Amazon unveils Alexa Home Map, letting you control your smart home in 3D
Alexa Home Map lets users control individual smart home devices from one place, without remembering their names or searching through menus.
Amazon has been a major player in the smart home market for years, but fresh competition from Apple may have lit a fire under it. The company has just unveiled a new lineup of Alexa devices, including Echo speakers, a smart alarm clock, a photo frame, and the Echo Show 16. On the software side, Amazon also introduced Alexa Home Map, which puts your connected devices on an interactive 3D model of your house, letting you monitor and control them from one place.
Your entire smart home on a 3D map
If you’re not a fan of the aesthetics of the Amazon Echo family, there is a new way to bring Alexa into your home. At Mobile World Congress 2018, Harman International debuted the Harman Kardon Astra in partnership with Brightstar. The intelligent speaker comes with Amazon Alexa built into the device and boasts an elegant design and 360-degree omnidirectional sound field.
Promising to combine a “superior listening experience with a premium look and feel” with the convenience of Alexa’s smart voice technology, the Astra seems, in some ways, to be Harman Kardon’s answer to the Apple HomePod. Thanks to its three 1.75-inch full-range transducers, three 0.75-inch dome tweeters, and two passive radiators, the Astra seems to offer a better listening experience than you might expect from an Amazon Echo.
“The Harman Kardon Astra is the latest voice agent product from Harman and solidifies our leadership in the space,” David Owens, vice president of Business Development at Harman, said in a statement. “Launching this as a Brightstar exclusive gives Harman the opportunity to reach new channels and customers around the globe.”
While the sound quality of the Harman Kardon Astra seems to be the primary selling point of the device, the Alexa integration is nothing to sneeze at. Whether you want to listen to the latest episode of your favorite podcast, hear the evening’s weather report, or tell your connected devices what to do, you can do so by talking to the Astra. The speaker features proprietary far-field voice technology, which should allow the Astra to hear your commands even in the noisiest of environments.
“We’re delighted to continue bringing exclusive and innovative products, such as the Harman Kardon Astra with Amazon Alexa,” Khalid Zitouni, vice president of Global Gear at Brightstar, said in a statement. “With our channel partners, we’re reaching global markets and a large customer base expanding the Harman brand.”
It’s unclear as of yet what pricing will be on the Harman Kardon Astra, but the speaker will be made available for purchase beginning this spring or summer. You will be able to get your hands on one via Brighstar channels or on Harman Kardon’s website or, of course, Amazon.