Amazon has surprised many fans by announcing the return of a beloved smart device.
The retail giant teased the 2024 release of the Echo Spot in a promotional video earlier this week, a bedside alarm clock that displays the time, weather, and song title.
Amazon has announced the return of its Echo Spot smart alarm clock with Alexa voice control integration, but some shoppers are skeptical. Credit: Amazon
There’s also Amazon Alexa integration, allowing you to request music and information via the company’s leading voice assistant.
The original model was released in 2017 but was discontinued two years later.
The improved Echo Spot is nearly identical to the previous design, except for the front, which is split into a screen and speaker.
Would-be buyers flocked to Reddit, but one question far outweighed the others: “Does it show ads?”
Several users have said that the never-ending stream of ads is the reason they dumped their Echo devices in the first place.
“The big question for me is ‘will there be ads or not?’ where ‘ads’ is interpreted broadly to include any content I didn’t ask to see,” wrote one Reddit user.
“As we all know, Echo Show displays a variety of ads and it is very difficult, if not impossible, to disable this behavior completely.”
Another user claimed the retailer had “clearly indicated” it was willing to “show ads on any device with a screen.”
“There should be no need to disable/hide/uncheck/whatever you want to call it, and Amazon can (and often does) re-enable ads at any time,” the user wrote.
“This is why I refuse any Amazon device with a screen.”
Panicked AI users revolt in Silicon Valley as tech giants like Apple and Amazon oppose policy changes
Yet another user accused the company of “creating a bug in all Echo devices” to encourage people to buy new products.
“Amazon will not do well,” declared one netizen.
“That just tells me your product doesn’t work and that you shouldn’t have it in your home.”
However, some enthusiastic fans revealed that they had already purchased the device just hours after it went on sale on Amazon’s website.
Many potential buyers expressed concern that the device would display nonstop ads like its predecessor. Photo: Getty Images
“I ordered it with next-day delivery,” one Reddit user reported, vowing to replace “2-4 Echo Show 5s” with the product.
However, this promise came with two conditions.
“The big question for me is, will it show ads in the US and will it be able to keep the time on the screen without randomly switching to another screen?” the user wrote.
The new Echo Spot was released to coincide with Prime Day, an annual sales event for Prime members that offers deep discounts on a variety of products, including electronics.
It’s currently on sale for $44.99, about 40% off the list price.
What is Alexa?
If you haven’t heard of Alexa, here’s what you need to know…
Alexa is an “intelligent” personal assistant developed by Amazon. It is available on a variety of devices, including Amazon Echo speakers. Alexa responds to voice commands and fulfills your requests. It can perform thousands of tasks, such as telling you the news and weather. It can also do more complex things, like ordering a pizza or arranging an Uber taxi pickup. To activate Alexa, you need to say “Alexa” to your Amazon Echo speaker. Alexa is powered by artificial intelligence, so it’s always getting smarter. Alexa also gets used to your voice and over time it gets better at understanding what you want.
Source link
