Life Admin & HomeDone with Alexa+
Set up nightly smart-home routines by voice
A parent told Alexa+ to dim lights and lower the thermostat at 9 p.m. nightly, and it built the automation on the spot.
- What They Did
- The writer, a Tom's Guide reviewer and parent, had upgraded to Alexa+. She spoke one sentence to Alexa+ asking it to dim the lights and lower the thermostat every night at 9 p.m. Alexa+ understood the request and created the automation at once. She did not have to open the app or go through its menus.
- How It Went
- She says the automation was created instantly and saved her a lot of time over the old routine setup. The article gives no detail on how well it ran night to night.
- Worth Knowing
- Alexa+ is included with Prime. Without Prime it costs $19.99 a month. The same article found Alexa+ unreliable at ordering tasks like takeout, so it may be better at routines than at errands.
Try it yourself with Alexa+
Every night at [time], set [lights] to [brightness]% and set the thermostat to [temperature]. Create this as a recurring routine on [days of the week] and tell me exactly what it will do. Read the routine back to me and wait for my confirmation before you save it.