Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Smart Home
  3. News

Amazon’s Alexa can finally change the color of your lights

Add as a preferred source on Google

If you want to party after hearing this announcement, you’ll be able to do so in a room lit by multi-colored lights.

That’s right, after what feels like an eternity, Amazon’s Alexa is finally able to change your lightbulb’s colors. This comes after months of only being able to use voice commands to tell Amazon’s smart assistant to dim or turn lights on and off. And while Alexa got a bit closer to helping you change your lights’ colors late last year by allowing you to set scenes (which could include different shades), this is the first time you can just say, “Alexa, make the lights purple,” and end up with purple lights.

Recommended Videos

This means that Alexa has finally caught up to Google Home in this regard, as that competing smart home hub has had color-changing capabilities from the start. Better late than never, however, and now that Alexa can change the color of light emitted from Lifx, TP-Link, and Philips Hue bulbs, it’s leveling the playing field a bit.

Alexa will also allow you to change the color of a group of lights, and claims to understand more than 100 colors and shades. So no matter how exacting you are about the exact hue of your white light, Alexa should be able to keep up. Tell her you want “soft white” or “daylight,” and she’ll quickly oblige. And if you’re looking to make a more comparative change (“Alexa, make the light cooler”), she’ll know what you’re saying, too.

So if you’re looking to set the mood for a quiet night in or your next big party, you can get Alexa to help. Because who has time these days to manually deal with the lights anyway?

Lulu Chang
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
What Mattress Firmness Is Right for Back Pain?
Why the right balance of cushioning and support matters for better sleep
Sleeping

This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Sleep Number.

Waking up with a stiff back is a miserable way to start the day. The usual advice is to buy the firmest mattress you can find. It sounds reasonable, but your spine, shoulders, and hips don’t work that way. The needs differ for each person, but there are a few ways you can get that healthy sleep with the right mattress.

Read more
How to Choose the Right Mattress for You
sleeping

This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Sleep Number.

Shopping for a new mattress sounds simple until you start looking. Memory foam or hybrid? Soft or firm? Cooling covers, pressure-relief zones, motion isolation, sleep tracking — suddenly, you're comparing features that barely existed the last time you bought a bed. Even the most expensive option could be a poor match.

Read more
Amazon unveils Alexa Home Map, letting you control your smart home in 3D
Alexa Home Map lets users control individual smart home devices from one place, without remembering their names or searching through menus.
Alexa Home Map on a smart home hub display

Amazon has been a major player in the smart home market for years, but fresh competition from Apple may have lit a fire under it. The company has just unveiled a new lineup of Alexa devices, including Echo speakers, a smart alarm clock, a photo frame, and the Echo Show 16. On the software side, Amazon also introduced Alexa Home Map, which puts your connected devices on an interactive 3D model of your house, letting you monitor and control them from one place.

Your entire smart home on a 3D map

Read more