Just How Handy Is Amazon’s Echo?

I know what you’re thinking…how useful is this little gadget? It’s basically just another voice-activated doohickey to clutter up your bookshelf and therefore your life, right?

Not so fast. Echo not only comes with built-in functionalities that are intended to make life easier for the user, but also comes with additional features that can help you streamline your home, your workspace, and your life. Sure, it comes across as just another Amazon product designed to help you instantly buy more products from Amazon, but if you play your cards right–and really make friends with it–it has a lot of potential.

Smarthome gadget minder

Image 5 of 6

Unlike other virtual assistants, Echo can sync to a specific list of IoT gadgets. While the regular Echo can turn the music down just from your voice command, if you also have smarthome items like outlets installed, you can tell Echo to turn off the lights in the bedroom or make it hotter or colder in your house.