OPINION : The Amazon Echo , and Alexa , were the gimmick that really kickstarted the smart nursing home gyration . Before these impertinent speaker unit , smart home devices were more the world of the technically advanced , happy to spend a long fourth dimension monkey to get thing working .
Alexa came along , and suddenly , it was sluttish to have all of your devices in one post , controllable via voice and mere procedure .
While Alexa is , arguably , still thebest smart homeplatform , it ’s not pure and to stave off the competition , here ’s what Amazon need to do .
Make the app easier to browse
There have been some improvement to Alexa over the years , but the app is still a bit of a mess and is n’t always the most logical to surf . Want to find out which Skills you ’re running ? That ’s under More , Skills & Games , then scroll to the bottom of the Sir Frederick Handley Page and then murder Your Skills . Why is n’t this easygoing to find ?
The Devices varlet is also a deal . A layout with devices in thumbnail , orchestrate by room , as withSmartThingsor Apple Home would make more signified . As it is , the gimmick page is a spot of a mess , and the list of devices is n’t class alphabetically ; it seems as though new gadget are at the top , follow by an alphabetic itemization of gadget . A twist hunting tab has made thing easy , but a cleaner interface would help oneself .
In short , the Alexa app needs an overhaul to make its layout simple , putting gimmick control front and middle , as with the main contender .
Improve what you can do with Routines
Alexa Routines are generally very powerful , offering lots of triggers and options . However , there are some limit that I just do n’t get . For example , if I want to bend off an alarm system when a door is unlocked , then I ca n’t . Amazon says that this is for surety , and disarming or unlocking requires a voice PIN .
However , a sassy lock is a impregnable gimmick , so if one is unbarred , then that attest security , which should earmark me to turn off an warning signal . I can demilitarise an consternation organization in Apple Home , so there is precedent .
Prevent duplicate devices
This one is mostly aimed at Philips Hue user , but the problem of duplicates is a incubus . I ’ve added Hue to SmartThings , and then SmartThings to Alexa . As I already have the Hue Skill add ( it ’s good than the Matter integration at the consequence ) , my lights all appear double , so I manually have to deactivate the extra , which is time deplete .
There used to be an option in SmartThings to limit which devices Alexa can see , but either Amazon or Samsung changed this option .
Duplicate item are primarily a Hue trouble but they are an consequence for any gadget that has its own accomplishment and that is also available via a third - party system that ’s also in Alexa or that have also been tote up via Matter . An machinelike elbow room to observe and disable duplicate would help .
Make it easier to bulk delete devices
If you have multiple machine you want to remove , Alexa does n’t make getting rid of them soft . First , I ’d have a bun in the oven that removing a Skill would also remove all consort gadget , only it does n’t .
It ’s no good take out a gadget only as if you have the Skill enabled , Alexa just auto - detects the gadget and adds them back . So , I have to remove the Skill and then find and remove all of the associated equipment .
In ecumenical , if I want to remove multiple equipment , the only way to do it is to select each one in turn , then dispatch the delete button . This really should be easier , and the discontinued web port at least used to make this job a fleck easier .
Force smart device integrations to have touch controls
When using a Skill , each manufacturer can pick out which controls are available in the app , and there ’s a huge variance in control , despite two devices both being ‘ compatible with Alexa ’ .
For example , aDyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehydehas control in the Alexa app that mostly mime those in the Dyson app . This make up this equipment easy to control with vox , the Alexa app or routine .
AMeacoCool MC Series 9000 Proair conditioning unit provided me with no in - app control , trammel what I can do using the Alexa app or routines . Clearly , single twist control with a high degree of granularity is possible , so it ’s high metre Amazon forced companies to provide better support .
Improve the touch interface on all Echo Show devices
TheAmazon Echo Hubis a smart as a whip twist . Realising that phonation control is n’t always the immobile or most commodious option , the Echo Hub provides a touch - screen way to control the smart home , similar to ( but bum than ) a Control4 system .
Why , then , is n’t the Echo Hub ’s user interface available for all Alexa smart displays , such as the newEcho Show 21 ?
There ’s also a secondary issue . Unless a gadget maker provides right touchscreen controls via their Skill ( or the gadget is connect via Matter ) , there ca n’t be a touchscreen port for it . Again , it ’s another reason to get machine manufacturers to improve Alexa support .
Turn off the barrage of notifications
Set up a novel Echo Show or Echo and the first thing you ’ll want to do is go in and turn off all of the annoying ad and presentment that Amazon insists on sending . Particularly on the Echo Show machine , the nonpayment preferences are vexatious , causing the screen to incessantly switch .
I in particular do n’t care the means that the gadget can scan your web to stress and sell you consumables . For instance , I had an Epson pressman , and I ’d constantly get notifications on my Echo Show telling me that I postulate to buy new ink .
