The very first Amazon Echo, commonly referred to as Alexa, was released first to Amazon Prime members by invitation. Then it was widely released in the United States in 2015. Now, according to Amazon, over 100 million Alexa-enabled devices have been sold worldwide. That’s a lot of Echos. 

The Echo now comes in several different versions from the Echo Show to the Echo Dot to the Echo Plus. And they’re more than just a speaker for playing music. They have some incredible capabilities. 

Use It to Make Phone Calls

You can use your Echo to make phone calls. Both parties need to have an Echo and the Alexa app installed on their phone, and you’ll be good to go. 

Control Your Smart Home

This is one of the best features of your Echo. With many homes having smart lights, smart plugs, thermostats, Ring doorbells, and security cameras – your Alexa can help control it all. Alexa can connect to many smart devices and make controlling your home as simple as a voice command. You’ll love saying, “Alexa turn off the living room lamp,” and watching the room go dark.

Play Music

Of course, your Echo plays music. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you have access to Prime Music. But, you can also listen to free channels like iHeartRadio, Pandora, and TuneIn. And you can have different music playing in different rooms when you have several Echos throughout your home.

Listen to the News

Alexa can share the news with you from outlets such as NPR, CNBC, CNN, and others. Listen to the news as you eat breakfast or get dressed for work!

In-Home Intercom

Do you have kids in their bedrooms who can’t seem to hear you when you call them for dinner? Use your Echos as an intercom. The kids will hear you then – and you won’t find yourself screaming to get them to come to dinner.

Place Your Amazon Order

Out of paper for your printer? Need to re-order your favorite shampoo? You can do that with your Echo. Just tell Alexa what you need to order, and she’ll do that for you!

Help With Your Cooking

Do you need to know what temperature at which to cook your salmon? Or, how many calories are in a glass of wine? Do you need to make conversions of tablespoons to cups? Alexa can help – just ask! If you have the Amazon Echo Show, Alexa can pull up a recipe for you to see as you cook. Alexa is a great help in the kitchen.

Create a Routine

You can teach Alexa a “routine” to follow when you give her a command. For instance, when you get up in the morning, you could set up a routine where you say, “Good morning Alexa,” and she then tells you the day’s weather, plays some music while you get dressed and then tells you the headlines for the day. You decide what routines you want Alexa to learn.

Set Reminders

You can set reminders with Alexa. Do you need to be reminded to go to an appointment? Alexa can remind you. Do your kids needs to be reminded to make their bed? She’ll do that! Reminders are a great tool.

Set Timers

Like reminders, Alexa can set timers. This is great in the kitchen when you have things in the oven!

Read a Story

Alexa can read bedtime stories to your children. You can even tell her what type of story you’d like! 

Do you have an Amazon Echo? What do you use it for? Have you taught Alexa some cool skills to help you with life around your home? With software updates happening all the time, Alexa seems to get smarter every day. We can only hope she’ll be making dinner and vacuuming our homes sooner rather than later!