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Your smart speaker isn’t just good for listening to music: Alexa can help you cook, to play games and even offer proactive suggestions these days. But Alexa’s most impressive skills still revolve around the smart home. With Amazon Echo speakers and smart displays, Alexa can monitor visitors at your doorstep with Ring, control the speed of your ceiling fan or activate the smart bulbs when you enter a room.
Since Amazon launched its first Echo speaker in 2014, Google Assistant and Siri jumped on board with their own smart speakers and voice control. But voice assistant Alexa was the first to champion voice integrations in the smart home, and it still has the most integrations across the space.
Let’s take a look at the best Alexa devices available today. This list is updated periodically.
Tyler Lizenby / CNET
Amazon added an LED clock to its third-generation smart speaker to create the Echo Dot with Clock, and it’s our favorite speaker for the price. This third-generation 2019 Dot not only offers impressive sound for its modest profile, but it also makes useful information – such as the time, timers, and outside temperature – easily visible.
While there are plenty of Amazon Alexa devices to choose from, the Echo Dot with Clock leads the way with its impressive performance, small footprint, and convenience. At just $ 60, this pint-sized smart speaker is a great entry point into the world of Amazon Alexa devices. Read our Amazon Echo Dot with Clock review.
Tyler Lizenby / CNET
Although it’s priced at $ 463, the Arlo Pro 3 two-pack is a great security camera offering local storage, high-quality 2K streaming, and Google Assistant and Alexa compatibility. Between its quick alerts and wide range of features, such as a built-in siren, motion sensor, color night vision, and 12x zoom, the Arlo Pro 3 is our favorite premium smart camera.
You can also view your camera’s feed on Amazon Echo smart displays, although Arlo’s previous free 7-day event-based cloud storage option is no longer available, so you’ll need to sign up for its monthly plans ( starting at $ 3 per month) to store images in the cloud. Read our Arlo Pro 3 review.
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Ring’s $ 80 Peephole Cam is a one-off product for the company owned by Amazon. Rather than mounting on a door frame or elsewhere on the side of your door, the Judas Cam replaces a traditional peephole.
This means this product is perfect for people living in apartments who want a smart doorbell, but don’t want to have to use a wired device – or otherwise mess up a door frame for installation. None of Ring’s major competitors offer this kind of seamless solution to apartment dwellers, which makes this doorbell particularly innovative alongside other devices available today.
Not only that, but the Peephole Cam has the easiest setup of any doorbell I’ve tested to date. It also has advanced Alexa integration. Yes, you can view the live stream on an Amazon smart screen, but you can also chat with anyone at your door through the built-in speaker on the smart screen with the control, “Alexa, answer at the front door.“
This two-way conversation via an Alexa smart screen is unique to Ring devices.
Other notable Ring doorbells include the $ 199 battery-powered or wired Ring Video Doorbell 2 and the $ 249 wired Ring Video Doorbell Pro. Read our Ring Judas Cam review.
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The Ecobee SmartThermostat is a connected thermostat at $ 249. This model replaces the Ecobee4 smart thermostat, but has many of the same features.
Control your SmartThermostat through the Ecobee app and use Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri voice commands to adjust the temperature of your smart thermostat. It’s Alexa’s voice control that really stands out here, as the thermostat itself has a built-in Alexa smart speaker.
This means you don’t need a separate Echo device – just plug in your thermostat, turn on the speaker, and start asking Alexa questions. Read our Ecobee SmartThermostat review.
Chris Monroe / CNET
Amazon Echo Show 8 is Amazon’s latest smart display. For $ 130 (although it’s currently on sale for $ 100) you get an eight-inch display with the best resolution of any Echo Show to date, a camera shutter, and all the intelligence of previous smart displays. Amazon.
The Echo Show 8 has a built-in Alexa speaker. That means you can use this smart screen to ask Alexa to do your bidding, whether that’s asking her to play music, relay the weather, or just tell you a joke. And, since it’s a smart display, it also offers advanced compatibility with Alexa-enabled security cameras.
