Amazon Echo Can Now Control SmartThings Products

Last week, we told you about how the Amazon Echo is bringing ease of use to the smart home via voice control. You can already use its Alexa voice assistant to control Belkin WeMo, Philips Hue, and Wink devices, but Amazon isn't wasting any time in expanding Echo's feature set.

Samsung subsidiary SmartThings has announced that you can now control its ecosystem of products from the "tall, dark, and handsome personal assistant." (Their words, not mine.)

SmartThings' newfound integration gives Echo control of lights, switches, and outlets. The company notes that this feature will work with existing SmartThings hubs, as well as the upcoming new hub, which was announced at CES in January.

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In the video above, SmartThings shows off the new integration, including voice control of a Sonos speaker. The addition of Sonos is especially compelling, and plays to the strength of SmartThings' ecosystem; it's one of the few major DIY systems to integrate the popular wireless speakers.

{{amazon name="Amazon Echo", asin="B00X4WHP5E", align="right"}} We reached out to SmartThings to find out exactly what devices work with the new integration. The company couldn't provide a full list, but said the integration will work with any device that supports on/off commands, as well as dimming. This is why it can turn on Sonos speakers even though they fall outside the category of lights, switches, and outlets.

With SmartThings on board, the Amazon Echo can now control most of the top-selling smart home ecosystems—an impressive feat, given the Echo only became widely available in July.

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