Sydney, Sept 21: In a bid to enhance the smart home experience, Amazon has unveiled its latest innovation, the Echo Hub. This all-new Echo device combines the power of Alexa with an eight-inch display to offer a personalized, proactive, and intuitive way to manage your smart home.
Kate Gooden, Head of Product for Amazon Alexa in Australia and New Zealand, highlights the versatility of the Echo Hub, stating that it allows customers to effortlessly manage everything from daily tasks to a multitude of compatible smart home devices, all with the help of Alexa. With tens of millions of interactions with Alexa happening around the world every hour, Amazon believes the Echo Hub will elevate the personal AI experience.
Key Features of the Echo Hub:
Smart Home Control Panel: The Echo Hub is designed to simplify the management of various smart home devices. It boasts an easy installation process and features an intuitive eight-inch touch-enabled display. Users can customize the dashboard to group and control smart home devices, view multiple camera feeds, initiate routines, and manage volume and media streaming from a single hub.
Seamless Integration: When not actively in use, the Echo Hub seamlessly blends into the home environment by displaying a personalized idle screen with rotating photos and glanceable information like weather and time. It utilizes infrared technology to detect user proximity, ensuring a smooth transition to the home screen when needed.
Built-in Smart Home Hub: The Echo Hub includes a built-in smart home hub that supports Zigbee, Thread, Bluetooth, and Matter, making it compatible with over 10,000 connected devices, including cameras, lights, locks, thermostats, and more. It offers both wireless and wired internet connectivity options, with support for power-over-ethernet (PoE) adaptors.
Introducing Adaptive Content for the Echo Show 8:
Amazon is also introducing Adaptive Content, a new home screen experience for the Echo Show 8. This feature uses on-device computer vision technology to adjust on-screen content based on the user’s proximity to the device. Whether you’re across the room or up close, the content will adapt for optimal visibility. It also includes shortcut icons for easy access to frequently used widgets.
Adaptive Content will initially be available on the Echo Show 8 (2nd generation) in Australia and New Zealand, with plans to roll it out to other Echo Show devices in the future.
Stay Connected with Top Connections:
Amazon is making it even easier for users to stay in touch with their loved ones through Alexa. The Top Connections widget can be added to Echo Show 15 devices, allowing users to quickly see their favorite contacts and frequently used devices within the household. A single tap is all it takes to initiate a call or drop-in. This feature will soon extend to Echo Show 5, 8, and 10 in Australia and New Zealand.
Privacy and Sustainability:
Amazon remains committed to user privacy, with the Echo Hub featuring a microphone on/off button, giving customers control over their voice recordings. Users can view, hear, or delete their recordings at any time.
In addition to privacy, Amazon is also mindful of sustainability. The Echo Hub’s packaging is made from 97 per cent wood fiber-based materials from responsibly managed forests or recycled sources. It also includes a Low Power Mode to intelligently conserve energy during periods of inactivity.
Pricing and Availability:
The Echo Hub is priced at AU$329 and is available for pre-order on Amazon’s website in Australia. Accessories for the Echo Hub will be coming soon to further enhance the smart home experience.
With the Echo Hub, Amazon is poised to make smart home management more intuitive and user-friendly, offering a seamless integration of technology into daily life.
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