Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Amazon Reveals $230 Touchscreen 'Echo Show' Launching in June
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Exactly what came to mind!This all looks pretty familiar.
Sony Dash, Chumby, etc. They're battery-less tablets in the form-factor of an alarm clock. They've been tried before, and they failed. I suppose Amazon's brings the difference of a voice assistant and an established and mature(ing) ecosystem. We'll see if consumers embrace it this time.
Because you have to stand about 5 feet from an iPad for it to her you and for you to hear it. Otherwise, not much different.
Video calls is only one small feature of having a screen echo, albeit its the one that shows best in marketing. As Apple themselves mentioned the other day these type of devices need a screen to be truly useful since a lot of info requires you to see and possibly engage with it visually. Which is why having some speaker only versions such as the pucks, and some larger versions, and a couple of the screen versions in ones of home will cover all ones bases.
This echo I think will be a bit of a hit but more targeted for the less technical demographic rather than the Mac rumor demographic which will be better suited with Apple's upcoming version that will allow for seamless integration between their echo screen and your iPhone's iPads, etc.
The HUGE advantage the echos have over an iPhone/iPad is the microphone. It can hear me 2 rooms away. The iphone/iPad microphone is horrible at that.
You're not wrong here, Siri has been pretty terrible for me over the years. If Apple is able to make the right improvements though, I'd think an iPhone or iPad would be a better investment.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Well said, and again for some of the many "why not just use my iDevice?" posts, iDevices don't make for good equivalents except maybe for single people living alone. Mobile devices are mobile. As soon as they leave the home, those left behind lose all that functionality. These devices appear to be devices not meant to be mobile... and thus always ready to "serve" anyone at home... whether the owner(s) of a mobile device(s) is home or not.
Can an iDevice substitute for these kinds of things? Of course it can. But it can also substitute for Macs, the Watch, other iDevices, etc. And one has to be satisfied with what Siri can do vs. Alexa (in this case). What I observe about these things is that they are dead simple to use by just barking orders... and they seem to actually understand what is being requested. People buying them seem to enjoy how easy they are to use, how relatively good their speaker sounds and maybe some of the novelty of them... things where Siri on iDevices seems to generally come up short.
If one hates these because they aren't made by Apple, there's no helping you. If one hates them but haven't actually checked one out, go seek out a demo with some friend who has one and see how they use them with an open mind. Then come back home and try to do the same... as smoothly & easily... with "hey siri" on some iDevice parked at a stationary location in your home. It's a pretty good use of voice-controlled tech... and, IMO, Alexa is what Siri should have been a few years ago.
Last edited:
well for you maybe but my blind wife battles with siri all day long. hey siri seldom works and not at all on her watch. alexa works very well and most of the time she gets it right. you can use the app to teach her if it is right or wrong. She can control nest with alexa and wemo can't do that with siri.
I'm assuming you don't have an iPhone or an Android phone either? As I'm sure you are aware they are also always constantly listening to everything you say waiting for a Hey Siri or Hey Google. Just like Amazon is listening for the word Alexa. All of the companies supposedly disregard any convos immediately when they don't hear those triggers, but the companies or hackers could save that data and use it for nefarious purposes. And even if you don't have a phone, or a laptop, or echo etc, which would be tough in the modern world, people around you do, and those are also potentially tracking you too via their mics and cameras.
So overal in there is nothing really unique about echo vs the products you already have, and it comes down to convenience and going with companies you trust the most. While right now Apple is most invested in privacy vs echo and google, that could change once their business would be more profitable data mining or if there devices are hacked by hackers or the government.
Now I can say "Alexa.. show me planet of the apps"!
[doublepost=1494342503][/doublepost]
[doublepost=1494342503][/doublepost]
That's a pretty good possibility. More helpful for the people who cook and always can see the recipe and the cooking video of they want to. 230$ is not a bad price where it is really functional rather than paying 400$ to hear "here are some websites I found ..."
I see a lot of positive comments in my Twitter feed. Though these are from tech analysts who received a private demo from Amazon. I still think the device is incredibly niche. I don't spend that much time in my kitchen and anywhere else I have my phone or tablet with me.
