Got the wife an echo dot and a smart plug for about 35 bucks. Hooked the dot to my hk onyx Bluetooth speaker and it is pretty awesome. Ordered some smart light switches to try and we'll go from there. Already hooked the dot to the nest thermostats and that's pretty cool. We're the Jetsons
My son gave us the Nest thermostat as a Christmas present . Looks like we are going in that direction. The one thing that limits us is the limited storage space on our "older" Apple smart phones.
Ok. Now have three echo dots. One in the kitchen is hooked to a HK onyx speaker I've had and loved for a couple of years. Have one tp link smart plug and installed tp link light switches yesterday. Have the wife's dot programmed to turn on the light by her bed and the light in the living room when she says "alexa, start my day" it also tells her the weather and says a compliment to her when she wakes up. She fucking loves it. Have 2 of our 4 thermostats already replaced with Nests. Love them but I disabled the learning part because we don't always watch movies upstairs and it changed the temp on it's own. Now, I ask Alexa what the temp of the theater is and if it isn't what I want I tell her to change it. Works great. I think the google minis are supposed to be better when you say something that confuses it but whatever.
Oh, also I have a routine set that all I have to say is "turn off everything" Can leave the house with the lights on and turn them off whenever.
Those are dope. My buddy is building a house next door to me which is basically a giant bachelor pad with a full bar room that encompasses the entire second floor. I think I've got him talked into some Hue lights up there.
I got both the Google Home and Echos installed (develop for both). The Google voice recognition is clearly superior to the Amazon one, but Amazon's smart-home integration is much better than Google's at this point.
Have the Philips Hue in the bedroom (x2) in the bar/hallway/entry area (x3). If the Philips app starts acting up, there are 3rd-party apps that are better.
Probably won't go too crazy with it. Like being able to leave one light on until my wife sits down to watch tv.
I have 8 hue lights with 2 echos and a dot. I also have Apple TV. I just moved into a new house I bought a few days ago and my next items will be wifi deadbolt for my door and a wifi thermostat. My schedule is so varied working in retail having the ability to set it when I leave work will be great. Also I have a little studio I am going to airbnb, so putting a wifi lock on there will make that a lot easier.
Just installed 3 more regular tp link switches and a 3way compatible for the kitchen. Setting up groups in alexa is cool.
Only real irritating thing right now is limited routine support. I can set the temp on my nest thermostats but can't add them to routines. I'd really like to be able to do that soon.
Finally did. Didn't wanna spend 200 bucks and not like it. Got Nexlux light strip on Amazon for 30 bucks instead of paying a ton for Phillips Hue. No hub needed either. Set up in a breeze and works with alexa.
These things have been around for a long time. I'm looking to replace my front door lock with one that can be activated along with the walkway lights and entry light from the car.
