When we talk about smart homes, it’s hard not to picture that Simpsons episode. While the robots may indeed rise up one day, in the meantime smart devices are making our lives easier.
Starting your smart home begins with the decision of which ecosystem is right for you. Amazon’s Alexa is one of the front-runners in the Australian market, and with a wide skillset and large range of compatible products, it’s easy to see why.
In this guide:
- What’s a smart home ecosystem?
- What is Amazon Echo?
- What is Alexa?
- Amazon Echo Range
- Echo smart home hubs
- Do I need a fast internet connection to use my Echo?
- NBN Plans
- Compatible devices
- Pairing devices
- What can Alexa do?
What’s a smart home ecosystem?
Earth’s various ecosystems are created as different organisms interact within their physical environment. The balance comes when every creature lives to serve a purpose in perpetuating the circle of life and growth within that environment.
A smart home ecosystem works in the same way, with various smart devices and cloud services all united to manage a home together.
What is Amazon Echo?
Echo is Amazon’s range of smart speakers and home hubs. Work began on the Echo in 2011 and was never intended to be a smart home solution, but things changed, and shortly after the original Echo hit the market in 2014, Amazon started work on the smart home component.
Each Echo device holds an inbuilt virtual assistant called Alexa, which uses voice commands to answer questions, compile data, and control smart devices.
What is Alexa?
Alexa is Amazon’s virtual assistant, which pretty much means that it’s a disconnected voice that can perform actions based on your voice commands. Amazon designed Alexa’s artificial intelligence to mimic real conversations, but it is actually a cloud based service that exists to perform specific tasks.
When you say the wake word, “Alexa” you are telling that service to start listening to your voice and follow through with your commands.
Amazon Echo Range
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| Echo Dot | Echo Dot with Clock |
Echo | Echo Plus | Echo Studio | |
| Price | From $79.00 |
From $99.00 |
From $149.00 |
From $229.00 |
From $329.00 |
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| Alexa Built In |  |
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| Speakers | 1.6" speaker | 1.6" speaker | 0.8" tweeter and 3" woofer |
0.8" tweeter and 3" woofer |
1" tweeter, three 2"mid-range speakers, and 5.25" woofer |
| Dolby Tech |  |
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| Zigbee Home Hub | |
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Are all Amazon Echo’s smart home hubs?
All Amazon Echo devices are compatible with smart home appliances, but the Echo Plus and Echo Studio also act a Zigbee bridge.
Zigbee is a specification similar to WiFi and Bluetooth, but is most widely used in low-power devices that don’t need too much bandwidth - such as, smart home devices. Zigbee enabled devices speak the same language, so no matter who made them or what brand is stamped on them, there is no communication barrier.
Using a Zigbee-enabled Echo will make connecting devices from different manufacturers easier, provided they are also Zigbee products. Your devices connect to your Echo, and your Echo connects to your network
You can still use smart home devices with any other Echo, but you may need a separate Zigbee hub depending on what products you're using.
Do I need a fast internet connection to use my Echo?
Connection speeds required are determined by what you use your smart speaker for. The more you add to your ecosystem, the more bandwidth you will need in order to support your smart home.
Basic functions like playing music will use around 2Mbps, and home assistants like Alexa only use about 1-2Mbps when they are active. The basic rule of thumb for determining the speed you need to support your smart home is to add 5Mbps on top of your usual speed.
In most cases, your Echo device will work perfectly on your current NBN plan. But if you’re not happy with your internet or you're planning a big smart home haul, we’ve put together some recommendations.
NBN Plans
NBN 50 (Standard Plus) Plans
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#1
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Dodo 
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#2
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amaysim 
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#3
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Tangerine Telecom 
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#4
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TPG 
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Link not supplied
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#5
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Belong 
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#6
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Superloop 
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#7
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Aussie Broadband 
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Link not supplied
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#8
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iiNet 
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Link not supplied
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#9
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Kogan Internet 
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#10
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Flip 
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NBN 100 (Premium) Plans
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#1
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Dodo
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#2
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amaysim
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#3
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Superloop
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#4
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iiNet
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Link not supplied
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#5
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Tangerine Telecom
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#6
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TPG
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Link not supplied
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#7
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Belong
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#8
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Aussie Broadband
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Link not supplied
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#9
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Kogan Internet
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#10
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Moose NBN 
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Link not supplied
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What devices are compatible with Alexa?
There are currently over 100,000 smart home devices, and 9,500 brands that are compatible with Alexa. Of these, over 300 brands hold the Works with Alexa certification, which is the Amazon stamp of approval. Certified brands create products that integrate seamlessly with Alexa, but beyond that there are thousands of other compatible brands and products you can use. Whether you’re shopping online or in store, you’ll be able to find something that will work will your Echo.
Admittedly, 9,000 brands are far too many to list here, but we’ve pulled together some of our picks for smart lighting, and other home accessories to get you started.
Meross
Look at its smart power outlet adapters
ECOVACS
Check out its robot vacuums
Philips Hue
See its smart
light bulb range
Sonos
Best for
its speakers
Pairing smart home devices with Alexa
Pairing devices with Alexa is as smooth as its conversation. Use the voice command Alexa, scan for new gadgets and it will begin scanning and picking up on devices available. Pairing is usually automatic, but if this doesn’t work, you can tap Add device in the Alexa app to do just that. Once you're all set up, jump on the Alexa app to personalise your voice commands.
What can Alexa do?
If we were to list everything that Alexa can do, you’d get carpal tunnel from scrolling. Amazon dubbed Alexa’s capabilities as skills, and these are growing everyday. Skills were created to personalise your Echo experience, by allowing you to enable skills that are relevant to you.
Scrolling through the Alex app, there are literally thousands of skills you can access. Here are some of our favourites:
Games and Trivia
Alexa, launch unofficial lightsaber battle
Alexa, open Meme Review
Alexa, ask Pikachu to talk
Health and Fitness
Alexa, open positive meditation
Alexa, relax me
Alexa, start butt workout
Food and Drink
Alexa, ask tum tum what's for lunch
Music and Audio
Alexa, play Toss a Coin to your Witcher on Spotify
Business and Financial
Alexa, ask AGL for my energy insights
Alexa, get my mobile balance from amaysim
Travel and Transport
Alexa, ask Uber to request a ride
Alexa, pack my bags
Kids
Alexa, open Amazon Storytime
News
Alexa, what's my flash briefing?
Anula Wiwatowska
Offsite Editorial Lead | Instagram
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