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When all connected devices leave the house, SmartThings automatically goes into 'away mode'. Once a device comes back in range, it will toggle to 'home mode'. You will need to configure what these modes do (whether it be locking the doors, turning the lights on/off, changing the thermostat's temperature...), but it's great that this is done automatically when you arrive home or leave. See More
The Amazon Echo has an extensive library of 'skills', simple commands that you can use to control all sorts of different apps. Ordering a pizza from Domino's or requesting an Uber ride is just a couple of words away. Amazon constantly updates Alexa's skills and developers can easily integrate them into their apps. See More
The conversations you can have with Echo aren't seamless, and most conversational voice commands (such as follow-ups to a previous question) won't work well with Alexa. The voice assistant will also answer simple answers and requests, such as facts. Sometimes, Alexa has troubles differentiating words which results in a clumsy answer. See More
The Alexa Voice Service found on the Amazon Echo is also used on the Fire TV set-top-box from Amazon, and in other products such as the portable Echo Tap and smaller Echo Dot as well. The Alexa integration in different products allows for a greater ecosystem with shared features and skills. The Alexa Remote extends to this ecosystem as well. See More
Alexa will work a lot better after a couple of weeks of use, because the assistant adapts to your speech patterns and personal preferences. Commands are also stored in the Cloud and are analysed by Amazon. That means Alexa - the voice-assistant service and ecosystem of Echo - essentially constantly gets smarter. See More
Echo is an Amazon product and offers great integration with the rest of Amazon's services, especially Amazon Prime. The Echo family is currently the only virtual assistant that is compatible with Amazon Prime Music. You can also stream music via Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio and TuneIn. The ecosystem is fairly open, as developers can easily integrate Alexa's voice commands into their apps. See More
If you have lights from multiple different manufacturers, performance can take a significant hit. Some lights may turn on much quicker than other lights (Phillips Hue always seemed to be the first to react), but given enough time the changes always made it through to all the lights. Sometimes unpairing and re-pairing lights increased performance. See More
To set it up, all you have to do is plug it in to your router (just initially), add in your Wi-Fi password, and then you're free to move it anywhere you choose. Pairing is just as straightforward. While other systems have trouble connecting new devices even after multiple attempts, the Staples Connect typically worked on the first or second try. See More
HomeKit connects via bluetooth inside the home (to reach out of the home they require an Apple TV), and each connected device will pass along the information to the next device. This creates a 'mesh' network, where all the points relay the message along. This helps to extend the range of the network further than what would be possible if the hub connected to each device individually. See More
HomeKit is Apple's smart home ecosystem and is tightly integrated with Siri. It provides scenes, which you can describe as groups of actions that all take effect with a single command. For example (once configured), sauing "Hey Siri, Goodnight" could turn all your connected lights off, lock your doors, turn your thermostat down a few degrees, and turn on your connected security camera. See More
While there are doezens of other standards available (WeMo, Nest, and SmartThings to name some of the bigger ones), the Insteon Hub Pro only works with their own devices as well as devices which are HomeKit compatible. This reduces your choice when it comes to buying new smart home products, where other hubs support multiple ecosystems allowing for the best selection of smart home gadgets. See More