What is Alexa Together?
Mahatma Gandhi once said that the true measure of any society could be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members, but how do you juggle caring for the most vulnerable while still allowing them their dignity? In a society that must often family members in assisted living, could Amazon’sAlexa Togetherhelp your aging loved ones live independently? Like most technology, its impact depends on how you use it. Let’s break down what exactly Alexa Together is to determine if it can help you keep an eye on mom or dad without a live-in caregiver.
What is Amazon Alexa Together?
Alexa Together is a subscription service that aims to help older people live independently by using theirAmazon Echo devicesto connect them with their families and caregivers. You only need one Together subscription between the caregiver and the older person to use the service. At $19.99 per month or $199 per year, Together is not cheap, but it’s cheaper than the thousands you’ll pay for a live-in caregiver. Things get more expensive when you need to care for more than one person, as you can only link one individual to each Alexa Together subscription. Fortunately, up to eleven people can use one subscription to monitor that single loved one in what Amazon calls a Circle of Support.
Alexa Together helps older people organize their day with the usual Alexa automation features as well as a few additional features that allow caregivers to check in and use Remote Assist (see below) to help them when they need it. Alexa Together also features smart safety features like calling for help and fall detection if there is compatible hardware.
Amazon offers an extraordinary six-month free trial of Alexa Together, so you can test it thoroughly before committing to anything. The free trial doesn’t include any hardware, so there is an up-front cost if you don’t have any spare Echo devices kicking about.
How does Alexa Together work?
Alexa Together links caregiver accounts with their loved one’s compatible Echo devices at a deep level. That access means caregivers can assist their loved ones without compromising their privacy and independence. Your family member will need to grant you permission to use advanced features like Remote Assist or altering the Circle of Support, and they can delete the Together relationship at any time. It’s easy to see how a system like Together could be abused if no safeguards exist. Putting control in the hands of the person receiving assistance is an excellent way to avoid issues.
Together relies on the microphones in Echo devices, so it’s best to install and link more than one smart speaker—a good practice is putting inexpensive Echo Dots in rooms where your loved one tends to spend significant amounts of time. Placing an Echo device in each room will make the service more accessible, especially in the case of emergencies. If your charge can’t easily move or shout enough for an Echo in another room to hear, having an Alexa Together subscription isn’t going to help. Nothing is perfect, and Alexa Together is no different. For one, the system relies on a Wi-Fi connection, meaning an accident during a blackout or internet outage may not get attention as quickly as it should.
Remote Assist
As a caregiver, you can set reminders for your elderly family members, help them manage things like shopping lists and medication, and help them set up their smart-home devices and features like Alexa Routines. If you haven’t heard from them in a while or are concerned, you can also drop in virtually to check that everything is okay. You can also build a Circle of Support around your loved one by adding multiple family members to the Together subscription, meaning you can have peace of mind, even when you’re not there to help.
Activity feed and alerts
The Activity Feed and alerts in Alexa Together go both ways. As a caregiver, you can get an overview of when your loved one used their Echo device throughout the day, and you can set up customized alerts. Alerts on your loved one’s Echo device can remind them to check in with you, take medications, or attend appointments. Similarly, caregivers can configure Together to send them daily alerts when their loved one first uses their Echo device, so they know everything is alright.
Fall detection and urgent response
Alexa Together puts emergency assistance at your loved one’s fingertips, especially if you equip them with compatible Vayyar Care, SkyAngelCare, or AltumView fall-detection devices or wearables. it’s possible to configure Together to alert emergency services automatically when it detects a fall. If they don’t have fall-detection hardware, your loved one can also manually contact emergency services by saying, “Alexa, call for help. “The call to emergency services won’t go directly to emergency responders, instead, Alexa will call Amazon’s emergency helpline. Calling the emergency helpline will direct you to an agent who will in turn call the appropriate emergency responders to come out and assist your loved one. The urgent response feature is available 24/7—accidents don’t just happen during business hours. When a Together member calls the emergency helpline, the system also sends a notification to the caregiver and any emergency contacts so that they know something has happened and that help is on the way.
What devices are compatible with Alexa Together?
The basic hardware requirement is minimal, which is perhaps one of the reasons the Alexa Together subscription is a little on the pricey side. As a caregiver, you only need to download the Alexa app for Android or iOS to monitor and remote assist your loved one. Only your loved one needs to have an Echo device. Amazon says that all Echo devices and Alexa-enabled devices are compatible with Together. If you buy only a simple speaker like an Alexa Dot, you will not have access to all of Together’s features. To use features like Drop-In and video calling, you both need a device with a display and camera, like anEcho Show 5. Similarly, your device needs to have theAlexa Communicationsfeature built-in to access Urgent Response.
The device selection for fall detection is more limited than the basic functionality. Only AltumView, SkyAngelCare, and Vayyar Care fall-detection solutions are compatible. AltumView is a contactless, privacy-conscious monitoring camera that uses advanced algorithms to detect falls. SkyAngelCare is a fall-detection pendant with a button that older people can press to notify Alexa and Urgent Response personnel when in need. Lastly, Vayyar Care is a wall-mounted contactless fall-detection device that automatically picks up falls based on normal room use patterns and deviations and automatically alerts Alexa if there has been a fall.
Alexa Together might not be for everyone
Alexa Together may be a great option for elderly relatives that don’t quite need around-the-clock care, but can’t be completely independent either. Together’s Remote Assist feature is also a great way to spread the convenience of the smart home to older family members without causing them to lose what little hair they have left. If you’re on the hunt for smart-home devices, have a look at our picks for the bestWorks with Alexa smart assistants, and don’t forget thatPrime Daywill undoubtedly have some excellent tech deals in store, no matter what you’re shopping for.
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