More evidence has now been revealed that points to the fact that Amazon will indeed be coming out with a touchscreen-equipped ECHO Smart Speaker. The company has long been rumored to be coming out with its next generation Echo speaker but is seems like the brand new offering will be quite different from its predecessors.

Images of the next generation Echo

The first actual evidence that Amazon was going to be releasing a new smart speaker with a built-in touchscreen was through an alleged thumbnail image that was spotted on Amazon's servers. The image wasn't really a high resolution one, but a lot of clues as to what will be included could still be made out.

Shortly after the thumbnail itself was spread online, the renowned leakster Evan Blass then went on Twitter to post several high-resolution images of the alleged new Amazon Echo smart speaker. The leakster actually posted two color options for the new Alexa-equipped device, which means that Amazon may be releasing it in various other color options as well.

A new way of interacting with Alexa

The addition of a touchscreen on the device will provide users with an entirely new way to interact with Alexa as she will now be able to display relevant images and videos aside from just answering vocally.

There are a lot of interesting features that can be seen in the new images, which includes the addition of a front facing camera. This might indicate that the new device may be used for video calling, taking photos, and taking videos.

Additionally, there seems to be a default home screen embedded in the operating system that shows the time, weather, and what looks to be the number of unread messages.

The messages may be for an email account or perhaps text messages from the user's paired device. The addition of the screen will certainly be useful in certain situations where voice assistance will be insufficient. This includes asking for directions or accessing social media posts that contain photos or videos. Users may soon also be able to ask Alexa to play certain online videos as well, which will definitely be a welcomed addition for users.

The next big thing in virtual assistant-equipped devices

Aside from Amazon, Apple is also reportedly building their own Siri-equipped smart speaker. Unlike Amazon, the company is rumored to directly offer a device with a touchscreen display already built-in. There is, of course, no confirmation yet as to when the company will be unveiling their new offering, but there is a big possibility that Apple will unveil its new product during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) event next month.
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