Amazon’s Alexa is one of the best smart home systems available, with hundreds of devices that currently work with it. But how can you tell ...
Amazon’s Alexa is one of the best smart home systems available, with hundreds of devices that currently work with it. But how can you tell which ones are the best? Fortunately for you, we’ve collaborated with the smart home experts at our sister site Tom’s Guide to compile a list of the best smart home devices they’ve tested in the most in-demand categories that work with Amazon Alexa.
See also: What Is A Smart Home?
Best Alexa streaming device: Amazon Fire Cube
The Amazon Fire TV Cube lets you use Amazon’s assistant to control your TV, cable box and other streaming equipment, and it comes with the latest Alexa remote to navigate without speaking. Our Tom’s Guide smart home experts like the intuitive interface, excellent 4K HDR picture quality, and how you can access every streaming app from Hulu to Sling and DirecTV Now. While the Fire TV Cube costs $120 when it isn’t on sale, budget conscious streamers can purchase a Fire TV Stick as a more affordable option. It has fewer perks, but the core controls are still there.
Read the full Amazon Fire TV Cube review on Tom’s Guide here.
Best smart lights for Alexa: Philips Hue White LED Starter Kit
A great place to start your smart home journey is with smart lights. Being able to control light intensity and color is fun and functional, and we recommend the Philips Hue White LED Starter Kit as the best smart lights to use with Alexa. The starter kit comes with two bulbs and a small hub that links the bulbs to your Wi-Fi. Alexa does a great job of controlling Philips lighting, so don’t be surprised when you start looking at replacing the rest of your light bulbs with smart lights. Just know that the starter kit bulbs do not change colors, so if you want to start with some color options, the Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 bulb starter kit is available.
You can read the full Philips Hue White LED Starter Kit review on Tom’s Guide here.
Best Alexa compatible Wi-Fi smart light bulbs: Lifx Mini
While we can’t recommend the Philips Hue lights enough, they do require the use of a proprietary hub. If you want smart light bulbs to connect directly to your Wi-Fi network, we highly recommend Lifx Mini smart bulbs. These bulbs work well with Alexa, changing brightness, switching on and off easily and they even have some neat lighting effects like candle flicker and strobe to change things up. Additionally, Lifx Mini smart bulbs are compatible with Google Assistant and Apple Homekit – if you ever expand beyond the Alexa smart home ecosystem.
Read the full Lifx Mini smart bulbs review on Tom’s Guide here.
Best smart plugs for Alexa: Wemo WiFi Smart Plug
Smart plugs are a great solution for turning non-smart devices on and off, like lamps, and the Wemo WiFi Smart Plug is also one of the most affordable. This plug can be used with all major smart assistants, has a physical switch and has an Away mode that can be set so it makes it look like someone is home by turning on and off a lamp intermittently.
Read the full Wemo WiFi Smart Plug review on Tom’s Guide here.
Best Alexa compatible smart lock: August Smart Lock Pro
Smart locks, like the August Smart Lock Pro, make securing your home much easier – especially if you’re like us and forget to lock your doors and don’t want to get out of bed. The August Smart Lock Pro does require the Connect accessory, but August recently announced a newer version that is Wi-Fi enabled.
Read the full review of the August Smart Lock Pro on Tom’s Guide here.
Best Alexa thermostat: Ecobee 5th Generation Thermostat
While most smart devices are compatible with smart assistant programs, the Ecobee 5th Generation Thermostat has Alexa built in. This means you can use the thermostat without a separate smart speaker – a great advantage as you get all of Alexa’s features, including Drop-in, calling and messaging. Additionally, this generation of Ecobee thermostat has redesigned sensors with better range and battery life.
You can read the full review of the Ecobee 5th Generation Thermostat here.
Best Alexa compatible home security camera: Arlo Q
As you expand your smart home to include security functions, finding the best home security camera can be a tough challenge. Our smart home experts at Tom’s Guide recommend the Arlo Q as the best Alexa compatible home security camera because of its 1080p day/night video and it’s easy-to-use function.
This indoor-only security camera integrates well with Alexa, especially when used in conjunction with an Amazon Echo Show or Amazon Fire TV, as you can view a live stream of where the camera is located.
The full review of the Arlo Q on Tom’s Guide can be found here.
Best TV for Alexa: LG C9 OLED TV
So many manufacturers are adding voice controls to their smart TVs, and the LG C9 OLED TV is our pick for the best 4K TV that has Alexa built in. Alexa allows you to switch channels, adjust volume, turn on/off the TV and more with only your voice. The LG C9 OLED TV features LG’s ThinQ AI along with 4K resolution, Dolby Vision, HDR 10, HLG and HDMI 2.1 ports.
Read the full review of the LG C9 OLED TV at Tom’s Guide here.
Best compatible Alexa soundbar: Sonos Beam
One of the fun aspects of Alexa – and other smart home assistants – is the ability to connect to your favorite streaming music services. But while many smart speakers can play music, many fall short of producing great sound. Fortunately, the Sonos Beam has four full-range woofers to produce high-quality sound – even without your TV being on. Our testers say it lacks the bass oomph found in the Sonos Playbase, but they are still pleased enough to recommend the Sonos Beam with Alexa built-in as the best soundbar for Alexa.
Read the full review of the Sonos Beam here.
Best DIY home security kit: Simplisafe Essentials
Starting your smart home journey may seem like you’re creating a patchwork quilt – one piece at a time – but when you’re ready to add in a home security kit that is compatible with Alexa, we highly recommend the Simplisafe Essentials kit.
SimpliSafe is one of the best DIY home security systems because it’s easy to set up, has a ton of options when it comes to additional sensors and accessories—it even has its own smart lock—and offers optional professional monitoring for a reasonable price. We really like the convenience of arming the system through Alexa when you’re walking out the door.
The kit comes with a base station, keypad, motion detector and three door/window sensors. You can expand the system as your budget allows, and Simplisafe offers professional monitoring starts at $15/month, but if you want features such as smart home connectivity with Alexa, August, and Google Assistant, the fee increases to $25 per month.
Read the full Tom’s Guide review of Simplisafe Essentials here.
As time goes on and you use your Alexa smart home devices more, you come to find what works best for you and your home. These 10 Alexa compatible products are definitely not the only ones on the market, but they are the best smart home devices for Alexa right now. Good luck on your smart home journey, and have fun making life more convenient with Amazon Alexa compatible devices.
See also: What Is A Smart Home?
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