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With the original Echo Show, Amazon has added a new dimension to the smart speaker. In the eyes of critics, the device was little more than a station tablet. For Amazon, however, the product has opened a new vertical in the booming category. The day of utility was not always obvious, but the potential was, because Amazon and the competition were looking to conquer the smart home market.
Like most of the company's first generation products, the hardware was not great. The first show was big and awkward. It seemed dated even before arriving in the living rooms and kitchens. But the work has been done.
Although the company did not publish sales figures for the product, the first generation is clearly sold in its infancy, according to the rankings. The numbers were eventually hampered by a war with Google that resulted in YouTube's withdrawal from the platform, but overall, the device seems to be a success.
He has already inspired many imitators. In January, Google announced the launch of a new smart display category, calling on third parties to produce their own assistant-assisted jack on the device. And later this week, it is planned to present its own competitor, the Home Hub. It is therefore appropriate that the living room of the second generation carries the undeniable influence of Google. Heck, that's a bit of the theme of this latest batch of Echo devices.
There is no doubt that the new show is a much better product than its predecessor. The fat, thick, plasticky look has been exchanged for something a little more hospitable, with a softer fabric coating. The front panel, which once housed the screen and the speaker, is now fully screen, which means tablet comparisons will not go away anytime soon.
Nevertheless, from a design point of view, the Lenovo Smart Display is the one to beat. This is still by far the most beautiful of the group, even if the aforementioned Home Hub might well run away in the near future.
The choice of design means that there is much more room for the screen, which went from 7 to 10.1 inches (with a bezel still quite large). This additional property makes this product a more attractive offer for viewing short videos or episodic TV shows (I do not know if I would recommend it for a full movie yet) and finally offers enough space for a browser, for example, to create. meaning on the product.
The speaker, meanwhile, has been moved to the back of the device. This is a decision that makes sense from an aesthetic point of view, but is a little less than practical. Listening to music while writing this article, I found myself spinning it.
The sound quality has been significantly improved with improved drivers and Dolby basses, but things get a little smothered when you look away from them. The bass is also a little too powerful for their good, thus helping to blur the quality of the sound. Fortunately, Alexa understands you now when you ask her to lower the bass.
Things get a little better when you place it about six inches from a wall, reflecting the sound. Of course, not all households set up can accept this orientation. Anyway, I would not recommend watching the show as the main music listening device. The high-end Apple and Google speakers just sound better – or build yours using the various modular elements announced by the company at its last event.
With a bigger screen, the new living room requires touch. Amazon has clearly recognized it during the redesign. Like its predecessor, it is designed to be the first device-based tactile voice interaction.
Room A is the addition of Firefox. It's a little strange. You can access it with "Alexa, open Firefox", but browsing the Web is a bit more complicated. There is still no competence for, for example, TechCrunch.com in Firefox. Instead, you will need to open Firefox and type the URL with two fingers or click on the microphone icon to pronounce it.
It is a good option, certainly, but a bit awkward. Plus, there's no pinching multitouch to zoom in here – in fact, as far as I know, there's no way to zoom in at all. What the browser does, however, is a workaround for YouTube. Say "Alexa, open YouTube" and Show will show you to watch content in Firefox or the Silk browser. Of course, it's not ideal for a native application, but until businesses embrace and reconcile or, more likely, Amazon launches its own competing service, it will have to do it.
The other big news here is a bit of an obviousness. After integrating the Echo Smart feature into the Echo line with Plus, Amazon did the same with the Show. The smart screen now has a Zigbee hub on the inside. Connecting devices is quite simple – just put them in association mode and say "Alexa, discover my devices". If all goes well, the whole process should not take more than a minute.
Fortunately, a new design of the application has arrived parallel to the new devices. You can access these smart devices on your mobile device at the same time as the living room. The application also allows users to perform routines around device groups. Thus, you can, for example, turn on the lights, turn on the coffee and check the news of the day (shudder) with an "Alexa, hello".
The new show is a nice upgrade from its predecessor. More aesthetically pleasing, its screen is bigger and its speakers enhanced (if it's reversed), while the smart home feature and the addition of security camera surveillance last year make it a great sign. order for the smart home. The ball is in your court, Google.
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