By will-buy
Amazon is developing a wall-mounted Echo smart display as a smart home control hub communications tool, according to a report from Bloomberg. Amazon has not officially commented around the device, which Amazon’s Lab126 hardware team is supposedly designing.
Smart Wall
The details gleaned from the report suggest the Echo embedded in the wall will be much like the Echo Show 10 introduced last year. Microphones, along with a camera support video calls, while the touchscreen connects to the user’s account for personalized calendars. The device would be also the heart of the smart home ecosystem, using the touchscreen and voice commands to Alexa controlling lights, speakers, and other devices. The screen wouldn’t be able to rotate and go wherever you go the area such as the Echo Show 10, presumably, unless it's mounted in the same manner because the Echo Show wall mounts Amazon currently sells. The screens will reportedly are available in 10 and 13-inch models and price $200 to $250, although the report cautioned that the plans are still in flux. That the device will come to the market either this coming winter or the end of 2023 makes that confusion obvious. There’s also no name given for the device, but Amazon may want to avoid people bragging about the Echo in their wall. Asking Wall-exa to experience the Doors may be fun, though.
House Brain
Incorporating smart home technology into the physical structure of the home has obvious appeal for Amazon or other smart home platform because it essentially forces the folks living there to purchase and use devices suitable for the core AI. It might attract fans of Amazon and Alexa too. On the other hand, this sort of default integration could make construction firms designing buildings unhappy. Several reported being unhappy about installing Nest smart home devices when Google started requiring a Google account for connecting to Nest devices. Still, even a rumor about Amazon planning a wall-mounted Echo suggests there might be a shift toward this style. Smart home voice automation platform developer Josh.ai runs its ecosystem through Josh Nano devices. The real difference there being they don’t have a screen. In fact, the 4 microphones, privacy switch, touch sensor, temperature sensor, and LED light ring take are packed right into a disk just 1.6 inches across and 0.1 inches thick, and 1.6 inches across, as well as a paintable cover that makes it almost invisible.
