- Amazon is working on a wall-mounted Echo display, reports Bloomberg.
- The device would function as a smart home command center, controlling lights, locks and music.
- Amazon may launch the new device as early as the end of 2021 and can cost between $ 200 and $ 250.
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Amazon is building a wall-mounted Echo device that will act as an intelligent home control center, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
Amazon’s internal hardware division is working on a new device with a 10 or 13 inch screen that sticks directly to the wall and acts as a command center for the user’s smart home. The new product will have Amazon’s Alexa smart assistant integrated and will be able to control smart home devices like locks or lights, play music and videos and show upcoming calendar events. The device will also have a camera and microphones for videoconferencing, reports Bloomberg.
Amazon plans to launch the new device in late 2021 or late 2022 and could cost between $ 200 and $ 250, although Bloomberg notes that these plans may change or be canceled altogether.
An Amazon spokesman declined to comment.
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Amazon already offers three Echo devices with screens: Echo Show 10, Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 5, which have 10, 8 and 5.5 inch screens, respectively. The Echo Show, which costs $ 250 at the tip, is designed to be placed on a counter or table, but third-party accessory manufacturers do wall mountings for the device.
Amazon has also offered tablets with digital screens since 2011 and currently sells seven versions, although the largest also has a 10-inch screen.
While some of Amazon’s other Echo devices can also be mounted on the wall, the only other device made by Amazon designed to hang on the wall is the Echo Wall Clock, a kitchen clock that pairs with an Echo device and can be used to track stopwatches or set the time automatically.
Bloomberg notes that Amazon’s new device would be competing with professionally installed smart home control monitors, as well as Apple’s iPad, which can also be mounted on the wall or framed on the wall.