If you’re the person who sets up each smart device in your home, you might be able to remember what you called them all. But with many homes having over 20 devices, it’s not the easiest task to control them with Alexa. And if you didn’t set them up, you’ve got almost no hope.
You could scroll through a long list of devices in the Alexa app in the hope you’ll find it, but it’s hardly efficient.
Amazon’s been working on this particular problem over the past year and has come up with a few answers. One is to use its new ‘large language model’ so that Alexa can figure out what you mean when you say “turn on the new light” even if that’s not what the lamp is named in the Alexa app.
The other is a new feature in the Alexa app called Map View. This puts all your devices on a floorplan so you can see what’s in each room – or outside.
Firing up the app isn’t as convenient as using your voice, but for those occasions when you don’t know what something is called, or if you want to turn a lot of things on or off in one go, Map View should be a game-changer.
To use it, you’ll need to own an iPhone 12 Pro / Pro Max or later, or an iPad Pro, all of which can create a map of your home by pointing the camera at each room.
If you have one of those devices to hand (and you’re in the US, which is where the feature will roll out first) you’ll then be able to see all the connected devices in the correct rooms and be able to tap on them to control them. Icons will also show, for example, whether a smart lock is locked or not, and be able to tap on a camera to view its feed.
Jim Martin / Foundry
You can choose which devices do and don’t appear on your map and Amazon says it’s all built with privacy in mind, so you can delete the map whenever you want.
For homes with multiple floors, a button will let you quickly choose a floor and you’ll be able to tap another button to turn off everything on that floor.
If you move a device to another room, you can just edit the map view accordingly.
While it won’t be available at launch, Map View will also be on Amazon’s new Echo Hub wall controller. That means it’s much more accessible than unlocking your phone, launching the Alexa app and navigating to Map View.
Here’s everything Amazon announced at its September 2023 event.