Amazon Alexa owners receive a huge free upgrade – and it provides the ultimate boost for ALL smart gadgets
AMAZON Alexa devices are set to receive a big upgrade that'll make controlling a smart lighting system at home way easier.
Smart lighting system company Philips Hue has announced that Alexa devices will finally be able to control Hue ambience.
It's all thanks to a thing called Matter, a new standard put forward by Big Tech to help connected devices communicate with on another.
Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung jointly developed the technology essentially as a translator.
All connected devices using Matter, such as speakers, doorbells, lighting and even washing machines, will use it to send requests to devices with different manufacturers and operating systems.
Bridges can be built into hardware devices to offer a seamless user experience across all existing non-Matter and Matter appliances.
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“We recently completed rolling out support for Matter hubs and bridges,” Amazon spokesperson Connor Rice told The Verge.
“Now, customers can connect Matter-enabled hubs and bridges, like the Philips Hue Bridge, to Alexa through any Matter-enabled Echo device.”
Philips Hue offers anything from garden light strips, wall and table lamps to security cameras.
Speaking at consumer electronics trad show IFA, Hue’s head of technology George Yianni, said: "Every past Hue lighting product will be supported, making this by far the largest Matter-capable install base."
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If you're wanting to connect your device right away, first check that your Hue devices are updated to the latest firmware.
The firmware update is coming this month.
Samsung also confirmed it started rolling out a firmware update to its SmartThings hubs last month that added support for third-party Matter bridges.
Now, Amazon, Samsung, Google Home and Apple Home products support Matter-enabled products.
Other companies with Matter-compatible bridges include SwitchBot, Aqara and platforms like Ikea’s Dirigera hub and Bosch’s Smart Home controller.
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