Amazon working on touchscreen Echo speaker with higher-quality audio - report
Raising the bar even before Apple's rumored entry into the "smartspeaker" market, Amazon is at work on a new "Echo-like" model which will have a 7-inch touchscreen and high-end audio, a report said on Tuesday.
Amazon's current flagship Echo.
The touchscreen will make it easier to fetch content like news, calendars, and weather forecasts, two sources told Bloomberg. The speaker is also expected to be bigger, and tilt upwards, so that people can glance down at it while it's sitting on a counter.
It should run a version of Amazon's Fire OS -- based on Android -- and may offer a feature letting people pin content like photos to their homescreen, turning it into a sort of virtual fridge door.
New speaker technology should make it sound superior to current Echo models, one of the sources suggested, adding that the product could be announced in the first quarter of 2017.
The Echo line, controlled mainly through Amazon's Alexa voice assistant, has proven an unexpected hit since it launched in 2014, selling over 5 million units. That prompted Google to ship its own competitor, the Home, on Nov. 4.
Several reports have hinted that Apple could join the same space in 2017. The device would use an enhanced version of Siri, and might feature unique additions such as a camera for auto-detecting users and switching to their personal preferences. HomeKit integration could be a key focus, much in the same way that Echo speakers are integrated with various home automation platforms.
Amazon's current flagship Echo.
The touchscreen will make it easier to fetch content like news, calendars, and weather forecasts, two sources told Bloomberg. The speaker is also expected to be bigger, and tilt upwards, so that people can glance down at it while it's sitting on a counter.
It should run a version of Amazon's Fire OS -- based on Android -- and may offer a feature letting people pin content like photos to their homescreen, turning it into a sort of virtual fridge door.
New speaker technology should make it sound superior to current Echo models, one of the sources suggested, adding that the product could be announced in the first quarter of 2017.
The Echo line, controlled mainly through Amazon's Alexa voice assistant, has proven an unexpected hit since it launched in 2014, selling over 5 million units. That prompted Google to ship its own competitor, the Home, on Nov. 4.
Several reports have hinted that Apple could join the same space in 2017. The device would use an enhanced version of Siri, and might feature unique additions such as a camera for auto-detecting users and switching to their personal preferences. HomeKit integration could be a key focus, much in the same way that Echo speakers are integrated with various home automation platforms.
Comments
They just do not strike me as a realistic step forward in home automation. A single device that just sits in one place is no better or more useful than any iPhone or iPad that is laying around plugged in at the time. As an Apple Watch user, I don't need to shout across the house for Siri, I can say it quietly to my wrist.
So is there really a great need for another separate device that sits around waiting to process requests? It's not something you're going to walk up to and ask a question. The commercials show people that just happen to be in the vicinity of the device, and busy doing something else, that call out questions or commands. I feel like they have to show it this way, because any other use case is ridiculous. They aren't going to show people getting up from across the room/house and walking up to it to ask a handsfree question.
I remain at a loss for what these devices are.
Well said. Maybe we're supposed to stick these devices all over the house. "Alexa, we're out of toilet paper."
I can ask Google Home to play any music I want through my sound system around my house, play YouTube, turn down/up/off/on any of my lights in my house, change the temperature in my house, get my daily schedule as I'm getting ready in the morning with weather and traffic on how long it'll take me to get to work and a ton more. It's actually pretty amazing what it can do. I petty much have almost everything automated. It just can't make me coffee yet.
Assuming you're not an outlier, this does suggest that Apple missed a big opportunity to build on the lead it (arguably) had with Siri. As I said when Siri came out, I have to believe that much of what we use computers for today could be moved to a screenless interface. Apple is the leader in the graphical user interface, but they need to invest just as heavily in being a leader in other interfaces. The "Star Trek UI" is almost upon us and it appears that it's being delivered by a search company and an online bookstore. Having said that, I would rather carry the device on my person than put it all over my house, so the iPhone and Apple Watch are fine on the hardware side. However, "hey Siri" appears to be what Windows 3.1 was to Mac OS back in the day. And that's a shame since Apple had the lead.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-23/apple-said-to-step-up-plans-for-echo-style-smart-home-device-itfnod11
"With an initiative code-named “Invisible Hand,” Apple hopes to give users the ability to fully control their devices through a Siri command system within three years, one of the people added"
I can picture the product development meeting. "Hey Jeff, what if we build an Echo speaker around those phones and say we're adding a touch screen. This way you can pull up news and weather more easily."
"Um, yes. I know that sounds like a phone that you can't take anywhere."
Loud speakers, easily connects to my iPhone for playback, amazing microphones that can pick up a morning mumble from across the room, and even pick up commands whilst music is playing.
Their iPhone app is nice as it shows you every command you've made and let's you submit them if there's an issue. It's definitely more accurate than Siri, even if it's database of knowledge is more limited (but that's something I noted when it first launched, I have no idea how it compares to Siri's knowledge-base now.)
I haven't used the the Dots. I'm not even sure how they differ from the Echo. Also haven't tried Alexa from Firestick or other Amazon devices.
* Seemed to a random pick for those that were interested. I got mine 3–6 months before others who had signed up for the pre-order at the same time.
Seriously, I don't get these things. Fill me in -- what does it do that phone/tablet and nearby wifi sound system doesn't?