Amazon's internal hardware division is working on a new device with either a 10- or 13-inch display that adheres directly to the wall and works as a command center for a user's smart home. The new product will have Amazon's Alexa smart assistant built in, 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 video-chatting.
The product would compete with professionally installed
smart home control screens from the likes of Control4 Corp as well as Apple
iPads framed into walls and even Amazon’s own Echo Show used with a third-party
wall mount.
Amazon plans to launch it either at the end of this year or the end of
2022, the people said. Prices ranging from $200 to $250 have been discussed
internally, though the plans are still early and could change or be scrapped
altogether.
This isn’t the first time Amazon has shown interest in wall
devices. In 2018, the company announced the Echo Wall Clock, an analog clock
that shows timers set up with an Alexa speaker. Several different accessories
for attaching Echo speakers to walls are also available from Amazon’s website.
As the new device is designed to mount to a wall, it will be far slimmer than the existing Echo Show, the people said. Amazon introduced its first Echo with a screen in 2017, and it has since launched many variations in different screen sizes. Other Amazon-made device designed to hang on a wall is the Echo Wall Clock, a kitchen clock that pairs with an Echo device and can be used to track digital timers or set the time automatically.
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