Amazon Alexa ROUTINES are a great way to string together multiple Alexa commands and begin to build some real efficiencies into your everyday life.
You need to be on the very latest version of the Alexa App, but once you have it, you should be creating routines in no time. Simply choose ROUTINES from the Alexa app, and you could be leaving your house 5 minutes faster every day!
This is likely to affect the smart home competitive space in several ways:
1) products like Stringify, IFTTT and Yonomi may feel a little jittery about their value proposition for the smart home - especially if Alexa builds in more and more interactions with things like your Social channels and email inbox. It already has some unique value, for example, we were able to get SPOTIFY to work with Alexa ROUTINES but not IFTTT.
2) Google Home may need to eventually release their version of ROUTINES to markets like Australia
3) Products like VERA with all their "scenes" and custom automation on Z-Wave will probably always be more advanced, but some of the very affordable out of the box functionality from Alexa could present a simple alternative for those less technical among us.
Now get in there and create your first 2 routines. We recommend "Alexa, I'm home" and "Alexa, I'm leaving".
Our personal favourite?
"Alexa, it's exercise time" (cue "Eye of the Tiger" on SPOTIFY at volume 10, Fan On, and Red LIFX lights flashing!)