Amazon's Alexa AI has long been able to control smart lights via voice commands, but oddly, not their colour.

Although you could turn off or on all sorts of smart lamps from the likes of Philips Hue or LIFX and so many others, you were otherwise limited. Sure, some bulbs let you dim them too, but one of the most fun aspects of smart-home control has been the idea that you could change the colour of your lights and change the mood of your home in an instant. For some reason, however, Alexa didn't allow this capability.

Technically, Amazon Echo devices did let you select pre-programmed "scenes" in order to change colour or to dim light. But now, thanks to an update that's gone live, Amazon has unveiled an Alexa-specific control so that all you have to say is "Alexa, set the bedroom light to purple" or "Alexa, make the living room warmer" in order to make your smart lamps switch to purple or go warmer, respectively.

Alexa will remember up to 100 shades and colours, Amazon said, so you can say things like "cool white" or "purple". And these voice commands work across the Hue line, TP-Link Kasa, and LIFX bulbs. With this new skill, Amazon has brought Alexa up to speed with Google Home, which could change smart lamp colours since launch. Check out our versus guide to see how else Echo and Google Home differs.