Essential Home is a new Amazon Echo competitor. The firm also launched a phone today.
Details are few on the intelligent assistant device. From the photo above, it sports a puck-like shape with a sloping top that’s dominated by a round touchscreen, which allows users to control music, ask general interest questions, set times, and control lights. Essential say it be activated with a question, a tap, or even a glance.
The Essential Home will run the company’s open platform Ambient OS, allowing it to interface with existing smart home products basedon SmartThings, HomeKit, Nest, and other popular standards. The intelligent assistant will also support notifications and reminders with contextual information displayed on-screen.
Pricing has been disclosed, but the Essential Home is expected to ship later this summer.
