Schlage Sense now locks itself with an Alexa voice command

You can already lock and unlock Schlage's Sense smart deadbolt with your voice through Siri, but you now have another choice if you're not a fan of Apple devices. The smart lock is now compatible with Amazon Alexa, so you can lock (but unfortunately, not unlock) it or check out its status by barking out voice commands through an Echo speaker or any of the e-retail giant's Alexa-enabled devices. If you want to play with the integration a bit more, you can fire up the Alexa app and create "routines" for your smart devices triggered by key words. For instance, you can create a sequence that automatically locks your front door and switches off the lights when you say "good night."

Schlage has another smart lock with Alexa integration through either Wink or Samsung SmartThings, but Sense could be the better choice if you don't have plans of automating all the appliances in your home. See, you don't have to connect the deadbolt to an automation hub to be able to take advantage of its Alexa-related features. But you will need Schlage's $70 WiFi Adapter on top of the $229 smart deadbolt.

The adapter does more than just enable Alexa integration, though: it will also allow you to control the lock using the Schlage Sense app for Android and iOS anywhere you are. Without the adapter, you can only pair the deadbolt with an iOS device via Bluetooth. That said, if you're only after Alexa integration, you can also add August Home's smart lock to your list of choices, which works with Amazon's, Apple's and Google's voice assistants.

Update: Unfortunately, you cannot unlock the Sense with Alexa -- you'll still have to pick up your phone to do that.