Amazon Echo Can Now Control SmartThings Hub

Amazon is looking to partner with SmartThings to give power to the different home automation devices with the help of Amazon Echo.

The Amazon Echo continues to gain features, with the latest being support for SmartThings from Samsung.

Not too long ago, Amazon released a software development kit (SDK) for its Echo, enabling outside devices to be programmed to work directly with the smart speaker.

SmartThings is a connected home platform that Samsung acquired past year . The device, which is shaped like a thin paper-towel roll, sits plugged into a power outlet and connects to WiFi to answer any and all of your household needs.

Amazon Echo has an always-on microphone that listens for the magic word – “Alexa” – to assist you in various tasks such as perform Google searches to answer your questions, add stuff to your shopping list on Amazon, or others such.

Perhaps most exciting for many, however, will be support for Sonos speakers. These devices also include some non-SmartThings devices, which are connected to a SmartThings Power outlet with lights and switches from the company. Once it does you should be able to sync up your Echo with anything connected to a SmartThings Hub. As for my Amazon Echo, I seem to only use it as a fancy kitchen timer these days, but that may change with this new functionality.

Based on a demo video (which was set to private, but we guessed the password: “Alexa”), users who have both an Echo and any SmartThings products will be able to ask Alexa to turn on various devices by name, and even dim the lights.