Article written by Cyburg
According to Mark Gurman, Amazon is developing a premium Echo like speaker with a screen. This is an effort to expand its lineup of Alexa enabled devices in order to capitalize on its surprise success.
According to people who are familiar with the matter, the screen will be approximate seven inches. It will also be a departure from the typical cylindrical shape of the current lineup of devices. Just like the Echo, the primary interface will be voice driven and will respond to the current set of commands.
The screen is expected to be introduced in order to provide access to content such as weather forecasts, calendars, and news etc. The screen and speaker will be at an angle so the screen will be visible when close by. The device will be powered by a modified version of Fire OS. It is also likely that the screen itself will be touch capable. There are no plans to change the current lineup and the new screen-based version will come at a higher price point.
This is another volley from Amazon in the growing battle by tech companies to own the living room. The Echo’s success was a surprise to everyone, including Amazon. Now there is a scramble from everyone to get a voice controlled device to the market. At the moment the market leader is Amazon. We are yet to see the market impact of the new entrant Google Home.
