iDevices has a history of making iOS-friendly gadgets for your home, and its connected switches, sockets and thermostats — all designed for use with Apple HomeKit’s Siri-powered voice controls — are no exception. Today, though, you can start using those gadgets with Amazon’s Alexa, too, thanks to a new iDevices skill in the Alexa app.
You’ll find iDevices in the “Skills” section of the Alexa app.
Screenshot by Ry Crist/CNET
Turn that skill on, and you’ll be able to ask Alexa to turn your iDevices Switch on and off, turn an iDevices Thermostat up or down, or set the dimness of any light bulb that’s screwed into an iDevices Socket. iPhone users could already do all of that with Siri thanks to Apple HomeKit, the company’s set of iOS-centric smart-home protocols. Adding in Alexa controls helps widen the appeal of that pitch, particularly for people who prefer controlling their smart-home gadgets with the always-on, always-listening Amazon Echo smart speaker.
iDevices isn’t the only smart-home brand that offers voice controls from both Siri and Alexa — the same is true of the Philips Hue line of connected LED lights, the Insteon smart-home platform, and connected thermostats from Ecobee and Honeywell.
