During the reveal of the Echo Show 15 yesterday, Amazon announced that subscribers to Sling TV would soon be able to watch the streaming service on Echo Show devices. Amazon confirmed that all Echo Show models would be able to access the streaming service but has not provided a timeframe for when support would arrive. Read more ›
Amazon’s all-new Echo Show 10, announced last fall, is finally available to pre-order. The $249.99 flagship smart display features a motor in the base that allows the screen to automatically face you when you interact with it. During a video call, for instance, the Echo Show 10 uses its camera and microphone to keep you in view, which is a nice feature to have now that Echo Shows support group calling and Zoom calls. It also keeps you centered on the screen while a video is playing, such as through its recently added Netflix support. The Echo Show 10 will ship on February 25. You can get $100 off if you order two and use promocode SHOW102PACK at checkout.
Amazon says that group calling is now available for audio calls through an Echo or video calls through an Echo Show. The feature supports up to 7 participants and is available in Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, the US, and the UK. You can go into the Alexa app to create a group containing multiple contacts and then call that group at once by saying “Alexa, call [group name].” Read more ›
Amazon has launched a Live Translation feature for Alexa that will translate between two languages in real-time. The feature uses an Amazon Echo or Echo Show to translate conversations between English and French, German, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Read more ›
Netflix has officially arrived on Amazon Echo Show smart displays. The integration was announced a few months ago and now all Echo Show models can stream Netflix directly. The service works on the 1st-gen Echo Show, 2nd-gen Echo Show, Echo Show 5, and Echo Show 8. The Echo Spot is the only Echo model with a screen that is not supported, which is no surprise considering its screen is so small. Read more ›
As you may or may not know, the Amazon Echo Show line of smart displays run an OS based on Android. Despite my hopes and dreams, modding an Echo Show to do more than what it was originally intended to hasn’t been possible because the device is pretty locked down. A reader of AFTVnews by the name of Wilson C. just stumbled on a way to bring up Android’s default file manager and browser internal files on an Echo Show. Even though I haven’t thought of any use for this new peek behind the curtain of the Echo Show, here are instructions for how to do it, in hopes that someone else might think of something interesting to do with the information. Read more ›
Along with the plethora of things announced today by Amazon, among them is the news that Netflix is finally going to be available through Amazon Echo Show smart displays. The world’s most popular streaming service joins Prime Video and Hulu as the newest streaming service on Amazon’s displays, just a couple of months after Netflix became available on Google’s smart displays. Amazon says you will be able to use your voice to search Netflix for shows and movies, as well as control playback. It’s not known yet if all Echo Show models will receive Netflix or only select models. It was shown off on the new Echo Show 10 announced today, so it’ll obviously be available on that device, which makes sense since it can literally follow you around the room to keep the screen in view while watching content.
At their big hardware announcement event, Amazon revealed the all-new Echo Show 10, which is the 3rd-generation of their flagship smart display. Available in both charcoal and white for $249.99, the Echo Show 10’s biggest trick is that it now moves to keep you in view. A motor built into the base allows the device to automatically swivel when you interact with it so that you always have a good view of the screen. Read more ›
Zoom, the video calling/meeting service, has announced that they’ll be adding support for Zoom video calls to Amazon Echo Show devices this fall. Support will first be added to the Echo Show 8, with other models presumably gaining the functionality later in the year. You’ll be able to simply say “Alexa, join my zoom meeting” to start a video call. Zoom says that if you have your calendar linked in the Alexa app, you won’t need to know your meeting ID or passcode to enter meetings through your Echo Show. If you’re planning to use the new functionality, you might want to pick up one of Amazon’s Echo Show adjustable stands to better position the screen and camera. When Zoom support arrives, it will become the 3rd option for video calls on Echo Show devices, along with Amazon’s own calling service and Skype.
Amazon Echo Show devices are appearing as casting receivers in the YouTube app for Android, as pointed out to me by an AFTVnews reader. Sure enough, when tapping the cast icon on my phone, both my 1st-gen and 2nd-gen Echo Shows are listed as cast points, alongside my Fire TV devices. Apart from a bit of a loophole, that has since been closed, YouTube apps and Echo Shows have not had any casting interaction in the past. Unfortunately, even though Echo Shows are listed as valid casting receivers, selecting one does not actually work. Read more ›
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