We always strive to bring the latest in home entertainment control experiences to Harmony users. That’s why we continually update our software and deliver these updates for free, so our users can rest assured that a purchase today will also deliver the key features they will want tomorrow. Today, we are happy to share that our Harmony — Optimized for Smart Home skill for Amazon Alexa now provides simplified commands in the U.S. You no longer need to say “Alexa, ask Harmony to…” when you use any Logitech Harmony hub-based remote with your Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show or Dash Wand, and your voice.

“The beauty of our newly enhanced skill is how much more simple it is to control your favorite living room entertainment,” said Rory Dooley, Head of Logitech Smart Home. “This latest integration with Amazon Alexa is a great example of how we continually upgrade our products to ensure they deliver the best experience possible.”

This deeper integration with Amazon Alexa optimizes your voice experience, allowing you and your family to control your TV entertainment using more natural language. After you’ve started any Harmony Activity using your voice, you can follow up with simple commands. For example, if you ask Alexa to turn on your Harmony Activity, such as “Alexa, turn on the TV,” “turn on ESPN,” or “turn on Netflix,” then subsequent commands such as “Alexa, turn up the volume,” “Alexa, pause,” or “Alexa, tune to channel number 29,” will all seamlessly be routed through Logitech Harmony—that’s how intuitive it is. This works for turning on or off your Activities (like Watch TV), managing media playback such as skip forward, play and pause, increasing or lowering volume, and directly tuning to channels such as ESPN, or channel number 29.

Starting today, Logitech Harmony owners with the Harmony — Optimized for Smart Home skill already enabled can begin using these new commands immediately, no update required. For those that do not yet have this skill, we recommend enabling it from the Amazon Alexa app.

For more information, visit myharmony.com/alexa or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.