Click To View Slideshow» If you're lucky enough to have your own audio robot from Amazon at home, here's all you need to know to get the most out of your conversations.
Who knew that when it launched in 2015, Amazon Echo, the 9.25-inch cylindrical Bluetooth speaker you can ask questions or give orders to, would be such a game-changer? After years of not taking Siri chats very seriously, suddenly there was hardware that had the whole family talking.
If you're not familiar with Echo, check out our review from last year, or watch this video Jordan Minor did that explains the basics.
Since that video was made, Amazon's added more and more services and capabilities to Alexa—that's the name you use as a trigger to get the Echo device to listen to you, as well as the moniker for the overall tech that powers Echo. Because Alexa's smarts reside in the cloud and the Echo is constantly on and connected via Wi-Fi, updates are invisibly happening all the time. On any morning it's possible Echo has totally new features. Leading up to Super Bowl, where Amazon ran its first big-game commercial just to pimp the Echo, Alexa got several new abilities in one week (including ordering pizza).
Of course you can't do it all just by talking to Alexa, that's why there are companion Alexa apps for iOS and Android to help you fully control Echo interaction. It's where you'll read certain things Echo saves for you, and where you activate features and skills you want to access via the Echo. While you could probably use Echo and Alexa without the app, you don't want to. (Not that the app is great—it's actually pretty terrible. But it is a necessary evil for Echo owners.)
You also have to know a little bit to get the most out of Alexa. Like the difference between services that are native, things you get through Skills , and what you can access via a third party like IFTTT. We'll school you in all that on the next few pages.
Echo is just the beginning. Alexa has been released to the wild, so down the road other devices with a microphone/speaker built in can do the same things. Imagine a time when your speakers, your TV, even kitchen appliances, will interact with you like the Amazon Echo does. It's pretty easy to imagine, since Amazon has already built some limited Alexa functions into its Fire TV and Fire TV Stick media streaming hubs that have voice remotes.
If you've introduced the Echo to your life, read on for how to master chats with Alexa.
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