New details have emerged about a new Alexa tablet on the wall that serves as a smart homework center developed by Amazon’s hardware division Lab126, the same one that the Amazon Kindle, Echo and Echo Dot.
The mystery device is reportedly still very much developed at the moment, but the general idea is that it will work as a central hub around your smart devices like the Amazon Echo Show. The device may show upcoming calendar events and may also have a built-in camera for video calls.
The reporting comes from Bloomberg, who spoke privately to people who did not want to be identified and said that the product is compatible with the Control4 Home Automation System.
According to the Bloomberg source, the new home assignment center screen may be available in one or two sizes between 10 and 13 inches and start at $ 200 (approximately £ 140, AU $ 250) and $ 250 (approximately £ 180, AU) by the end of 2022. $ 320).
Do we really need an expensive Alexa tablet on the wall?
Amazon has been experimenting with new form factors for Alexa since the arrival of the original Amazon Echo in 2014. Since then, Amazon Alexa has built in additional smart speakers, smart screens, video devices, phones, tablets, laptops and even some cars. .
The wall is perhaps just the most logical next step for Alexa.
The opposite of the argument is that Alexa does not need a luxury control center to function – one of the best parts of Amazon’s smart assistant is that it works just as well on a cheap Amazon Echo Dot as on the company’s most expensive smart speakers and screens. The latter, of course, adds a visual component, but the core functionality remains exactly the same.
Admittedly, why Amazon would want to build it into a glorified, relatively expensive and potentially difficult-to-mount wall tablet does not seem clear unless there is a premise that Bloomberg’s sources were not disclosed in their information.
None of these aspects should predict Bloomberg’s reports or the existence of this device (probably one of the many projects Lab126 has underway), but it may have an impact on when – or even if – Amazon will eventually pick up the accessories from the device. .