Amazon has a smart home device called the Echo

Amazon’s newest Echo Hub: A Smart Home for Your Smart Home? Is It Going Faster or Slower than the Show?

I’m concerned that the Echo Hub can’t match the speed and power of these devices. Speed is essential for a control panel; it needs to be as responsive as a regular light switch while doing so much more. We will have to wait and see if this will be fast enough, or if it will be slower than the new show. It will be a compelling product if it is.

The device relies on the same types of functions you’d see on a current Show device, but that it’s referred to as a smart home forward. That is not the case on current smart displays.

The Echo Hub will be available to pre-order and ship in the second half of this year with a wall-mount bracket, power adaptor, and six-foot cable. Amazon will sell decorative frames in wood, white (which can be painted), and metallic for $19.99 each, and the tabletop stand will cost $29.99.

Source: Amazon’s newest Echo is a touchscreen controller for your smart home

Amazon, Smart Home, Thermostat and Other Smart Home Products Go Smarter with a Map View Interface: A New Paradigm for the Smart Home

The icons and larger tiles in the show are for your favorite devices, cameras, climate, locks and security. You can customize the screen, and along the side, a rooms panel gives you access to other defined rooms in the house and the option to run Routines directly from the panel.

Limp says the company worked hard to bring down any latency between tapping on the screen and a responding device. He says local connected devices respond as fast as a light switch.

Built-in speakers and microphones allow for two-way audio to be used at video doorbells or Drop in with Echo devices. You can also use Alexa voice control, listen to audio, or watch video. Prime Video, Hulu, and Tubi will be supported at launch by the company.

Limp says Amazon designed this device for its “best customer,” those with 20 or more connected smart home devices who perhaps find it all a bit too much to manage scrolling through endless device lists in the Alexa app.

The intelligent Brilliant home control panel was reviewed and has a similar function but at a much higher price point. The devices are expensive, that’s right. It is easy to get in the thousands of dollars in the pro-installation smart home range.

A new map interface option called Map View can let you create a digital version of your home floor plan and control it with a single tap.

It is fun, says Limp. The controls on the thermostat will pop up when I am ready to change it. I can just tap and get the controls to dim the bedroom light, zoom into the upper floor and turn on the bedroom light. It’s a new paradigm and it’s really interesting.

Amazon isn’t the only one that has a map interface for its product, and it makes a lot of sense. It means you don’t have to remember the exact name of the light to the right of the sofa; you can see it and tap on it.

The only compatible lidar-equipped devices in the US to have the map view will be the Pro and Max models from the Apple device. It is due to come to the Echo Hub early next year.

The feature requires no setup other than to use the app. It uses signals from devices in the room to decide if a room is occupied and turn the lights on. It can also automatically shut off the lights after a period of inactivity.

While it doesn’t require any setup, automatic lighting can be customized. In this example, you can specify the level of brightness that will prompt the lights to turn on and the time of day that you would like them to work.

Of course, you can set up routines like this using Amazon Prime, but those can be difficult to fit in with your daily movements. It is interesting to see if automatic lighting can overcome this roadblock.

Amazon is also bringing its Featured Routines to the Ring app. These are prepopulated Alexa Routines designed to show users how to get the most out of their devices. Amazon brings them to the Ring app based on your Ring devices.

The Routines will work with all Ring devices, including lights, alarms, and doorbells. It supports non-Ring devices like smart lights and locks that work with Amazon’s voice assistant.