Even if you’re not a fan of gadgets and gizmos, you’ve probably heard of Alexa. In fact, you might have accidentally spoken to her at your friends’ houses – she has a habit of answering you when you mumble something inaudible. But what can you do with Alexa?
Alexa is Amazon’s virtual assistant. She is voice activated on various products, such as Amazon’s Echo and Show, and Sonos speakers, among many others. You can ask her what the time is, what’s the weather forecast, and what’s the name of that actor who’s in that TV show you watched. She’s similar to Siri on your iPhone, or ‘Hey Google’ on your Android phone.
There are loads of skills and tasks Alexa can help you with – many more than you might have realised. Now might be the time to allow technology to streamline your daily life.
We’ve listed below some of the different ways Alexa can help you every day; there are more skills released weekly, some of which involve in-app purchases, and others that are just for fun (such as the Animal Sounds skill – your toddler will love asking Alexa what noise a cow makes).
1: Set timers and alarms for almost everything
If you’re a parent, then time-keeping can be a challenge and is vital to your baby’s routine. If you simply struggle to get up for work in the morning, or easily forget how long your cake needs in the oven, then Alexa can keep time for you.
2: Play music, podcasts, radio, and audiobooks
One of the best parts of Alexa is the fact you can play almost anything on it. You can connect it to Spotify and any other apps that offer audio content. You can also play audiobooks - a great way to listen to your new favourite book is to play the audio version while you’re doing the washing up.
3: Ask all the strange questions you’re afraid to ask your friends
There’s no such thing as a stupid question, some people say, and that’s certainly true with Alexa. Whether you just can’t remember the name of that actor in Eastenders, or you need to ask an embarrassing question about bodily functions, ask Alexa and she can do a Google search for you.
4: Ask for quick and healthy recipes
Alexa can help you to cook when your time is short. If you need to whip up a healthy lunch but don’t have time to flick through your recipe books, ask Alexa for a recipe and she’ll give you a load of choices.
5: Check the weather and traffic
If you’re on the way to work, or trying to leave the house with your baby, quickly ask Alexa what the weather is due to do today and what the traffic is like on your journey, and you’ll be prepared for anything before you open the front door. Alexa won’t let you forget your umbrella.
6: Manage your baby’s feeding times
One for parents of newborns; if you’re using a smart bottle, you can connect it with Alexa, and it will keep track of how much milk your baby’s had today.
7: Order a takeaway
If you haven’t got time to cook, or you want to treat yourself with a takeaway at the weekend, ask Alexa to order your food with a variety of takeaway food apps.
8: Track your baby’s nappy changes
Another one for new parents; if you’re using a smart nappy disposable system, connect the system to Alexa and keep track of how many nappies your baby has got through for the day.
9: Use it as a baby monitor
You can turn Alexa into a baby monitor! The Amazon Echo Dot will give you just the audio, or buy the Echo Show for the video image too.
10: Do your shopping
Alexa is totally integrated with other Amazon services, so you can do your shopping just using your voice. You can also ask for Amazon’s deals of the day.
11: Ask for breathing exercises
If you need to take a moment to catch your breath and calm down, Alexa can help you with some relaxing breathing techniques.
12: Check your calendar
Keep yourself and your family organised by integrating Alexa with your calendars – you'll never miss another birthday party or work meeting again (get Alexa to check the traffic while you’re at it).
13: You can create lists
If you’re a list maker, you can use Alexa to create all the different lists you need. You can even share these lists with other family members and they’re all saved in one place.
14: Find your lost phone or other devices
If you’re tired of misplacing your phone or your tablet, you can now count on Alexa to help you find it. You just need to give your device a name and ask for Alexa where is it - your device will then ring in full volume.
15: Control the temperature of your house
If you have smart thermostats in your house, you just need to ask Alexa to cool down or warm up the room.
16: Talk for hours on the phone hands-free
It's important to say that Alexa is not able to call an emergency number as this is still against the law, but you can set up a list of contacts that it will call for you. You can now spend time on the phone with family and friends and still be able to do other things around the house (or play Candy Crush on your phone while you talk).
17: Control your plugs
Now you can buy smart plugs, and Alexa can manage them. You can turn them on and off inside or outside the house. When you are inside, you just ask Alexa, when you are outside, you can do it via Alexa’s app.
18: Turn your lights on and off
Use smart lightbulbs and just walk into any room and command ‘lights on’ and ‘lights off’. If you buy lightbulbs that change colour, you can also change the environment using colour therapy.
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