The new Alexa-Enabled Groups is a step in the right direction for but not quite there. It would be great if you could rename Smartthings Devices within an Alexa-Enabled Group. That way when you are in a room with an Echo, you could refer to a devices by its short name. Instead of having to say, turn on Family Room Light, Family Room Lamp, Family Room Floor Lamp or Family Room Fan you could just say, turn on Light, Lamp or Fan.
Well, in that scenario you can say “turn on the the lights” and it will, unfortunately it will turn on EVERYTHING that is in that group. I tried to add my bedroom ceiling fan, lights and lamps to the group with the echo in my bedroom and when telling the echo to “turn on the lights” it would also turn on the fan and the lamps.
So ultimately I just removed the fan and the lamps from the group and now when I tell it to turn on the lights only the lights I want actually come on. So in that way it’s nice, but it would be better if it knew that something clearly labeled a fan was “a fan” and not a light. Or it would be nice to say “turn on the fan” and have it know that I meant the one in the room I’m in rather than having to specify the exact fan that I mean.
The limitations can be frustrating. it’s like a work in progress though…so maybe at some point they’ll get that working. Although this is all sort of #firstworldproblem.