Ultimate guide to Alexa and the Amazon Echo family

Alexa has many jobs: personal assistant, butler, playmate, and parents' helper—but what exactly is Alexa? It's a hands-free voice service by Amazon—Alexa responds to your voice to help you do things.

Alexa follows your voice commands to dim the lights, turn up the thermostat, set a timer, turn on the TV, or make a shopping list (and that's just the tip of the iceberg!).

Alexa uses an online service run by Amazon to interpret your vocal commands. It sounds complicated, but you don't really need to understand the tech behind Alexa to make it work for you.

Buying an Amazon Echo is the easiest way to get Alexa. To get Alexa's attention, you say the wake word: "Alexa." You can also set it to "Ziggy," "Echo," "Computer," or "Amazon."

After waking, the Echo records everything you say and sends it to Alexa Voice Services, where artificial intelligence processes your request and carries it out. It's a lot of work, but Alexa's so fast that you won't even notice.

In addition to basic requests, Alexa also works with a slew of other technologies in your home, car, and beyond so you can use Alexa for everything from turning on the kettle to ordering an Uber.

Amazon Echo smart speakers have an array of microphones that help you ask Alexa anything, even in a noisy room. While every Echo comes with a built-in Alexa voice assistant, the more expensive models give you bigger speakers for better sound quality. There are extra smart home controls in the top-tier models to make you mad with power over your smart home.

The Echo Dot is Amazon's most popular Alexa speaker because it’s quite affordable and has decent audio quality. It's one of the most attractive Echos, and its compact size blends into its surroundings.

The small size and low price make the Amazon Echo Dot ideal for checking the weather from your bed or for catching up on the latest news during breakfast in the kitchen.

For those in need of a simple alarm clock, there's a Dot with a sleek built-in clock. And for those on an even tighter budget, the 3rd generation Dot is the cheapest Echo speaker available.

The Echo is the flagship Amazon Alexa device. It has impressive sound quality compared to its cheaper siblings, making it a great choice for blasting music while catching up on your chore list. Not into music? Use your smart speaker to get a more engaging experience as you binge on your favourite podcast.

The latest Echo has a feature previously found in the Echo Plus: a Zigbee smart hub. This lets it communicate directly with smart home products like Philips Hue smart lightbulbs and August door locks. It's great for people who want to kit out their homes with the latest smart device tech, minus the clunkiness of added apps.

The Echo Studio is Amazon's answer to the Apple HomePod and Google Home Max (both now discontinued) . It's an all-in-one speaker system for music lovers, but you can also connect it to Amazon Fire TV devices to give your movies an extra kick with Dolby Atmos surround sound. It's a great alternative to a soundbar or home theatre speakers.

Echo smart displays go beyond audio, giving you access to a wealth of videos, video conversations, and smart home tools.

Amazon's Echo Show smart displays take everything great about Echo speakers and add a touchscreen so you can watch videos (including ones from Ring doorbells), make video calls, and control a smart home device with ease.

Echo Show's sizes offer a lot of flexibility for placement of your smart display. You might put an Echo Show 5 by your bedside to replace your alarm clock or an Echo Show 10 in the kitchen to help with recipes, and an Echo Show 8 in the playroom. (Because grownups deserve the grownup-size big screen to themselves sometimes, right?)

Here are some tips for turning your house into an Alexa smart home, one room at a time.

Imagine waking up gently to the perfect temperature and lighting that doesn’t blind you the second you open your eyes. When you mix Alexa with compatible devices, you can slumber (and wake) to the ideal environment every day. Find out how Alexa transforms your bedroom into a relaxing utopia.

Tell Alexa to set the alarm each night or make life even easier with a repeating alarm.

Nothing’s worse than crawling out of a warm, cozy bed into a chilly house. Ease the pain by telling Alexa to turn up the heat on your smart air conditioner controller before your feet hit the ground.

Alexa can tell you the weather anytime, so you always know if the day calls for Doc Martens or Havaianas.

Set the perfect scene for relaxation when you combine Alexa’s voice control with smart lightbulbs. You can limit blue light before bed and set your lights to greet you with ideal illumination in the morning.

Alexa can completely replace your universal remote when you have a Fire TV Stick. With Alexa in charge of your TV, simply say, “Alexa, turn off the TV,” and you’re on your way to a sweet slumber.

Don’t worry about getting in and out of bed to close the blinds. With smart blind controls and Alexa on your side, you can tell the blinds to close themselves.

If you fantasise about hiring an au pair to help out with the little ones, Alexa brings you a little bit closer to that goal. Although Alexa doesn’t provide direct supervision, you can get an Echo Dot or Echo Show 5 to give the kids a convenient new playmate.

What kid doesn’t love a joke? Alexa has an ever-growing library of jokes, including everything from knock-knock jokes to hilarious puns.

Kids get a kick out of games on the Amazon Echo. Pick from hundreds of games like Simon Says and Akinator. There are even games from Blues Clues & You and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Need an extra five minutes to load the dishwasher? Alexa can get the bedtime routine going. The Short Bedtime Story Alexa skill turns your Echo into a personalized storyteller.

If you’re too pooped to play with the kids, ask Alexa to play “The Hokey Pokey,” or play a fun dance tune from Amazon Prime Music or Spotify.

Sometimes your kids need a little laugh. Alexa delivers with Laugh Laughs (an endless library of funny laughs) and Big Fart, which gets kids, large and small, rolling with giggles on the ground.

It’s super convenient to have Alexa look up references or help with specific questions without having to leave the document or webpage your child's already working on.

