When Amazon launched the Echo back in 2015, it immediately shot to the top of charts. Two years later, Google has released its own competitor and Apple is rumored to introduce a smart speaker as soon as this year, but a new leak suggests that Amazon might be preparing to unveil a significant upgrade to its Echo line that could make both Google Home and the upcoming Siri speaker obsolete.
On Friday, AFTVnews shared a low-resolution image of what it claims to be an Amazon Echo device with a touchscreen. It’s hard to tell from the grainy image above, but the device appears to feature a camera at the top, a display in the center and a speaker at the bottom. The display shows the time of day, the weather, information about an upcoming event and some other illegible information.
You might be skeptical about the existence of this device, but AFTVnews was the first to report on the Echo Look, which was announced by Amazon at the end of last month. Elias Saba, who runs AFTVnews, says that he uncovered this image on Amazon’s servers “in a similar manner” to how he discovered the Look. That’s not a guarantee that it’s real, but it gives the rumor a great deal of credibility.
Rumors suggest that this touchscreen Echo (codenamed “Knight”) will serve as the flagship device for Amazon’s Alexa-powered lineup. Its speakers should be an improvement over the speakers on the Echo, and the screen (which is rumored to be around 7 inches) could possibly be used for video calls.
Saba wasn’t able to share any additional information about the price or release date, but says that based on where he found it, he expects it to launch this month. Also, in terms of price, it will presumably cost more than the $180 Echo, as it appears to feature a full display and a camera.
UPDATE: VentureBeat’s Evan Blass shared two high-resolution photos of the Echo Knight:
Here, let me help you with that. pic.twitter.com/9YokBj4pXQ
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) May 5, 2017
..but it comes in white, too! pic.twitter.com/FDm7fi75rD
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) May 5, 2017
