Tasker’s a capable tool for power users, but it’s not the only app developed by João Dias. AutoVoice is one of the easiest ways to sync your smart home gear with Tasker and Google Assistant, adding custom actions, routines, and more. The app has lost its Assistant support time and time again, but with AutoVoice 4.0, it can now use integration with Alexa to automate all of your home routines.
This update arrives just a week after the app lost — and quickly regained — Assistant support, an event that is quickly becoming a trend. With the latest AutoVoice Trigger Alexa Routine action in Tasker, AutoVoice users can link up with Amazon’s smart home app without requiring any Echo devices. Although Alexa does support some basic home automation skills on its own, Tasker includes more than 100 customizable events, all capable of being stacked and combined.
There are several examples, both simple and complex, included in the announcement for AutoVoice 4.0. All the basics are here — light control, voice greetings, and auto-locking doors — but as shown, you can also sync multiple routines together to automate a sequence completely. In the demo, AutoVoice can kick off a Spotify playlist, deliver a reminder to start working out, and run your water heater to prepare for a post-workout shower, but only if it’s a weekday afternoon, you’re at home, and your work PC is on. That’s plenty of qualifiers, but the app handles everything like a pro.
As with any Tasker-related skill, it does take a bit of work to get things up and running. You’ll need to make sure Tasker, Alexa, and AutoVoice are all installed on your phone before creating an Alexa routine Tasker can use. Once everything is set up between AutoVoice and Tasker, you can even uninstall the Alexa app from your phone. With any luck, AutoVoice’s new reliance on Alexa will keep the app up and running more consistently than before.
The app still works with Assistant (at least until Google revokes its Action for the umpteenth time), but you won’t need to use voice commands to kick off specific tasks by using Amazon’s service. It’s a far more advanced method of powering your smart home gear. You can grab AutoVoice from the Play Store below, but remember that you’ll also need Tasker and Alexa to take advantage of these features.
Free+
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