Voice Assistants With Displays Are Here but Do We Need Them?
Amazon Echo Spot was one of the first voice assistants to come with a display.
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Big tech giants like Amazon, Facebook and Google have been experimenting with voice assistants for a while and recently ventured into touch displays for voice assistants.
Last year Amazon launched the Echo Spot which really didn’t hit the right note with customers. Gradually, we saw other tech biggies like Google and Facebook chalk up their own designs with display supported voice assistants, but none came into the limelight.
Now, with the launch of Amazon Show, one is forced to think: Do we really need a display on a voice assistant? And, is the ecosystem ready to justify this innovative addition?
Content Calamity
At first, the idea of a display on a voice assistant sounds cool, but in reality when you see it for yourself, it feels like overkill.
The Echo Spot comes with a 2.5-inch touch-based display, which is a good quality display and is sturdy thanks to its Gorilla Glass protection. But, when it comes to viewing content on the same, it’s a major disappointment. The size of the display is too small!
However, with the 10.5-inch screen of the Echo Show, Amazon manages to raise the bar a bit. No doubt that it is a good-quality display and can be used to view some content.
There are thousands of households today which like consuming video content on smartphones and laptops. In that case, a 10.5-inch fits perfectly in the scheme of things.
To add to this, the audio quality of the Echo Show is excellent thanks to its dual channel stereo speaker system. It carries rich bass and the mids are loud enough for a medium size room.
But, without a bigger display, the whole setup feels incomplete.
To conclude, I wouldn’t say that content viewing is one of the strongest suits of these devices, but they can surely work when one is trying to catch a quick 20-minute episode of his/her favourite show.
Just ‘Drop In’
Perhaps the biggest game changer and one of the reasons why I would want a display on a voice assistant is to be able to video chat with another user.
The fact that the Amazon Echo and the Echo Show sport displays tells you that Amazon is looking to create an ecosystem where Amazon users wouldn’t have to pick up a smartphone to video chat or even call.
Upon using both the Echo and the Show, I found the video and audio clarity of the two good enough even during long sessions.
Even Facebook launched its video chat hardware dubbed Portal and Portal Plus. The smart thing Facebook did is to make it purely for video chatting and nothing else. Sensible.
What works against this aspect of the Show or the Spot is that many people these days are using smartphones to video chat over the internet, which is cheaper and readily available.
So, does it really warrant buying a separate device just to view content? I doubt it.
The Game of Skills
There are many applications/skills these companies offer, which make the user experience better when there is a display to back those apps. Interactive games, puzzles and video tutorials are the cream of the massive amount of apps and skills these platforms offer.
However, there is still a lot of darkness around how many of the users actually use the display for these. It’s always great to have a visual cue, but I feel it’s something you can do without as well.
What the latest Echo Show brings to the table is its smart home hub, which helps you connect with wifi-enabled home appliances.
Especially home security systems. It’s always good to know who’s at the front door when you’re sitting in the living room.
The Verdict
Voice assistant devices like the Google Home Hub, Amazon Echo Show and the Echo Spot are future ready devices, but certainly don’t find a lot of takers in the present scenario.
These are gizmos with a very niche user base which is why it will not have many takers for now.
Considering the present ecosystem, I feel the companies lack the right amount of compatible applications/skills and hardware, where users would feel they would really need a display with a voice assistant.
Currently, the rate at which technology is evolving, I wouldn’t be surprised if all the voice assistants in the near future sport displays bringing an end to the ones that just offer a speaker support.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)