Amazon presented its latest devices and developments in a major product presentation. The online retailer and manufacturer not only showed a completely new Echo device, Amazon Alexa was also the focus. She should become smarter in the future.
Amazon now offers a whole range of its own devices and services. This time the company did not invite people to its headquarters in Seattle, but to its second headquarters in Arlington, where a large event gave an insight into future projects and also presented numerous new devices.
The innovations include new Echo products and Alexa innovations, but there is also something new in the area of streaming devices. Amazon has also introduced new tablets, the Fire HD 10 and the Fire HD 10 Kids and Kids Pro models, which are optimized for children. Amazon’s special features include the 25 percent faster processor compared to its predecessor, the improved front camera and the longer battery life.
Amazon Echo Show 8 with a new start screen and better sound
However, particular attention was paid to the new products within the Echo family. Because there is not only a new Echo Show 8, but also the so-called Echo Hub, a completely new model.
Amazon has had an Echo Show 8 on offer for a long time. The new model – now the third generation – has changed slightly in design and no longer has such hard corners and is slimmer at the back. This makes the overall look more curved. In addition, Amazon has also made improvements to the interior and, among other things, integrated a more powerful processor that should speed up operation via the touchscreen.
The camera for video calls still offers 13 megapixels, but was previously placed on the side. In the new Echo Show 8, it has moved to the middle of the top edge of the display to ensure a better image detail. It still supports automatic focusing. If desired, it can also be covered to ensure privacy. Despite its display, the Echo Show 8 is a smart speaker. Amazon claims to have improved the sound with 3D audio in the current generation from 2023. The device also has room acoustic sensors and noise reduction technology.
Thanks to the 8-inch touchscreen, the Echo Show not only offers slightly different operation than conventional Echo speakers, owners can also use the display for information and the management of other devices. Especially for this purpose, Amazon has not only integrated a Zigbee hub for smart home devices, but also adapted the homepage with adaptive content. Content now automatically becomes larger or smaller the further away or closer users move to the display. If a visual ID has been created, the Echo Show 8 displays personalized content on the screen. This could be, for example, recently used playlists or the private calendar. According to Amazon, the adaptive content will also be available on the Echo Show 8 (2nd generation) next month and will be rolled out to other Echo Show models early next year.
The Echo Show 8 will be available from October 25th at a price of 169.99 euros. This makes the speaker 40 euros more expensive than its predecessor.
Also read: Amazon Echo Dot and Pop in comparison – which one is suitable for whom?
Echo Hub is completely new
With the Echo Hub, Amazon has also presented a completely new device in addition to the Show 8. It is intended to be mounted on the wall, but can also stand if desired. Amazon offers an optional stand for this purpose. Unlike the Echo Show, the hub does not serve as a speaker, but as a center for the smart home. It supports Zigbee, Thread, Bluetooth and Matter and is therefore compatible with over 140,000 different smart home devices worldwide such as networked cameras, lights, locks, sockets, thermostats or speakers.
The new Amazon Echo Hub can best be compared with the smart display Echo Show 15. However, the newcomer is significantly more compact with a display diagonal of 8 inches and only has an HD resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. The touchscreen is framed by a fairly wide edge, which contains a proximity and ambient light sensor as well as three microphones and a centrally placed camera.
Smart home devices integrated into the home network can be clearly displayed on the Echo Hub’s display. This has a special dashboard that can be customized. According to Amazon, this display allows users to group and manage smart home devices. You can also set and manage routines, view compatible cameras such as Ring models, and organize widgets. However, some functions of the hub are currently only available to a limited extent. For example, the camera’s snapshot function currently only works with Ring cameras.
If the hub detects via its infrared sensor that a user is nearby, the device can switch from the dashboard display to a personalized screen with photos or a calendar.
The Echo Hub doesn’t have a specific launch date yet, but it should be available soon. Amazon gives the price at 199.95 euros.
Alexa is getting smarter thanks to AI
A big part of the Echo devices is the intelligent voice assistant Alexa. In the future, it will be even more intelligent with new AI and expanded to include new functions. The latter should be available in Germany by the end of the year.
New features include “Captions for calls.” With it, users can display subtitles during voice and video calls on the Echo Show or even have Alexa calls translated. According to Amazon, not only can language barriers be overcome, the new function also enables deaf and hard of hearing users to communicate more easily. Over ten languages are supported, including English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and German.
There is also something new in the widget area. On the one hand, the most important contacts and the most frequently used devices in the household can soon be clearly displayed in one tile using “Most Important Connections”. On the other hand, widgets can be added with the update in the future using the quick actions icon at the top. Amazon is rolling out widget quick actions for both the Echo Show 8 and 10, as well as the Echo Show 5. The latter receives the widgets for the first time.