Amazon launches Alexa Home Map, a 3D view to see and control your home

One map for every connected device

Alexa Home Map covers the inside and outside of a home. According to Amazon, it displays Echo devices, Ring and Blink cameras, Fire TV, lights, locks, thermostats and other connected devices in their actual positions. Users can tap the map to turn off lights, lower the volume of their music or check security cameras.

Amazon says Alexa connects to thousands of smart home devices and that millions of people connect at least 20 of them to Alexa in their homes. The company presents the map as a single, intuitive view for households with many devices as well as those with only a few. The idea is that people no longer need to remember device names or speak commands aloud while someone is asleep.

On shared Echo devices and Fire TVs, anyone in the household can look at the map, see what is on and act on it instantly.

How to build the map

Amazon describes the setup as simple. Users add their address, and the exterior of the home appears automatically. They then walk through the house and scan each room with a compatible iPhone, and the interior takes shape on screen. Devices are then placed on the map where they sit in the home.

Once built, the map can be explored freely. Users can zoom into individual rooms, switch between floors, flip between light and dark mode, or filter by device type, for example to show only cameras or lights.

Ring integration and a live-looking home

The map works with Ring to show what is happening outside. Users get a 360-degree aerial view of the property, and with compatible Ring cameras they see live animations of people and cars moving around. Amazon gives examples: a figure moving toward the front door when a delivery driver arrives, or a car appearing as it pulls into the driveway. When someone added to Familiar Faces comes to the door, the map says so.

If a camera detects movement, a small live preview appears on the map, and tapping a camera opens Live View. An interactive timeline lets users rewind the last 24 hours across every camera at once, so they do not have to open each camera separately.

The map also reflects the state of the home. Smart lights glow in the same color and brightness they are set to, music notes appear above a smart speaker that is playing music, and the sky shifts from day to night with weather that matches the forecast. Amazon says these touches make the map feel less like a diagram and more like a living picture of the home, and that it will keep improving over time.

In the same announcement, Amazon says Ring is introducing four new 4K cameras and a pan-tilt indoor cam.

Availability and requirements

Alexa Home Map will begin rolling out in preview later this year. According to Amazon, it will be available in the Alexa Home Map app on iOS, in the Alexa and Ring apps, on larger Echo Show devices including the new Echo Show 16, on the Amazon Ember Artline with Fire TV, and on the new Alexa Tablets.

Some requirements apply. Certain features and availability on Echo Show devices, Fire TV and Alexa Tablets require Alexa+, which Amazon says is included with a Prime membership. Certain Alexa Home Map features also require a Ring Protect Pro or Virtual Security Guard subscription with compatible Ring cameras.

For users, the map offers a visual alternative to voice control and separate camera apps. How well it works in practice will become clearer once the preview reaches customers.