches, or anything else that might be plugged into a SmartThings powerstrip to be voice compatible with Amazon Echo.
That last part is what makes this partnership interesting. SmartThings is touted for its cross-platform support, which blows the doors wide open for other devices. Plug something that isn’t natively compatible with Amazon Echo into a SmartThings plug-in or powerstrip and suddenly it works.
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SmartThings says that this new Amazon Echo compatibility will work for both their upcoming hub and their current hub. Pairing the two devices together is relatively easy, too. You’ll use Amazon Echo’s Device Links option in the Echo app to connect your SmartThings account. After that you can just choose to pair devices from a list of your current devices. You’ll then have to ask Alexa to discover the new devices, but from there you can ask Alexa to turn on your lamp and it’ll do it.
AMAZON ECHO
For anyone less familiar with Amazon Echo, don’t worry. It’s actually one of the company’s newest devices. It debuted in June, but was limited to Amazon Prime subscribers who were invited to purchase the device. The device, which retails for $179, connects to your home’s Wi-Fi and has an always-on mic. From there, you simply ask the Amazon Echo how the weather is, a question to ask Google, or ask it to add something to your Amazon shopping list. Just be sure you address it by “Alexa” first.
AVAILABLE NOW
Current SmartThings hub owners should already have Echo-support, which started on Friday. User can take a look at their more detailed setup instructions here. For users who are waiting on the newest SmartThings hub, it can be pre-ordered on their site for $99. Amazon Echo users interested in home automation should definitely give SmartThings a look over.
