With many of us now used to having smart assistant-powered devices in our homes, there's never been a better time to see what accessories and extra products you can buy to augment your voice-controlled nirvana.
In this guide for Amazon Echo owners we're looking at the best Alexa accessory devices you can buy to augment your system - in addition to getting more Echo devices for other rooms of course! There are numerous Alexa devices available from Amazon - plus its subsidiaries Blink and Ring - but we've tried to showcase non-Amazon gear here.
So, let's check out the most useful stuff out there. And check out our guide to the best Alexa Easter Eggs, too.
The best third-party Amazon Echo accessories to buy today
Philips Hue Starter Kit
Philips might just be the most complete smart lighting solution anywhere on the market, and should have a product to fill pretty much any need.
Philips Hue Colour Smart Bulb Starter Kit
Philips has an impressive portfolio of smart, connected lighting solutions to kit your house out with. In fact, it's arguably the most complete lighting system available. This starter kit will get you going.
Being Hue there are, of course, other lots of bulb types to choose from. They offer spotlights, separate mood lamps, even designer lamps with built-in Hue support and LED light strips. You even get the option of connected dimmer switches and motion sensors. All of which can be controlled by Alexa.
Neato Botvac D7 Connected
Trust us when we say that you'll not want to go back to vacuuming for yourself once you try this robot.
Neato Robotics D7
"Alexa, tell Neato to start cleaning." There's nothing more satisfying in life than being able to have clean, dust and debris-free floors without having to lift a finger. Neato's Botvac Connected series offers this convenience and many others.
Boasting Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility, this model joins the D3 Connected and D5 Connected. It boasts the same D-shape Neato's cleaners are known for but it adds advanced mapping with 'No-Go' lines to tell the robot where it shouldn't go - this all works via a new version of the excellent Neato app for iOS and Android, and Alexa, of course.
nest learning thermostat
A great thermostat that's nice and simple to use.
There's a whole host of smart connected thermostats on the market and, undoubtedly one of the better ones with Alexa compatibility is the Nest Learning Thermostat. It has a big, colourful display, and is very easy to control thanks to a rotating frame and intuitive smartphone app.
Netatmo Weather Station
If you want a simple way to get a sense for how your area's doing both in terms of weather and air quality, this is a perfect option.
Netatmo Weather Station
If you want a simple way to get a sense for how your area's doing both in terms of weather and air quality, this is a perfect option.
The Netatmo Weather Station gives you accurate weather and air quality measurements in real-time. It can measure temperature, CO2 concentration, air pressure, humidity, noise pollution and more, inside and outside your home. All you need is a smartphone.
With Alexa support, you can ask your Echo for the current outdoor temperature by saying "Alexa, ask Netatmo to get the temperature from the Outdoor module".
Honeywell Lyric T6R smart thermostat
Another impressive, simply operated thermostat.
Honeywell Lyric T6
As smart thermostats go, the Lyric T6 from Honeywell is a compelling option. It's easy to use, Apple HomeKit or Amazon Alexa enabled and boasts location-based services for multiple members of the family. Geofencing lets you define a perimeter for your home so any time one of the users enters that zone, the thermostat tells your heating you're home and kicks in.
Hive Active Heating and Hot Water
A great option for those in those in the UK.
Hive Thermostat for Heating and Hot Water Control (Conventional boilers) with Hive Hub
Hive was one of the earliest smart thermostats available in the UK, and with the latest version (the Hive Active Heating 2.0), you get more control than ever. You can use it to control your hot water and your heating and you can link it to Alexa to give you voice control over both.
smart plug
The smart plug is a gateway to a whole world of Alexa voice control, connecting your disconnected devices.
Amazon Smart Plug
A great plug that works with Alexa like a dream.
For all those non-smart products you have lying around, there's a simply solution: a Wi-Fi Plug. Simply plug your regular lamp, kettle, coffee machine or whatever in to one of these, and have it switch on as soon as you give the command to Alexa. As long as it's a simple on/off device, you'll just need to tell your Echo to switch on that specific plug.
Govee Immersion backlights
An easy way to add backlighting to your TV with control from Alexa.
Govee Immersion
The Govee Immersion backlighting system will let you add RGBIC LED lights to the rear of your TV, with a wide-angle camera to detect what's on the screen. It's effectively a way to bring that Ambilight experience to your TV.
It's also compatible with Alexa, so you can add it to a room group, change the colour with voice or control it via the smartphone app.
Lavazza A Modo Mio Voicy
As long as you've prepared this maker, you'll be able to ask Alexa to make you a coffee on demand.
Lavazza is an established name in coffee, but adding Alexa skills to this machine means that - as long as you've prepared the machine, you can ask Alexa to make you a coffee. It will also deliver all of Alexa's other skills too, like telling you the weather.