I’ve tested many Amazon products in my time as T3’s Home Editor, and most recently, I spent three weeks trying out the new Amazon Echo Dot Max which came out in early 2025.
To use Amazon Echo products, you need to download the Alexa app in order to set up your smart speaker or display, and connect it to your Amazon account. If you’re an app-adverse person like I am, you might feel a bit put off having to download yet another app, but the Alexa app is genuinely useful.
LIKE: Huge selection of devices
After setting up the Echo Dot Max and going to add my other smart devices, I was surprised by the vast selection of gadgets that are compatible with Alexa, and therefore, can be added to the Alexa app. There are plenty of brands to choose from, including Ring, Philips Hue, Govee, Hive, Arlo, TP-Link and more – simply check if a gadget says ‘Works With Alexa’ and you can add it to the app.
What surprised me the most was the different devices you can add to the Alexa app, too. Aside from the obvious like security cameras, sensors and video doorbells, you can also add your TV, remote controls, fans, robot vacuum cleaners, soundbars and more. Connecting these devices are super easy, too, which just proves that Alexa is probably one of the best voice assistants or ‘hubs’ to use for your entire smart home.
(Image credit: Future)
LIKE: Customisable routines
Creating your own routines is one of the best parts of customising your smart home. If you have a full ecosystem in your home, you can use the Alexa app to create tons of routines to make your daily life easier. For example, you can set up a ‘get home from work’ routine which you can select to turn off your indoor camera, dim your smart lights, and turn on your smart thermostat to help you wind down after a long day.
During my testing of the Alexa app, the pre-made groups and routines were some of my favourites. While it’s fun and easy to make your own customisable routines, Alexa has thought of most situations where automation can come in handy, like ‘Alexa, it’s bedtime’ which plays sleep sounds on your speaker and turns on your night light.
As mentioned in my Echo Dot Max review, the ‘Alexa, I’m going for a run’ group was my favourite, as it would tell me the weather, remind me to stretch and play a motivational song.
LIKE: Map view
If you have a lot of smart home devices, it can be overwhelming to remember them all, so the Alexa app’s Map View definitely comes in handy. Map View creates a floor plan of your home so you can see all your gadgets in one place. It also shows off their status, so you can see if your smart light is on and what the heating has been set to in a specific room.
As of writing, Map View is a limited feature that’s only available on certain Apple iPhones.
WHAT THE ALEXA APP COULD IMPROVE ON
The Alexa app is easily one of my favourite ways to control my smart home, but I did find one issue with it during my testing process. When setting up routines and schedules, the Alexa app did have a tendency to freeze or simply not select what I was trying to select.
This is somewhat of a flaw in the Alexa app, so it’s definitely something Amazon could improve on. But, this could all change when Alexa+ becomes available in the UK, as at the time of testing the Echo Dot Max, it wasn’t on the app for me to use.
