A new smart display and speaker is on the way for folks who like to chat to friends and family, and maybe manage the smart home.
Your kitchen may well be the place where you get your cooking done, and eat and talk about the day that was, but it could also be the place where you control the smart home or even chat with friends using a different appliance.
Smart displays have long provided these features, and they’re growing in capability, with the latest from Amazon set to deliver more of that.
The newest in the Echo smart display range is the 3rd-gen Echo Show 8, a revamped take on the Echo Show display with a curved speaker on the back, 8 inch screen up front, and improvements to the processing and camera technology.
On the performance side of things, Amazon says the chip in the 2024 release of the Echo Show 8 can handle smart home requests and actions up to 40 percent faster, while the sound hardware has been optimised for spatial audio and what the company says is “room-filling sound”. You can thank two 2 inch drivers for that alongside a passive bass radiator, which will give it just that little more oomph than the smaller models, such as the Echo Show 5 and the recently revived re-release of the Echo Spot.
There’s also a new Home Screen experience called “Adaptive Content” that will show useful information when you’re near the device. That’ll include frequently used widgets and content, shortcuts, and if your face is detected by Visual ID, personalised playlists and news.
Amazon’s update to the camera will make this possible, which is a 13 megapixel camera designed to improve video calls, as well.
Amazon hasn’t said whether their 2024 Echo Show is water resistant — our guess is no — but it should still be usable in the kitchen, where you’ll be able to wipe ingredient-laden finger marks off the screen with a hand towel. Otherwise, it should be able to go anywhere else in the home, controlling sound, video chats with friends, and even working as a smart home hub, complete with support for Matter and Thread technologies.
Pricing will see the Echo Show 8 launch in Australia for $249, with the device landing locally at Amazon, JB HiFi, and other retailing from August 22.
