Celebrate Amazon Alexa’s birthday with savings up to 60%

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Alexa just turned 8 years old — can you believe it? To celebrate, Amazon is slashing prices on Alexa tech products from now until November 7th. Save up to 60% on a wide range of products that can be used with Alexa including Echo, Fire Tablet, Fire TV, Ring, Blink and Halo. Check out the Alexa deals page to see all the products on sale right now or continue reading to learn about some lesser-known ways to use the iconic Alexa.

Everyone knows that Amazon Alexa can place orders on Amazon, play music and create a shopping list, but this digital assistant comes with a whole range of capabilities most people don’t know about. It comes programmed on many Amazon products like the Echo and Fitbit, giving you the ability to connect to the cloud on demand wherever you are. With a simple voice command, Alexa takes care of mundane tasks in moments and also offers a plethora of fun and useful functions.

Five innovative ways to use Amazon Alexa

1. Play a few fun games

Alexa features over 5,000 interactive games for the whole family to enjoy. Parents can entertain their kids with classics like Simon Says, Hide and Seek or take part in the ever-popular Spongebob Challenge. Guests of all ages will love competing in Jeopardy, testing their skills in Song Quiz and even trying their luck with Escape Room.

With thousands of games, Alexa provides endless entertainment and acts as a spark that will ignite creativity in your household. You can use the Echo Show to access a wide range of entertainment by playing fun games or playing your favorite tunes in the background to host the ultimate dance party. Place one in the center of your family room and watch it become a gaming hub with crystal clear audio and voice-activated technology.

2. Build healthy habits

Use Alexa to set reminders and activities for various routines. It comes pre-programmed with a list of settings, such as the “Good Night Routine”. Simply say “Alexa, enable the Good Night Routine” and it will wish you goodnight and begin to play relaxing sleep sounds. It’s like having your very own virtual coach to help you stay on schedule.

You can also customize your own routines for more complex or personalized goals. Pre-program the perfect playlist to start playing during your next workout, and include reminders for when it’s time to switch muscle groups or cool off from cardio. Using a Fitbit, you can easily bring Alexa along to the gym. With Alexa’s music and persistent reminders in this comprehensive fitness tracker, you’ll feel like you have a personal trainer by your side.

3. Control your smart home on the go

With the Alexa app on your phone, you can access all of its features wherever you are. That includes accessing all of the smart devices you have connected to Alexa. There’s no need to stress about whether or not you locked your front door when you can remedy the problem remotely.

Amazon sells smart thermostats, TV’s, locks, and lights that connect to Alexa, letting you control them from afar. When you connect a pair of smart earbuds, you don’t even need to pick up your phone to make sure all the lights are off in your home. If you happen to remember that you left the TV on while enjoying crystal-clear tunes in the park, just say, “Hey Alexa” and it’ll take care of it for you so you never miss a beat.

4. Get help with homework and meal prep

Equip your kitchen or dining room with an Echo for instant access to assistance with all kinds of technical questions. Alexa can help with math, science, history, cooking and measurements. It can easily tell you how many ounces are in a cup or how many miles there are between the earth and the moon.

Voice commands truly come in handy when your hands are too messy to work your smartphone and you need help with a recipe. When your student needs a quick refresher on a formula, asking Alexa to walk them through the problems is like having access to an in-home tutor at all times. Study prep and meal prep have never been easier.

5. Connect with distant family members

Throughout our busy lives, we often forget to stay in touch with loved ones. Alexa allows you to set a weekly routine for reaching out to family so you won’t forget. You can even use Alexa to turn your TV into a portal for relatives and friends.

Sounds like science fiction, doesn’t it? Well, Alexa brings the future home, and with a Meta Portal hooked up to your television all it takes is one voice command to video call loved ones from your smart TV. It will feel like distant relatives have come to visit in person with their smiling faces right in front of you on the screen. You can even run the video call in multiple locations with the Echo Show, so that you can give them a tour of the entire house in full HD.

Enjoy the futuristic benefits of Amazon Alexa

These are just a few of the many features Amazon Alexa can provide. From staying in touch with family to staying on top of everything you need to do each day, life becomes much easier when you have your own virtual assistant. Step into the future with Amazon Alexa and enjoy the limitless possibilities.

Connor Manion is a University of Florida graduate living in the mountains of Northern Georgia. Connor writes creative lore pieces for NFT projects, and can be found playing video games, tutoring, or gardening when he is not writing.