Amazon has announced a new update: a line of smart home cameras will be compatible with the Echo Show, the first Echo device with a touchscreen. The announcement came just before the shipping of the Echo Show starts next week.
Amazon has announced a new update: a line of smart home cameras will be compatible with the Echo Show, the first Echo device with a touchscreen. The announcement came just before the shipping of the Echo Show starts next week.
Companies include Ring, Arlo, Nest, August, EZViz, Vivint, Amcrest, Logitech Circle 2 and IC Realtime have created Alexa skills to support the new touchscreen device. After linking the user account to the Echo Show, users will be able to watch a live camera feed from the Echo Show’s 7-inch display.
For example, homeowners who have installed security cameras or video doorbells from Ring may say “Alexa, show me the front door,” and see and hear the visitor right from the screen of the Echo Show.
Before this capability is added, users have to view the security camera’s live feed on smartphones. With the Echo Show, checking the video feed at home will be as easy as clicking the device, rather than locating the smartphone to open the app to view the footage.
The new security camera skills will also support Echo devices that don’t have a touchscreen. For instance, users can link accounts to the Amazon Echo speaker and then hear the sound from the camerae.
The capabilities are the product from Amazon’s newly introduced Smart Home Skill API, which allows developers to integrate their security camera’s live video feeds with Amazon devices. The API takes care of the natural language processing so that device makers can sync their devices work with Alexa easily.
As for indoor use applications, parents may use the camera as a baby monitor and see live feeds from the Echo Show in the living room.
The Echo Show will be available on June 28, at a price tag of $229.99. The integration between the Echo Show and the security cameras will be available at launch.
Among the Echo Show’s unique features are video-calling, reminder display in the text form and video content access from YouTube and Amazon Video.