If you have an Apple household, can your iPhone co-exist with an Amazon Echo or Dot? Absolutely!
After years of side-eyeing Amazon's smart assistants, the Echo and Dot, I picked them up late in 2016. I put off the purchase largely because I was hoping for an Apple-inspired solution — an Apple TV you could give voice commands to, or a new AirPort base station with integrated Siri assistant.
But no luck for me — if Apple's working on non-iPhone assistant technology, it's still hidden deep within Infinite Loop's various testing labs. So, what the heck: I decided to give the Echo a shot.
Not my first third-party rodeo
Amazon's ecosystem isn't my first non-Apple venture: After outfitting my house with Sonos speakers, I quickly had to get used to the idea of using a third-party app to control certain aspects of my home. To be honest, it wasn't all that different from using the Remote app to control my Apple TV, or the Hue app for my Hue lights.
As much as the iPhone, iPad, and Mac rule my general computing life, third-party accessories have taken over a lot of the periphery. They make up my lights, speakers, doorbell and door lock, coffee maker, temperature sensors, and noise alerts. And while some hook directly into Apple's Home app, others require specific third-party apps to function properly.
Echo and iPhone, BFFs
Though I didn't know it at the time, Amazon's Echo is actually the perfect middleman between my various third-party accessories and my iPhone.
When you first pick up a new Echo, Dot, or Tap, you set it up with Amazon's Alexa app, free to download on the iPhone. The app lets you customize most everything about your speaker, including its wake word, and keeps track of your most recent voice commands.
It's voice where the Echo shines, of course: Multiple beam-forming microphones let Amazon's assistant, Alexa, hear you from just about anywhere in the room, and built-in speakers (or an AUX connection to a more powerful sound system) let it respond in turn.
Once setup is complete, you interact with Alexa almost entirely through voice commands to your Echo, Dot, or Tap. Certain commands — "How do you say 'Hello' in French?", for example — may drop extra information in the Alexa app, but otherwise, you never need look at your iPhone to use your Echo.
In addition, as I mentioned above, many home automation devices can connect directly to the Echo, either via your Echo's built-in commands or by installing Skills via the Alexa app. As a result, I can control non-HomeKit devices in my home with more ease than ever before — because chances are if Apple doesn't support the device, Amazon does.
A quick note about Skills: Like SiriKit on the iPhone, Skills are essentially third-party applets that help your Amazon Echo respond to even more commands. Unlike Siri, however, Skills are freely available to download, and they cover a much wider array of tasks than the limited SiriKit options. You can use Skills to get movie times or track packages, control specialized home automation devices, tell jokes, and much, much more.
Admittedly, I only have a few installed Skills I rely on; most of the tasks I use my Echo for are built right into Alexa's system software. But it all works flawlessly with my iPhone — though I rarely have to pick it up, when I'm using my Echo.
A few limitations
I do have a few nitpicks, largely due to how Amazon and Apple butt heads in the corporate world. You can't officially stream Apple Music via the Amazon Echo, for example; while there are loopholes like turning the Echo into a Bluetooth speaker that will let you play music from your iPhone, you can't directly speak to Alexa and make the assistant play Apple Music tunes. (If you have a Sonos speaker and a high tolerance for fiddling with code, you can also try this hack to make Apple Music stream on your speakers.) In general, though, if you want direct music access from your Echo, you'll have to pay for Spotify or Amazon Music Unlimited.
Additionally, there are no remote out-of-home controls: You have to be on the same Wi-Fi network to control your Echo with the Alexa app. You can still view your to-do and shopping lists, sure, but if you want to remotely change the music your dogs are listening to while you're at work, you're out of luck.
How do you use your Amazon Echo?
Do you have an Echo, Dot, or Tap and use it in an Apple ecosystem? Any cool tips you've picked up? Let me know below!
Reader comments
How compatible is the Amazon Echo with an iPhone?
I wish they would do an article like this for Google Home
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On our list! ;)
I use hue lights and tp link plugs, both of these gives me external access and both of these work better with Alexa that Siri, the only issue is Apple Music, Alexa is so good at listening to music requests that I've cancelled my Apple subscription and signed up to amazon music. I use a broadlink pro so I control my shower, tv, stereo, kettle all with Alexa. Siri is no more.
I think Apple could lose a lot of Apple Music subscribers to Amazon if they don't come up with something similar to Alexa. I love being able to ask it to play stuff from Amazon Prime Music and will get Amazon Unlimited Music when the promised Echo/Sonos link is available.
Asking Alexa to play music on Sonos speakers anywhere in the house should be the ultimate combination.
Can Alexa control/access HomeKit devices as well such as Elgato Eve's Room and Weather?
I'm really happy with my Echo, had it since its UK release with £50 discount as a Prime member. Got it linked to my Nest thermostat, but really love how easy it is to play music or listen to radio.
I much prefer Amazon Music and their iOS app over music.
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I just ordered a Dot and hope to get it soon. As I live in Canada, some of the functionality seems to be limited but I am hoping it won't be a problem. I currently use Apple Music through my Sonos (I am deep in the Apple ecosystem) but I can see the attraction of Spotify with the Echo (and Spotify has even deeper integration with Sonos than Apple Music). I would have to change my Amazon account to the US, because it currently has me living in Canada (which I do) and Spotify is not a choice on the list of music services - Amazon customer service told me I would have to set up a US address account.
My main hope for the Dot is to use with my home lighting (Insteon) which is controlled by an ISY994i. MobiLinc Connect has a skill which looks to allow for great integration between the Echo (Dot) and the lighting. Hope it works!
I have an Iris system from Lowes. It is an alarm and home control. There is an Alexa skill for it that allows me to turn on and off groups of devices and even set the dim of the various bulbs. There is no Alexa control for the alarm but that is to be expected. You would not want an intruder to come in and say "Alexa, turn off the alarm". Alexa works great with Iris and more features are still to come. It's also easy to get the weather and news briefings.