Pretty sure you can't say "Alexa" to a Fire tablet and have it respond to you. But even to others who are suggesting "Hey, Siri" instead, the Echo has far better voice recognition (especially from a distance) than Siri does, and in my opinion and experience tends to provide better results. Siri is good for controlling HomeKit devices (assuming they aren't named something too similar to an app on your phone), but all of mine also work through Alexa. This looks pretty cool aside from the fact that I'm not really sure I need a camera. Would be nice if you could use this camera as a security device if you wanted (say, to pair it with SmartThings or similar) and not just the screen to view other ones.
No doubt. What Apple added to the tablet idea was a much improved touchscreen, well-designed UI, and a platform for others to built upon. What Amazon is adding to the connected-alarm clock here similar - improved hardware, better UI, and a platform. Time will tell if it is enough.
Personally, this is not for me. I need fewer screens in my life, not more.
I think one issue most people don't flag is homogeneity. If Amazon knows that I prefer a certain soap or set of songs, it will keep pushing me to consume those things or things deemed similar. How would I know to try something else? How would I ever learn if there is something better out there? That Amazon knows my preferences and demographics only hurts my chances of finding something new and better, it does not improve it.
For example, say I prefer Dove soap and Amazon knows it. A new competitor to Dove comes to market. The competitor has two choices, try to win me over organically or pay Amazon to advertise their product to all people who prefer Dove. The first choice is difficult because I am stuck in a cycle of only being offered Dove and only buying Dove. The second choice is tough because it ends up being an advertising arms race. Unilever has a ton of resources, as soon as they get wind of a competitor trying to poach Dove customers, they will buy up all the ads, or they will threaten Amazon with unfavorable pricing for other products that are profitable to Amazon in order to force that competitor out. So as a consumer, I am most likely stuck not ever learning of the competitor, and certainly given no push to try it.
This is sort of why I hate Amazon's, Facebook's, and Google's ad-tracking. Every time I seek to buy a product, I want to be presented with all the options and all the details. I don't want my options to be limited by a database of preferences and demographics. I know Amazon doesn't hide anything from me, but putting it on page two or at the bottom of a list is basically the same thing.
Awesome! The Telescreen finally hits the market--about 33 years late!
"The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard." --1984
"The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard." --1984
I still question when Apple launches their version of a smart Speaker, I imagine the price will be around $200.00 with out a display. That aside, the whole smart speaker era is niche alone and I'm curious to see where this all leads. I give Amazon credit for having an expanded product line and taking the reigns on this early on. Apple hopefully will join in soon enough to compete, which I would expect this year.
More like 1960's.
Other than the screen, it looks like my first cassette tape player.
They should fire the Design Firm that even PROPOSED such an antediluvian package.
Last edited:
I ordered my first Echo when they were invitation-only. Since then, I've purchased three more (two as gifts) and a Tap.
I love the Echo. The fact that it's always listening doesn't bother me - maybe because I live alone. but, the thought of having an Echo always WATCHING . . . yikes! Just freaks me out. The mic & camera share a single on/off button so looks like you have to have the camera on to use voice commands. (Yeah, I'm one of those people who has the camera on her laptop covered
)
Even if I didn't have privacy concerns, I just don't see the need for the Show. Really, if I need Echo with a screen I'll just pull out my iPhone or iPad and use Siri. Although, I do prefer Alexa over Siri. This is one Amazon device I'll be skipping.
I love the Echo. The fact that it's always listening doesn't bother me - maybe because I live alone. but, the thought of having an Echo always WATCHING . . . yikes! Just freaks me out. The mic & camera share a single on/off button so looks like you have to have the camera on to use voice commands. (Yeah, I'm one of those people who has the camera on her laptop covered
)Even if I didn't have privacy concerns, I just don't see the need for the Show. Really, if I need Echo with a screen I'll just pull out my iPhone or iPad and use Siri. Although, I do prefer Alexa over Siri. This is one Amazon device I'll be skipping.
I still haven't caught on to the virtual assistant craze (don't use Siri). This product still doesn't make me want to. Maybe I never will
Wow, I can't imagine Apple's implementation will be that cheap. Considering the Siri service itself is ok at best, not sure who would opt for Apple's solution.