The Amazon Echo’s virtual voice assistant “Alexa” is already a great listener — now, a new report suggests she might soon keep an eye on your home, too.
That scoop comes in the form of a picture of an Amazon-branded security camera that AFTVNews reportedly found “sitting on Amazon.com.” The small, free-standing design is similar to products like the Nest Cam or the Canary Flex, but it’s the blue ring around the lens — reminiscent of the blue ring on top of the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot smart speakers — that’s raising eyebrows.
Does that mean that this thing is a voice-activated Alexa Camera? It’s too early to tell… Still… One recent report projects that the smart speaker category will see more than $2 billion in sales by 2020, so why not hitch a voice-friendly camera along for the ride?
So now your internet connected microphone will have a camera too, so the watchers can keep an eye on you in your house while they listen.
If people ever come to fully understand just how watched everyone is, often just for the amusement of the watchers, all of these tech stocks will collapse overnight. Whoever times the shorting of their stocks just right will be a billionaire.
[…] Amazon Creating Alexa Camera? […]
You’d have to be a complete idiot to put one of these things in your home. Voice, camera, any of it.
The idiot population is a huge market.
Microsoft tried this with their Kinect system for the Xbox One. The ads talked about how Kinect would know when you entered the room,identify you, and then ask if you would like to watch your favorite show/play your game/etc. The idea of a camera and mic tied to the Internet via Microsoft was not considered a desirable feature. The Xbox One didn’t take off in sales until Microsoft made the Kinect an option.