Which Alexa Skills are Our Favorites?

Alexa has a ton of skills. Over 30,000 skills, to be exact. That’s a pretty crazy number! With that many skills available, how do you know which ones are even worth getting? We’ve got a list for you of some of our favorite Alexa skills. The skills here are the most useful or fleshed-out, easy-to-use or helpful. Alexa, do something cool! 

StubHub 

The StubHub skill is great for finding out what’s going on around you. Say “Alexa, ask StubHub what’s going on tonight?” Then, it will have StubHub pull up events and shows in your area. You can even ask about other cities. As you could expect, you can buy tickets to any event connected to StubHub through the smart speaker. Going out for a night on the town, made easy! 

Audible 

Having your smart speaker read to you can be a great way to catch up on books you’ve been meaning to read. While Audible is awesome in the car, the Alexa skill lets you enjoy your audiobooks from the comfort of the couch! Whether you’re doing chores, relaxing or just showing off what books your trying to read, Alexa is a great medium for Audible. The callouts are common-sense and easy to remember. “Alexa, read my book” calls up your most recent audiobook. Or you can say “Alexa, read (insert book here)” and she’ll pull up that one instead. It’s simple and intuitive! 

BBC 

The BBC skill is great for getting news. You can set up Flash Briefings through your Alexa settings, and the BBC is a good source for news for such a briefing. If you like to hear your news while you take your coffee, Flash Briefings are awesome. They’re effectively a fast-paced recap of everything happening in the world, helping you to stay current. Just call it up by saying “Alexa, what’s in the news?” 

Philips Hue 

If you have the smart bulbs of the same name, the Hue skill lets you control them with your smart speaker. This is just super cool, to be honest. Once you set your various “scenes” from the app, they’re ready to be called up by voice. Ready for bed? Tell your virtual assistant to set the lights to sleep mode. Time for hosting company? Use your voice and set the room to “relax” mode. It’s quite convenient and makes you look like a tech wiz in front of company!