Whoa, Amazon Echo just got way more interesting.Thus far, it’s made for a relatively decent voice-controlled alarm clock and connected speaker. But we’ve found it more novelty than necessity. That may change today. As Amazon just sent a note indicating they’ve enabled linkages to my Philips Hue bulbs and Belkin’s WeMo products for the smart home. Looking forward to checking this out real soon (and, sadly, it seems I may have prematurely unloaded our second unit).
WeMo and Philips Hue products now work with Amazon Echo.
You can now use Echo to switch on the lamp before getting out of bed, turn on the fan or heater while reading in your favorite chair, or dim the lights from the couch to watch a movie—all without lifting a finger…or even raising your voice.
To get started, connect your WeMo and Hue devices to your home Wi-Fi and name them in their respective app. Then say, “Alexa, discover my appliances.” After Echo’s confirmation, you can control your devices by voice.
Things to try:
- “Alexa, turn on the hallway light”
- “Alexa, turn on the coffee maker”
- “Alexa, dim the living room lights to 20%”
- “Alexa, turn on the electric blanket”
- “Alexa, turn on the outdoor decorations”
You can now use Echo to switch on the lamp before getting out of bed, turn on the fan or heater while reading in your favorite chair, or dim the lights from the couch to watch a movie—all without lifting a finger…or even raising your voice.
Supported products:
- WeMo: Switch, Insight Switch, and Light Switch
- Hue: A19, Lux, BR30, Bloom, and LightStrip lights
As always, the Amazon Echo team looks forward to your feedback via the Amazon Echo App and on social media (#AmazonEcho).
Of course, this also reinforces the need for some sort of voiceprinting in the future… as anyone can currently control or override the Amazon Echo, including guests or children, etc.
Stacey Higginbotham also raises a good point – can we effectively group bulbs into rooms or areas via Hue app for effective management thru Echo as opposed to offloading that sort of stuff to say a Staples Connect.
I have been on the list since the ball to get echo why is it taking Amazon so long to fill orders or requests ? Am an Amazon prime member just wondering if anyone else is waiting ……
I ordered the Echo back in January. It’s supposed to be shipped to arrive in 2 weeks. We’ll see if it arrives when it’s supposed to.
I’m curious as to how the Echo discovers WeMo and Philips Hue products. As far as I’m aware there’s no universal discovery method so that means that Belkin and Phillips must have been involved in some way.
@Morac, see Step 2…http://www.developers.meethue.com/documentation/getting-started
Dave, regarding children and guests, they can currently turn on my lights with the old school switch without any “voiceprinting”, so in my opinion it’s not that big of a concern for me.
Won’t have much time to goof off with it this week, but I did get my Hue bulbs linked and Amazon provides grouping – including ability to give each custom names for voice recognition. Interestingly, within the Echo app, there is now a whole Connected Home area in Settings.
https://twitter.com/davezatz/status/585923768427663360
https://twitter.com/davezatz/status/585924811991470081
Now you just need Amazon Echo in every room, or at least wherever the Hue and WeMo devices are. I’m sure that’s Amazon’s plan…
Nope, a Twitter friend solved that for me!
https://twitter.com/barbbowman/status/585929213544308737
The remote was sitting unused in the box… but the mic button works in the Family Room with the Echo in the Master Bedroom. It is pretty frickin’ killer.
HOWEVER, at the moment, Hue control is limited to on, off, and percent (like many third party integrations). All the more reason I need Lux in BR30.
https://twitter.com/ckindel/status/585950377100636160
No ability to enable Hue scenes eh?
Echo provides it’s own groupings, so you can replicate scenes that don’t involve colors. But no linkage to existing Hue scenes. Yet? I could be quite content with most bulbs white and dimmable. Wonder how bad a standard Lux A19 bulb would look in a recessed BR30 fixture. Hm.
I’ve tried the (now $20) Lux A19 bulb in our kitchen recessed lighting. It works well enough but a reflector type bulb will likely give a better light pattern. Currently using one GE Link BR30 over the sink instead, but may put the Lux A19 back because it doesn’t flicker at low brightness. Though the Hue does buzz more in this fixture. Decisions, decisions…
Pretty much every ZigBee bulb I use in the kitchen recessed lighting has some issue, either because of the wiring or because of the metal enclosure. Either buzzing or flickering at low brightness. The same bulbs, including the GE Link BR30, work fine in other fixtures.
This is incredible news. Too bad I returned my Philips Hue to Home Depot last month. I’m currently running Cree Connect bulbs everywhere in my house with the Staples Connect. I did at one time have all the Cree bulbs on the Philips hub and the Philips hub then integrated into Staples Connect as well, which worked ok. My thinking is it would be nice to have full functionality in Staples Connect with somehow having the added benefit of the Echo voice control. Anyone tried this yet?
Haven’t tried, but almost certain they can coexist if not directly integrate.
Has anyone rewired their wall switches in regards to connected bulbs? Wonder if I rewire. Or leave the switch always up for on. Or flip the switch upside down, so on is down and blends with other switches in mutligang arrangements. Hm.
I would be really excited to see Wink integration.
Alexa cannot discover my WeMo switches, so I’m not sure what to do (the switches themselves work fine from my WeMo app on my iPhone).