Amazon reportedly working on new Echo with 7-inch screen, better sound
Are you aching for just a bit more...everything on your Amazon Echo? Improvements and additions might come soon, as Bloomberg reports the company is working on a premium variant of the Echo smart speaker -- one that will have a 7-inch screen.
According to the report, which cites two people familiar with the matter, the new Echo will be a radical departure from the current, simple cylindrical design.
In addition to the 7-inch screen, the new Echo will have much-improved speakers. And the gadget will tilt upwards so that you can easily access it while standing. Details at this point are vague, but in terms of design, we're imagining something akin to a Fire tablet on a stand or a smaller Surface Studio.
The new Echo will run on a modified version of Fire OS, the Android-based operating system that powers Amazon's Kindle Fire tablets. And, just like other products in the Echo family, it will respond to voice commands courtesy of Amazon's smart digital assistant, Alexa.
A similar device, nicknamed "Knight," was mentioned in a Wall Street Journal report in May 2016, but far fewer details were known then.
This new Echo could be launched as soon as the first quarter of 2017. The report does not metion an exact price, but says that it will likely be pricier than the current Amazon Echo, which costs $180.
Topics Amazon Amazon Echo
Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
