Amazon Echo smart speaker with video screen is in the works?

One of the hottest tech devices of the last couple of years has been the Amazon Echo smart speaker. The device is powered by the cloud based AI assistant dubbed Alexa by the online retailer. Alexa has been so popular that Motorola is going to include it on some of its Moto branded handsets this year. The U.S. version of the Huawei Mate 9 will also feature Alexa handling the same tasks that Google Now usually takes care of.

Amazon is rumored to be working on an enhanced version of the Echo smart speaker which will feature a video screen. This device has the code name "Knight,." and will be able to answer more complex questions than those models that don't sport a screen. Amazon might try to speed up the introduction of this model in order to stay ahead of Google in this competitive market. Google Home, the search giant's smart speaker, features Google Assistant and last week it added multi-user capabilities, something that the Amazon Echo does not feature.

Amazon and Google are numbers 1 and 2 respectively in the smart speaker segment. Microsoft is tossing its hat in the ring later this year with the Harman Kardon Invoke. This will feature a premium Harman Kardon speaker and will employ the software giant's personal assistant Cortana.

source: CNET