Ask Alexa to “answer the front door” when someone rings your Ring Peephole Cam and you can see the live stream on your Show 8 – and talk to the person, right from the smart screen. Read our Amazon Echo Show 8 review.
Chris Monroe / CNET
August Wi-Fi smart lock is a great smart lock. It fits most standard deadbolts, so you don’t have to deal with a complicated installation. Built-in Wi-Fi allows you to access and control your smart lock remotely through the Android or iOS app without the need for an August Connect module.
This product also comes with an open / close sensor – called DoorSense – which attaches to the door where your Wi-Fi Smart Lock is installed. In this way, the app can not only tell you if the door is locked or unlocked, but also if the door is open or closed.
The August Wi-Fi smart lock works with Alexa, so you can lock and unlock your door from an Alexa-enabled smart speaker using your voice. Read our August review on the Wi-Fi Smart Lock.
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SimpliSafe is a solid home security system with a ton of accessories, so you can upgrade the system to suit your needs. The starter kit costs $ 210 for the hub, keypad, key fob, motion sensor, and door / window sensor.
SimpliSafe also works with Alexa, so you can arm the system and check its status with simple voice commands.
SimpliSafe doesn’t require a contract, but the monthly fee starts at $ 15 to access the app and goes up to $ 25 if you want professional monitoring. Read our SimpliSafe review.
Tyler Lizenby / CNET
The latest version of the Philips Hue white LED works with ZigBee and Bluetooth. Adding Bluetooth is important for Philips Hue because it means you don’t need a Philips hub to operate these smart bulbs.
Instead, smart bulbs connect directly to your phone and work with Alexa voice commands. Ask Alexa to turn on the living room lights or dim the dining room lights to 70%.
Philips Hue white LEDs cost just $ 15 each, which means you don’t have to shell out a ton of money for those Alexa-enabled bulbs. Read our Philips Hue White LED article.
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The TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Mini is a big name for a small smart plug that costs just $ 14. A smart plug like this connects through your Wi-Fi connection directly to a wall outlet and converts your lights, fans, and other non-smart gadgets into smart devices.
Use the TP-Link app to connect and control devices – or enroll Amazon Alexa and use your voice. Say, “Alexa, turn on the reading light” for the Plug Mini smart socket to easily control the devices connected to it. Read our TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Mini review.
Chris Monroe / CNET
The Amazon Echo Flex is a smart little speaker that plugs directly into an outlet. For $ 25, it offers all the intelligence of Alexa, plus a USB port for additional mods – like a motion sensor and nightlight.
As the name suggests, the Flex can adapt to many functions, helping to keep your home more secure and expand Alexa’s hearing range when you need help in less central corners of the city. your house.
Adding a motion sensor also means that Alexa can create automations based on your movements, turn on lights when you walk into a room, or broadcast your morning news when you sit down for breakfast. Read our Amazon Echo Flex review.
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The Alexa landscape
Amazon’s voice assistant makes it easier for you to control devices in your home, set timers, and know how long your trip to the office will take. But privacy has become a growing concern as smart speakers and displays gain popularity.
Reports that Amazon keeps the transcripts of your voice conversations, even after deleting Alexa audio recordings, led to concerns about user privacy. Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, wrote a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos looking for answers about Amazon Alexa user data and how it is stored. Amazon has since introduced the “Alexa, delete everything I said today” feature. The tech giant says it’s also work in new ways for clients to delete their transcripts.
Amazon’s latest smart display, the Echo Show 8 comes with a built-in camera shutter, unlike older Echo Show devices.
Amazon is not alone. Facebook, Google and other big tech companies have faced their own privacy issues, prompting questions about data usage.
Fortunately, Amazon and others seem to be working to regain our trust. Did these privacy concerns prevent you from purchasing a voice assistant (Alexa or other)? Weigh in the comments section below.
Still have questions? Learn more about Alexa.
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