Features

Answering questions Alexa’s main job is to fetch information when you ask her a question. She’s pretty good at this, for the most part. She gave accurate information when asked about the weather or nearby Chinese restaurants.

How does Alexa work? When your Echo’s on, just say the wake word, “Alexa.” Then follow up with your question or command. For example: “Alexa, set an alarm for 6:30 a.m.” or “Alexa, what time does the Davis County Library close?” To get a response to certain commands, you may have to download new skills in the app. It’s inconvenient, but luckily, Alexa often tells you when she needs a new skill to fulfill your request.

Sometimes, though, the info she pulls isn’t accurate. When we asked, “Alexa, when does the next Marvel movie come out?” she said that Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. Three comes out in June 2021. Guardians isn’t the next MCU movie, and it doesn’t have an official release date yet. In another instance, we asked her what characters are in the Harry Potter series. We expected her to start with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Instead, she listed Ron, then Hermione, then side characters such as Snape, and then Harry.

These snafus made us wonder if Alexa’s getting her information from the most trustworthy websites.

Playing music Alexa was skilled at finding the music we wanted, even obscure pieces. Amazon Music Unlimited seems to have a large selection. We noticed, though, that sometimes Alexa favors covers over original recordings, even when the original is available. To keep this from happening, it might be helpful to specify both the song and the artist.

Multiroom speakers function Playing music is fun, but playing music in every room in the house simultaneously is funner. We tried the multiroom speakers using all four Echos at once. “Hey Jude” played as we walked from room to room with no lags or gaps in the music. Very cool listening experience! We imagine it’s great for parties or for a houseful of introverts who want to stay in their rooms but all like the same music. We didn’t get a chance to test the multiroom speakers with an Amazon Echo Plus, but knowing that it has the best speakers of all the Echos, we bet it would be a music lover’s dream.

Drop-in function With the Echo speakers, you can “drop in” on a device in another room to talk to the occupants. So if you run out of toilet paper, you no longer have to yell and hope that someone hears you. The speakers with screens have an extra drop-in function: video drop-in. You can do a video call of sorts between Echo Spots or Echo Shows.

Announcements You can use your devices as an intercom for announcements. The experience is similar to a drop-in, but it sends a recorded message of your voice to every device in the house. This lets you broadcast to everyone simultaneously rather than dropping in on rooms one at a time.

Phone calls Want to make a call without picking up your phone? Phone a friend, family member, or business contact through Echo voice control. (For an Echo Spot or Show, video calls are the default.) You can also send hands-free texts, although if you don’t have an Android phone, you’ll need a third-party skill.

Recipes If you’re stuck on what to make for dinner, Alexa’s got you covered with recipe suggestions. For an Echo with voice-activation only, she’ll list each recipe and ask if you want to learn more or hear the list of ingredients. For an Echo with a screen, she’ll bring up a scrollable list with pictures and citations. We thought that overall, this function works best with a screen. That way, you can see which dish looks the most appealing.

Cooking with Alexa Asking Alexa for a recipe doesn’t always make sense. Try it when you’re about to make a trip to the grocery store or for a meal for another day. If you’re looking for a recipe to make immediately, you may not have the right ingredients on hand. Of course, you can always look at what you do have and say, “Alexa, what can I cook with a head of spinach, dried rigatoni noodles, and fresh beets?”