- Amazon is working on an Echo screen on the wall, Bloomberg reports.
- The device will work as a smart home command center, controlling lights, locks and music.
- Amazon can launch the new device as early as the end of 2021 and can price it between $ 200 and $ 250.
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According to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, Amazon is building a wall-mounted Echo device that will serve as a smart home control center.
Amazon’s in-house 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 a user’s smart home. The new product has built-in Amazon’s Alexa Smart Assistant and can control smart devices such as locks or lights, play music and videos, and show upcoming calendar events. The device also has a camera and microphones for video chat, Bloomberg reports.
Amazon plans to debut the new device by the end of 2021 or the end of 2022 and may cost between $ 200 and $ 250, though Bloomberg notes that the 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: the Echo Show 10, Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 5, which have 10-inch, 8-inch and 5.5-inch screens, respectively. The Echo Show, which costs $ 250 on the high side, is designed to sit on a counter or tabletop, but third-party accessory manufacturers make wall brackets for the device.
Amazon has also been offering tablets with digital displays since 2011 and currently sells seven versions, though the largest one also has a 10-inch screen.
Some of Amazon’s other Echo devices can also be wall mounted, but the only other Amazon-made device designed to hang on a wall is the Echo Wall Clock, a kitchen clock that is attached to a wall. Echo device and which can be used to detect digital timers. or set the time automatically.
Bloomberg notes that Amazon’s new device will compete with smart home appliances that are professionally installed, as well as Apple’s iPad, which can also be mounted on the wall or framed in the wall.