Amazon is clearly aware that they are crushing it with Alexa and the Echo family of products, and they are keeping the pedal to the metal by adding support for two more popular home automation families.
On April 1st, Amazon and LIFX announced that the Echo, Dot and Tap will support LIFX connected light bulbs. If you are not familiar with LIFX light bulbs, they are wifi enabled LED bulbs capable of displaying any of 16 million colors and 1000 shades of white. They are similar to Philips Hue bulbs, but do not require a hub and tend to be slightly cheaper. Another benefit is that you can ask Alexa to turn your LIFX bulbs to certain colors, which you currently can’t do with Hue.
Two days ago Amazon announced that Alexa will support Lutron Caseta Wireless devices. The name is a little misleading, as most of the Lutron Caseta devices are wired switches, but they do also sell wireless remotes and plug in lamp dimmers. Caseta devices require a Lutron Smart Bridge or Wink Hub in order to communicate with your home network. Once installed, these Lutron switches will give you the ability to turn your lights on, off or set them to a desired level of brightness with voice commands.
Once you have installed your Lutron or LIFX devices, all you have to do link to Lutron or LIFX in the Smart Home section of the Alexa app and scan for new devices. Alexa will discover your new devices and you can then add them to any new or existing groups you choose.