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Amazon has kicked off its Fall Hardware Event, live from HQ2. And the first product is the new Echo Show 8. It has a bit of a design change here, but looking right at it, you might not notice the difference.
The biggest design difference is the backside, which has a different shape now. This is due to the customized audio inside, which makes this smart display sound really good too. Of course, this is a smart speaker, so that part is also pretty important. It’ll have “spacial audio” and “room adaptation” software. Which will make it similar to what Sonos speakers are able to do. Let’s hope Sonos doesn’t sue Amazon again.
Amazon claims that the Echo Show 8 will make Alexa about 40% faster. This is a pretty big deal, since Alexa is pretty slow on its smart displays. Especially when compared to its Echo smart speakers.
Amazon says that there are over a billion devices connected to Alexa. Whether that is the Echo, or other smart home products, it’s clear that Alexa is a pretty pivotal part of the smart home experience. Many use it for alarms and timers, as well as the smart home, which Amazon’s David Limp says is up 25% year-over-year.
The new Echo Show 8 also uses some pretty dynamic UI abilities with the weather app. It uses a larger font size when the user is farther away from the screen, and changes to a different view as they get closer. It’s pretty similar to what Google has in its Nest Hub devices.
When can I buy the Echo Show 8?
Echo Show 8 will be available for $149, pre-orders start today and start shipping next month. Now this is a $20 price increase over the previous generation Echo Show 8. But given the inflation that we’ve all been dealing with over the last two years, that is not as big of a surprise.
Amazon is going to launch it in two colors: black and white.
Pre-Order Amazon Echo Show 8 - Amazon
