Amazon Planning New Alexa Device that Connects Users like an Intercom

Word has surfaced that Amazon is working on a new hardware device that will launch this year using the Alexa voice technology found inside the Echo line of devices. The big new feature on this device according to reports will be the ability to connect one Alexa user to another like an intercom. Currently there are a couple devices where you can get the firm’s voice tech, the Echo and the Echo Dot.

The normal Echo has a Bluetooth speaker inside and the Echo Dot lacks that speaker. The products have proven popular with buyers and have become quite a surprise hit. Amazon won’t say just how many of the Echo devices it has sold, but estimates peg the number as high as 5 million units.

This new rumor would go nicely with older rumors that claim Amazon is working on a device that runs the Alexa voice assistant that has a screen for making video calls. Quartz reports that Amazon has also recently invested in a company called Nucleus that builds video intercom systems that are able to connect to Alexa devices.

No official comments on these rumors have been made. If the rumors are true this tech sounds rather like Skype running on a dedicated device. There is no time frame offered from the source of the rumor on when Amazon might launch the new hardware or what other features the device might have.