Amazon Echo and Google Home want to replace your home phone

Amazon's Echo smart speakers and Google Home can already turn on your lights, adjust your thermostat, play music, and even unlock August Smart Locks. But the next skill coming to your smart home speaker could be the biggest yet: phone calls. Amazon's Echo is versatile and powerful; it's a terrific value all around. Both Amazon and Google are reportedly looking into adding the ability to send and receive phone calls over their respective smart speakers. The calling would probably use voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology similar to services like Skype, according to The Wall Street Journal. Before VoIP lands on smart speakers there are apparently some logistical concerns the companies want to address, such as what to do about 911 calls.