Science fiction movies have promised us self-aware homes and cars for a long time. Just issue a voice command, and the requested action occurs immediately. If you were expecting this type of technology to just suddenly appear by now, you probably feel disappointed. However, as with most ground-breaking technologies, this type of thing slowly weaves its way into our lives, often without us even realizing it. Think about how naturally you now issue commands to a smartphone via voice. Did your phone offer that functionality ten years ago?

Personal assistant devices are one of the next steps toward the self-aware home and car. The family of Amazon Echo devices ranks among the most well-rounded personal assistant device hardware available. If you don’t know much about what these devices can do for you, we’re here to help.

Please continue reading our Amazon Echo shopping guide to understand how these devices work and what they can do.