Amazon-Echo8
Amazon today introduced a new Echo Device designed for even more personalized, proactive and intuitive Alexa experiences at home with the next-generation Echo Show 8.
Dr. Raf Fatani, Regional General Manager, Alexa, Amazon MENA, said:
“We are thrilled to bring the latest Echo Show 8 to our customers in the region, a true upgrade on previous generations. The improved processor and enhanced audio with more powerful cameras will make for better and clearer video interactions. The Adaptive Content feature adjusts on-screen content based on proximity to the device – a real gamechanger that makes it even more easy to seamlessly integrate the new Echo Show 8 into our customers’ daily lifestyle.”
Echo Show 8—New Design, Spatial Audio, and built-in smart home hub
The new Echo Show 8 has been upgraded inside and out. A new industrial design, includes edge-to-edge glass and soft curvatures, while an improved processor delivers even faster display responses than the previous generation. An enhanced audio experience provides improved clarity and bass, with room adaptation technology and spatial audio processing for optimal room-filling sound. Video calls are even better with a centred 13-megapixel camera, plus an enhanced audio pipeline which minimizes background noise from around the home. Additionally, a built-in smart home hub includes support for Zigbee, Sidewalk, Thread, Bluetooth, and Matter, enabling easy control of compatible lights, locks, and sensors.
Echo Show 8 – The new “Let Chat” feature
Dave Limp – Sr. Vice President – Devices and Services demonstrated on stage during at event. The feature opens a dedicated session that allows users to converse with Alexa without repeatedly invoking a wake word. Alexa maintains the context of the conversation over time, until the user ends the session, and takes into account personal preferences too.
Dave Limp said the feature, based on the company’s latest generative AI model, will be available as a preview to customers on existing devices.
The rise of text-based generative artificial intelligence tools, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, has illustrated the need for Alexa to significantly improve its conversational abilities, but in the context of voice conversations in the home.
Amazon also previewed a more natural-sounding Alexa voice, with inflexions more tuned to the specific messages it delivers, in a demo by Rohit Prasad, senior vice president and head scientist of Amazon Artificial General Intelligence.
All-new home screen experience with Adaptive Content
Echo Show 8 features Adaptive Content—a new home screen experience that uses on-device computer vision technology to adjust on-screen content based on a customer’s proximity to the device. With this experience, a customer positioned across the room will see content that is easily viewed from a distance—such as a simplified news headline or a large clock display—with the screen automatically transitioning to a more detailed view as they approach the device. If the customer is enrolled in visual ID, the content will also be personalized to them, highlighting things like a recent playlist. Adaptive Content will be available on Echo Show 8 (2nd and 3rd generation) next month and roll out to other Echo Show devices next year.
Built with Privacy in Mind
Echo devices are designed with customer privacy in mind and include multiple layers of privacy controls. Echo devices include built-in camera shutters and a microphone on/off button. Customers have full control over their voice recordings and can view, hear, or delete them at any time.
To learn more about the features that provide transparency and control with Alexa, visit the Alexa Privacy Hub at http://www.amazon.ae/alexaprivacy , http://www.amazon.sa/alexaprivacy
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