Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and its Amazon Echo line of smart speakers are doing a good job of dominating the tech news lately. First there was the camera-equipped Echo Look, then a report confirming the company’s dominance in the voice-activated speaker market. Today, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that perhaps the most ambitious of AMZN’s Alexa-powered devices yet is set to be announced. The Echo Show — with a built-in touchscreen and video calling capabilities — is expected to be confirmed as soon as today.
Rumors have been flying about a touchscreen Amazon Echo device. The discovery last week of a blurry image on AMZN servers, followed by detailed images from well known tech-leaker Evan Blass pretty much confirmed the existence of the device. AMZN cutting the price of the original Echo to $149 set the stage for a new Amazon Echo flagship.
AMZN Echo Show Set to Arrive
What’s been missing are details around capabilities, price name and release date.
This morning, The Wall Street Journal published what it believes are the answers to those questions. If it’s correct, the image we’ve been seeing is of the new Amazon Echo Show. It has a 7-inch touchscreen display and a camera. Owners can use it to make internet-based video calls. The display can show results of voice searches — especially handy when looking for merchandise to order from amazon.com.
Amazon Show pricing is expected to be $229.99 and it could be announced as early as today, with shipping starting June 28.
Why the Built-in Display?
The original Amazon Echo and the followup Echo Tap and Echo Dot were all smart speakers. They played streaming music. That was how Amazon snuck its Alexa voice assistant into the home — by piggybacking on the popularity of inexpensive Bluetooth speakers.
We know how canny that move turned out to be. Despite lacking the advantage of a smartphone user base, Alexa went from being at the back of the voice assistant pack to being a smart home star. With thousands of “skills,” Alexa and the Amazon Echo became the unlikely hub for many smart homes, threatening to leave competitors like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) in the dust.
So why mess with a good thing and add a display? After all, part of the appeal of the original Echo was its simplicity. You didn’t have to touch a smartphone display to interact with it, you just spoke and it acted. Without a display, it was more compact and less expensive as well.
However, Amazon clearly thinks that the time has come for an Echo with a display. It apparently has plans to turn the Echo Show into a home communications hub, capable of being an intercom (between Echo speakers) and also making video calls — like Apple’s FaceTime. The touchscreen display makes it easier for customers to select specific amazon.com products. It could potentially be used to stream Amazon Prime Video as well.
The cost will be higher and the Echo Show will take up more space, but AMZN appears to be positioning the new Amazon Echo device as its flagship. The smart speakers will still be there and with the original Echo’s price cut, that may spur wider overall adoption of Alexa in the home.
Apple is also expected to incorporate a touchscreen display into the Siri speaker it’s working on. Apple’s Phil Schiller has been very vocal about the need for a display when using a voice assistant. Amazon Show ensures Apple can’t do an end run around the Echo with a key feature AMZN’s speakers lack.
With its current Echo smart speaker line-up, Amazon has managed to hold off powerful competition like Google Home to remain firmly on top of the rapidly growing smart speaker market. The Echo Look and the imminent Echo Show announcement make it clear that AMZN is not about to give up that position.
Adding cameras and displays into the mix not only extends the capabilities to enhance the experience of Amazon customers, the additional features offer the potential for Alexa to add thousands of new skills to her repertoire.
As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