Whether you want to make sure they brush their teeth for a full sixty seconds or that they get off the computer in five minutes, Alexa timers make sure things in your home run on schedule.

Alexa can help you keep watch over sleeping babies or adventurous teens. Simply get a compatible home security camera or baby monitor. Then you can check in on the kids by asking Alexa to show them to you.

The living room brings your household together, so it makes sense to enhance that special space with the power of Alexa. Check out everything Alexa can do to support your home’s central hub.

Save time and keep up with current events by asking Alexa to read you the day’s headlines. Select your favourite news outlets to create a custom “Flash Briefing” that includes news that matters to you.

Alexa’s game prowess isn’t just for entertaining kids while you catch up on chores. Let Alexa run your next family game night with multiplayer games like Quiz It and True or False.

Whether it’s a movie night or a romantic evening, use Alexa to set the mood by controlling lights, temperature, music, and ambiance with your voice.

Hands-free TV is more accessible than ever with Alexa. You can tell your TV to fast-forward, rewind, record, control volume, switch input, or launch apps, all with the sound of your voice.

If Alexa hasn’t impressed you yet, this might be the pièce de résistance. Use Alexa to control your robot vacuum, and you’ll never have to worry about even one dust bunny escaping.

Team Alexa with a remote tracker like Tile and a simple voice command is all you’ll need to pull your keys back from the cavernous confines of your couch.

Most of us don’t have a sous chef, but Alexa is the next best thing. Make sure your Amazon Echo is locked and loaded with kitchen skills. When you need a little extra help in the kitchen, here’s how Alexa can offer an extra “pair of hands.”

When you combine Alexa with a kettle and a Wi-Fi power plug, you can have the perfect cup of joe every morning. A simple “Alexa, turn on the kettle,” helps speed up your start to the day.

You can use Alexa to keep track of your grocery list. Not only can Alexa update the list when you notice something new to add, but Alexa can also order some groceries and have them delivered.

When you can’t face the prospect of making dinner, Alexa can call Domino’s Pizza directly. Or use one of the many other delivery and takeout skills to get a hot, fresh dinner at your doorstep in minutes.

You don’t have to stretch your creativity when Alexa’s on your side. When you have a fridge full of random ingredients or leftovers, just tell Alexa what you’ve got and ask for a recipe that uses them.

Impress party guests (and yourself!) with professional bartending guidance from Alexa. With this secret weapon, you can dare guests to try to stump your mixology skills.

If you’re counting calories, Alexa can give you the breakdown of every morsel that passes your lips. Alexa can even calculate the caloric value of homemade recipes.

All you need is your voice to ask for the next step in your recipe, set a timer, or convert measurements. Alexa also helps find substitutions if you discover you forgot something halfway through the recipe.

We know what you’re thinking—the bathroom? How could a virtual assistant possibly help out in this most private of rooms? Well, read on! Here are the best things Alexa can do to make even the most personal parts of your life a little more indulgent.

Use Alexa to keep track of medications—when it’s time for a dose and when you need a refill. You can set reminders for medications and learn common side effects.

How many times have you wondered whether you left the flat iron—or any other hot styling tool—on? When you use Alexa with smart outlets and switches, you can eliminate potential fire hazards.

Use Alexa to track household essentials (like toilet paper, tissues, body wash, cotton swabs, etc.) and reorder when you’re running low.

A day at the spa is a rare luxury. Use Alexa to simulate the spa experience in your very own bathroom. Dim the lights, play a relaxing tune, and even monitor the humidity in the room to avoid the frizz.

Yes, you can do this from the bathroom when you combine Alexa with a smart doorbell. Find out who’s at the door and enable two-way talk so you can screen visitors without rushing your “business.”

You don’t have to keep Alexa to the interior of your house. There are plenty of things Alexa can do outside those walls. If you’re ready to unleash the power of Alexa beyond the front door, take a look at how it can help take care of the rest of your home.

No one wants to turn the car around to check the garage door. Save yourself stress and time by asking Alexa to control your smart garage door opener and kick off your morning commute without worry.

Garage doors aren’t the only ones we forget to lock. Combine Alexa with a smart lock and securing the front door will be as easy as saying, “Alexa, lock the front door.”

Alexa can be your eyes in the home. Ask Alexa to show you live views from your outdoor security cameras to verify delivery—or catch a thief in the act if the worst happens.

There’s no need to stumble in the dark when Alexa can turn on the porch light before you step outside. Whether you’re taking out the garbage or you left something in the car, Alexa can light your path.

Now that you’ve invited Alexa to work her magic outside the hallowed halls of your home, why not use an Alexa skill to dig into lawn care? If you’re more into relaxing on the patio than trimming the hedges, you’ll love what Alexa can do to boost your curb appeal and your free time.

You won’t need to worry about a thirsty lawn with a Wi-Fi sprinkler system. Ask Alexa to make quick adjustments for changes in the weather. If a storm moves in, all it takes is a voice command to add a rain delay.

Say farewell to sweating under a hot sun to keep your lawn neat and trim. With Alexa and a robot lawnmower, all you exercise is your tongue—and you’ll still end up with a yard the neighbours envy.

Make sure your four-legged family members stay where they belong with a pet GPS tracker. Ask Alexa to alert you if your dog leaves a designated safe zone, and tap into GPS to find your furry friend quickly.

Never again serve a medium-well ribeye to someone who prefers their steak medium-rare. All it takes is a shout to Alexa to track the time, and you’ll quickly become the neighbourhood grill master.

Contributing writer: Rebecca Edwards