Amazon has been succeeding for years with Alexa and with the entire family of devices that carry it within, so the company, beyond creating new devices, is adding ideas and concepts to those it has already established and that work well for it.
Echo Show 10, the Amazon screen that follows you while you cook
This is where the Echo Show 10 comes in, a smart display with a video calling camera that has a motor to follow you when you move, for example, around the kitchen while you cook, perhaps making it easier for you to read the recipe without needing to turn around. And attached to the screen, a base with three large speakers to better listen to the guidelines that Alexa is giving you or to listen to music with higher quality.
Its usefulness, as with any smart device linked to a brand, depends on how embedded you are in its ‘ecosystem’. Do you use Alexa a lot? Do you use Amazon apps? Do you know how they communicate with your mobile? Fantastic, this device may fit in your home. If you are more of the Apple or Google versions of this same idea, forget it because you are going to have to learn a lot of new things or you are not going to know how to cope well.
It also prepares 250 euros, as this Amazon device is one of the most expensive and high-class that the company has launched so far. In exchange for that money, you have the same old Alexa but with a very good screen and an ability to play loud music that is a bit scary.
The most interesting thing about the Echo Show 10 is its mobile base, which allows it to rotate up to 360 degrees to follow you in a fairly faithful way thanks to the algorithms and systems that Amazon has developed in recent years. It does not change the tilt of the screen yet, you have to do that, but everything else is fine.
Unfortunately, I am not a great user of voice assistants and I like to keep using my hands for almost any questions I have while doing tasks or to satisfy my curiosity when I don’t know something; but I can say that Alexa is by far the most human assistant and that she usually answers most questions best.
Another issue is that to fully exploit its capabilities is that it needs more space than normal to operate. At the end of the day, you have to move your screen and you cannot leave it discreetly cornered in the living room or kitchen or bedroom. If you are one of those who does not want their ‘gadgets’ to spoil the elaborate decoration of a room, you are going to have a problem with the Echo Show 10.
My biggest criticism of this new Amazon device (beyond the fact that Amazon is almost using you as a research subject for their products, but this happens with any device of theirs) is that it is not very different from what many other devices already offer. , with or without screen.
The relationship with Alexa is still mostly oral and as much as the Echo Show 10 now allows you to stick with a series of Netfix comfortably while you cook, it doesn’t seem like a big deal to me. Although if you are someone who teleworks at home and does not stand still, you may take a call from Zoom from the kitchen, which is now possible, it seems like a forward and justifies its acquisition.
If you use Alexa a lot and are excited about the almost futuristic operation of speaking to a digital voice to turn off lights, comment on the news of the day or turn on the radio when you need it, this device will undoubtedly amaze you. If you are older like me, you will not care and the same ends up collecting dust on a coffee table.
