Description
So much entertainment – Ask Alexa to play your favourite shows, music, and podcasts from Prime Video, Netflix (coming soon), Amazon Music, Spotify, and more.
The ultimate kitchen companion – Get unit conversions, set timers, add to your grocery list, play music and multitask with ease.
The Show 10 can pan, tilt, and zoom, keeping you in frame wherever you are in the room thanks to a silent brushless motor and a new AZ1 neural processor that can recognize the form of a human body (different from the facial recognition the Google Nest Hub Max employs for a similar feature).
This means it will physically pan and digitally zoom to keep you in the frame of the camera while on a video call, or keep the screen in your vision if you’re following a recipe while moving around the kitchen. This neat trick is similar to the literally only decent feature of the Facebook Portal device, which uses a digital pan and zoom to stay on you during video calls.
With the Show 10 you can now chat with grandma while you make dinner, or have a girls night with friends while relaxing on the couch – no need to hold up your phone or have your laptop in front of you. (Group calling is coming soon with Amazon’s new Chime video conferencing skill, as is support for Zoom, Skype is already live.)
Put your memories on display – Use Amazon Photos to turn your home screen into a digital frame that makes your favourite pics look great in any light with adaptive colour.
Designed to protect your privacy – Electronically disconnect the microphones and camera with one press of a button. Slide the built-in shutter to cover the camera. Disable motion at any time.
How to Drop In on friends and family
Providing your contacts have approved you for Drop In, you can say, “Alexa, Drop In on [contact name]”. Just make sure you name them as they appear in your address book. If you’re using a device with a screen, like a phone (below) or Echo Show, the video is distorted for a few seconds then good to go – if you want to turn it off say, “Alexa, video off,” or touch the screen and select it that way.
Also worth noting: if you don’t want people Dropping In on you right now – then enable Do Not Disturb on your Echo – just saying, “Alexa, don’t disturb me,” will do the trick.
How to start a Drop In from the Alexa app
To Drop In to a contact from your smartphone, just head to the Alexa app and go to the Conversations tab at the bottom. You’ll see that big Drop In button, which you tap to see a quick list of all Alexa devices you’re cleared to access.
If, for whatever reason, you can’t see the one you’re looking for, you can hit the contact icon at the top right, choose the person from your address book and Drop In that way.
Quick look: Your first Alexa commands to try
- “Alexa, play [artist/song/album name].”
- “Alexa, set timer for [xx] minutes/seconds.”
- “Alexa, what’s the weather today?”
- “Alexa, set an alarm for [time].”
- “Alexa, play [radio station].”
- “Alexa, pair my phone”
- “Alexa, who sings this song?”
- “Alexa, louder/quieter”
- “Alexa, announce: “[say your message]'”
- “Alexa, what’s the date today?”
- “Alexa, how many ounces in a pound?”
Essential Alexa music commands
“Alexa, play [genre]”
“Alexa, play
from [music service].”
“Alexa, play the latest [artist name] [album/song]”
“Alexa, play Sunday morning music”
“Alexa, set volume to 6”
“Alexa, turn this off in [minutes].”
“Alexa, create a disco playlist.”
“Alexa, play [song] by [artist] from [service] in the [Sonos room name]” – check out our guide to using Sonos with Alexa
“Alexa, play that song that goes ‘xxxxxx”
“Alexa, play [podcast name] from Spotify” – check out our guide to listening to podcasts with your Alexa speaker.
How to use Alexa EQ controls
“Alexa, set the treble to three”
“Alexa, set night mode”
“Alexa, increase bass.”
“Alexa, decrease treble.”
“Alexa, increase bass in living room.”
“Alexa, set night mode on bedroom TV.”
“Alexa, set movie mode.”
“Alexa, set bass to two on sound bar.”
Alexa movie/TV commands
“Alexa, what is the IMDb rating for [show/movie]?”
“Alexa, tell me about the movie [whatever it’s called]”
“Alexa, who stars in [show/movie]?”
“Alexa, watch [title]”
“Alexa, open Netflix”
“Alexa, pause.”
“Alexa, fast forward [x] minutes”
“Alexa, next / next Episode.”
“Alexa, turn volume down on Fire TV.”
“Alexa, show me movies with [actor’s name]”
Alexa timers and alarm commands
“Alexa, set alarm for 8am”
“Alexa, wake me up everyday at [time]”
“Alexa, wake me up at [time] to [music or radio station].”
“Alexa, snooze” [For nine minutes]
“Alexa, set timer for [X minutes].”
“Alexa, set a 10 minute [pizza] timer.” (If using multiple timers, Alexa will tell you your “pizza is ready”.
“Alexa, how long is left on the timer?”
“Alexa, stop the timer”
Checking calendars and reminders
“Alexa, what’s on my schedule today?”
“Alexa, add ‘Barbecue at Ben’s house’ to my calendar for Saturday”
“Alexa, add features meeting to my calendar on Thursday at 4.30”
“Alexa, what have I got on tomorrow?”
“Alexa, add hair cut to my to-do list”
“Alexa, what’s on my to-do list?”
Getting everyday information
“Alexa, what’s the weather like?”
“Alexa, will it rain today?”
“Alexa, what will the weather be like tomorrow?”
“Alexa, what’s in the news?”
“Alexa, what’s the traffic like?”
“Alexa, what time is it in [city or country]?”
“Alexa, what movies are playing?”
“Alexa, what’s yesterday’s [team name] score?”
“Alexa, when is the next [team name] game?”
“Alexa, how do you spell [word]?”
“Alexa, how do you make [recipe]?”
Controlling your smart home
This will all depend on your having a house full of Alexa compatible smart home tech. If you do, try these:
“Alexa, switch accounts” [to change profiles]
“Alexa, bedtime” (Start’s bedtime routine – check out our Alexa Routines guide)
“Alexa, discover my devices”. [to find smart home tech]
“Alexa, turn my [name] lights on”
“Alexa, [name] lights off/out”
“Alexa, dim the [name] lights to 50%”
“Set the [name] light to blue.”
“Alexa, set the temperature to 21 degrees”
“Alexa, trigger Purple Rain recipe”
“Alexa, lock the front door”
“Alexa, turn on the TV”
“Alexa, show me [camera name].” (Works with display devices – Echo Show, Show 5 and Spot).
Making and taking calls
“Alexa, call Elizabeth”
“Alexa, answer the call”
“Alexa, hang up”
“Alexa, Drop In on the living room”
“Alexa, play messages”
“Alexa, announce that [message]” – plays on all home network Echo devices.
Shopping
“Alexa, buy more [Amazon item].”
“Alexa, order [Amazon item]”
“Alexa, what’s on my shopping list?”
“Alexa, add [item] to my shopping list”
“Alexa, where’s my stuff?” [to track order]
