What Can the Amazon Echo Show Do?
This week, Amazon unveiled the Echo Show, the newest member of the Echo family. Sporting the same, basic capabilities of its voice-only brethren, the Amazon Echo Show ups the ante with a screen, which brings with it a whole host of functionality.
For those unfamiliar with what the Amazon Echo does, it’s essentially an internet-connected speaker and personal assistant. Users can speak to Alexa, asking her to check the weather, let them know of any important meetings, control their smart home, or just get the answer to that question that’s been bugging you all day.
The Amazon Echo Show has all of the same functionality, including the ability to purchase items from Amazon with your voice (if you have Amazon Prime, anyway).
As we mentioned earlier, though, the Amazon Echo Show’s display opens up a new realm of features and possibilities for the personal assistant device. The screen can essentially provide users with even more information regarding their queries that Alexa herself provides a summary of. For example, you could get a full breakdown of the weather report on the screen, rather than a quick summary from Alexa.
What’s more, the Amazon Echo Show will be able to play videos from news and information sources, as well as content from the likes of YouTube and Amazon Video. If you’ve got an Amazon Prime account, you’ll gain access to even more features, too. Link up your Prime Photos account and you can use the display as a digital photo frame. Listen to music through Amazon’s own service and it’ll bring the lyrics up for you.
Extending on the smart home services that its screen-less counterparts offer, the Amazon Echo Show can also bring up Wi-Fi enabled security cameras on the network, allowing you to check your front door without having to get up out of the comfort of your chair.
Finally, and possibly most interesting is the Amazon Echo Show’s access to video and voice calls shown in its introductory video. Anyone can make or receive a voice or video call on it if they have the Alexa app. There’s no Skype functionality as of yet, but those looking for a truly futuristic smart home feel will certainly welcome the ability to video call through the Echo Show.
While these are the most notable things that the Echo Show can do, it’s worth noting that all Alexa devices are constantly online and connected to Amazon servers. As such, all Echo devices can constantly receive new updates and features, so there’s a good chance Amazon will continue to push new features and ways to use the built-in screen in the future.
