Amazon launched the Echo smart speaker about a year ago. It works the same as any other Bluetooth-powered smart speaker but the Echo has a trick up its sleeve. It’s powered by Alexa, Amazon’s digital personal assistant, and that’s what sets it apart from the competition in a big way. Amazon has since expanded the Echo lineup with a couple of new variants as well. According to a report, the next Amazon Echo device is going to feature a touchscreen display.
Bloomberg reports that the new Amazon Echo is going to have a 7 inch touchscreen so it’s going to be quite different from existing Echo devices. It will be fundamentally different as well since existing devices only allow users to interact with it via voice commands. On this new Echo, customers will be able to tap and use gestures just like they do on a smartphone.
One of the unnamed sources cited in the report claims that this new Amazon Echo is going to be larger than existing Echo devices and that it will tilt upwards so that the screen can be viewed when it’s placed on a counter and the user is standing. It’s also expected to feature high-grade speakers.
Amazon hasn’t commented on this report and hasn’t dropped any hints which suggest that such a product is in the pipeline. According to the report, the new Amazon Echo is going to be announced in the first quarter of 2017.
Filed in . Read more about Alexa, Amazon, Amazon Echo and Connected Objects. Source: bloomberg