It looks like the future of hands-free calling is here, after Amazon announced the new Echo Show on Tuesday, a version of the popular smart speaker with a touchscreen reminiscent of a '90s TV.
With the Show, the company also announced video calling for its device, as well as free voice calling and messaging on the Alexa platform across all Echo devices, as well as the Alexa app, which can be used on iOS and Android.
To make a call, simply say to Alexa – hands-free. There’s also a messaging feature, which lets you share and receive audio messages via your device and the Alexa app. Alexa uses a VoIP service to make calls.
It's basically the landline phone of 2017. Landlines have fallen out of favor in recent years, but the desire to talk to our loved ones while we're at home is always there. An upgrade to a landline phone may sound trivial, but it's important for parents with young children and the elderly.
Echo is already available in several countries and continues to expand internationally, which will provide more incentive to use Alexa's free calling and messaging. The incentive to use it is similar to Apple's FaceTime, which has been a big hit with iOS users. Amazon has a much larger market share — about 70%, according to a recent eMarketer survey, compared to Apple's 17.8% share of the smartphone market.
Amazon's calling and messaging could be used independently of phone or laptop operating systems, with Alexa as the unifying platform. The ability to make free calls to your home from anywhere in the world is another feature that's technically possible across many different apps and devices, but it's incredibly powerful.
The feature will be rolling out to Echo, Dot, and the Alexa app for iOS and Android.
