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New details have emerged about a new Alexa wall-mounted tablet that serves as a command center for the smart home being developed by Amazon’s Lab126 hardware division, the same one that made the Amazon Kindle, Echo and Echo point.
The mystery device would still be very much in development at this point, but the general idea is that it would function as a central hub to control your smart devices like the Amazon Echo Show. The device could potentially display upcoming calendar events and could also have a built-in camera for video calls.
The report comes from Bloomberg, who spoke privately with people at the company who did not wish to be identified and who said the product aligned with the Control4 home automation system.
The Bloomberg source says the new home command center display could be available in one or two sizes between 10 and 13 inches, and could launch by the end of 2022 for between $ 200 (around £ 140, AU 250 $) and $ 250 (around £ 180, AU $ 320).
Do we really need an expensive Alexa wall tablet?
Amazon has been experimenting with new form factors for Alexa since the arrival of the original Amazon Echo in 2014. Since then, Amazon has integrated Alexa into additional smart speakers, smart displays, video streaming devices, phones, tablets, laptops and even some cars.
The wall might just be the most logical next step for Alexa.
The counterpoint to this reasoning is that Alexa didn’t need a fancy control center to function – in fact, one of the best parts of Amazon’s smart assistant is that it works just as well on a Amazon Echo Dot cheaper than the company’s most expensive speakers and smart displays. The latter adds a visual component, obviously, but the core functionality remains exactly the same.
Admittedly, why Amazon would want to make this a glorified, relatively expensive and potentially difficult-to-assemble wall shelf doesn’t seem clear unless there is some cutting edge functionality that Bloomberg sources did not disclose in their information.
None of this should criticize Bloomberg’s reports or the existence of this device (likely one of the many projects Lab126 has in the works), but it could have an impact on when – or even if – Amazon will finally remove. the device. .
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