Lutron just made it easier to control your smart home without touching your phone

If you’ve lost count of how many remotes and apps you juggle between just to dim a light or skip a song, I have something for you. Lutron just gave its Caseta smart home lineup a new shortcut, letting you control lights, shades, and Sonos playback with your voice alone.

For anyone who is catching up, Caseta is Lutron’s do-it-yourself smart lighting system. It’s built around a small hub that basically talks to switches, dimmers, and plugs over a radio signal (instead of Wi-Fi), making it easier to manage the entire setup. While the company has worked alongside Sonos for a while, voice control was the one piece still missing from that partnership. That changes now.

So what does this update actually change?

Say “Hey Sonos,” and everything from your Caseta lights and shades to your music responds; you don’t have to touch an app or reach for a switch. 

That closes an odd gap: the two systems have been networked together for years, yet voice was never part of the deal until now. Beyond simple commands, the partnership also lets you build combined presets for adjusting your lighting, window shades, and music simultaneously.

In fact, you can even automate your system to respond based on when you leave or arrive (from the smartphone app). To set it up, link all your devices in the Lutron app, navigate to the Integrations menu, and enable “Sonos Voice Control.” 

Is there a catch?

The obvious catch here is that the voice commands only work through Sonos speakers with a built-in microphone. So, the older ones without a microphone miss out. Even so, every device in the Caseta lineup, including switches, dimmers, and plugs, supports voice. 

For anyone building a setup from scratch, Lutron’s starter kits stay affordable. The basic Smart Switch Kit runs $94.95, the Smart Dimmer and Lamp Dimming Plug kits both land at $99.95, and the paddle-style Diva Dimmer Kit tops out at $119.95. All of them bundle the Smart Hub that makes voice control work in the first place.