By will-buy
Lenovo and Amazon released Alexa Show Mode now, which lets certain Lenovo PCs execute a type of smart display. First introduced at CES this season, Alexa Show Mode enables voice-control from a distance like an Amazon Echo Show.
Show and Tell
Alexa Show Mode works on Lenovo Yoga, ThinkPad, and IdeaPad PCs running Windows 10, as they are among those with the necessary far-field microphones. The PCs have a Show Mode button, or it can be activated by asking Alexa once the computer’s microphone is on. When Alexa Show Mode starts, the computer essentially turns into an Echo Show. The voice assistant listens through the computer's far-field microphones to requests to begin streaming video and audio content, games, and apps. It can also run connected smart home devices, call people and send messages to other Alexa-enabled devices, and operate connected smart TVs. The ultimate form of Show Mode also improves around the demo from CES with better sound, more efficient energy use, and automatic enablement when ever the computer isn’t in use for some time.
“We are excited to create Alexa's rich, visual ambient experience to PCs,” Alexa Voice Service and Alexa Skills v . p . Aaron Rubenson, said inside a statement. “Customers love the truth that Alexa is always accessible. With Show Mode, Alexa helps make PCs handier and adaptive, enabling richer experiences throughout the home or wherever customers might take their PC.”
Alexa PC
Lenovo is the first computer company to have Show Mode. Microsoft announced a similar idea last May using the Surface Book 3 and Cortana. That voice assistant is limited more toward operations on Windows 10, but the far-field microphones embedded in the laptop give it similar audio capabilities as Lenovo. Amazon continues to be accumulating possible ways to integrate Alexa into computers along with other devices for a while. This past year, Amazon Fire revamped it's good television interface to incorporate Alexa in new ways. All of them lead to fewer differences between a smart display, TV, or computer, with Alexa bringing most or all of its capabilities with together devices.
“Improving device simplicity and also the consumer experience reaches the heart of Lenovo's customer-centric innovation culture. A voice-enabled interface is a big a part of that endeavor,” Lenovo vice president of cloud and software Igor Bergman said in a statement. “That's why Lenovo may be the first to bring to market Alexa Show Mode on PCs. By enabling Show Mode on Lenovo PCs, we are providing customers with a highly versatile consumer experience on the natural and convenient interface.”
