Everything You Need to Know About Amazon’s New Echo Show Alexa-Enabled Touch Screen Device
This morning Amazon announced a new product: The Echo Show. This brings the entire lineup of Amazon’s Alexa-enabled hardware to include the Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, Echo Look, and now the Echo Show. Impressive for only ~2 years since the initial product launched. This is the first in the lineup to include a touch screen display, offering new capabilities and some exciting potential. Below are some of our favorite features and capabilities we think you should know about!
But first… the video!
1. The touchscreen
As mentioned, the Echo Show is an Alexa-enabled touchscreen with equipped with their far-field microphone technology. Now, for example, when you ask Alexa to add an event to your calendar, you will get a visual confirmation of that happening. You can see a demo here of how it works.
2. Video calling / intercom
That said, the feature Amazon is highlighting the most is the ability to now handle video calls. In a bid to potentially compete with Apple’s FaceTime, the Echo Show allows you to make hands-free video calls with others using the same device or through the Alexa app. Amazon also included a feature The Verge called “slightly unsettling,” called Drop In, that lets you instantly starts video chats with your contacts unannounced. It’s unclear exactly how users will take advantage of this capability, but having a 5MP camera and a 7" touchscreen puts this in the iPad Mini territory in terms of what’s possible.
We’ll be excited to see how people take advantage of this, from checking in on the elderly to baby monitors. That said, for those concerned about privacy before, this device might not be your cup of tea.
3. Music player
The Echo Show comes in both black and white, and includes buttons for volume as well as the camera. With an 8-microphone array, this device has the same barge-in technology as the Echo, allowing you to give commands while music is playing. We’re told the dual 2-inch speakers sound pretty good, a noticeable step up from the original Echo, and include streaming from Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, and more. As a fun added bonus, you can now display lyrics on the screen as the song plays, so maybe this will double as your living room karaoke machine?
4. News / Video player
One of the nice things the Amazon Echo offered was a flash news briefing that could be played while you got ready in the morning. The Echo Show takes that one step further and allows you to view your flash media briefing. You can now search on YouTube and sources to load video right on the device.
5. Cameras
Amazon lists both Ring and Arlo as integrations, making it possible to view some of your security cameras right from the Echo Show. This was a non-existent feature with older Echo models and might prove an important aspect for home control and security related features.
6. Skills / Apps
Now that the Echo is equipped with a touch screen, expect their skills / apps to get even better. For example, when you call an Uber you’ll be able to see a map of where the car is. Maybe voice-only games can be tough to navigate, but combining a screen with voice opens a world of possibilities. Amazon will be opening this capability to 3rd party skills as well, so the Echo Show will benefit from an open and community-driven experience. For now expect the device to ship with some innovative skills from folks like CNN, OpenTable, and Allrecipes. We’ll also see visual responses for weather, sports scores, and traffic queries.
7. Shopping
Voice shopping with Echo was convenient, but a little confusing. Sometimes (or rather, most of the time), you want a visual confirmation of what you’re ordering, and what the options are. Now that Echo Show has a screen, shopping begins to make a lot more sense. This is likely part of Amazon’s master plan, but can you blame them? 😁
8. Price and availability
The Echo Show is available for pre order now on Amazon.com for $229.99 + tax. They are currently offering $100 off if you order a bundle of two units, using the code SHOW2PACK. The Echo Show will be available in either black or white, with white available initially and shipping starting June 28, 2017.
Note: we’re told Amazon is bringing audio calling to existing Echo and Echo Dot speakers with a firmware update effective immediately. Users should be able to call each other and leave messages once they get the update.
