SAN FRANCISCO: When Amazon.com approached Jason Johnson, founder and chief executive of August, nearly three years ago and asked to integrate his company's Internet-connected locks with a new device called the Amazon Echo, he thought it was a gimmick.
Smart speakers hadn't yet taken off. Voice control was nascent. And August, which makes door locks that people can control from their phones, had already struck a chord with consumers. What could voice controls possibly add?
