The smart speaker/assistant conundrum.
With Amazon's flurry of devices revealed this week and the rumours of Google's impending wave of new smart speakers I'm noticing a trend and a problem. Amazon's broad array of devices is an admission of a problem. One I've pointed out in other areas before. The market is not one size fits all.
That other market I mentioned it in before was wearables. And the solution I see is in the same vein. For wearables I felt that key was price and interoperability. Don't build expensive "islanded" devices.
My application of that in the smart assistant world is a little different. And a little more capitalist friendly. So, maybe it will come to fruition one day.
The problem with the smart assistant is simple. It needs to be there when you need it, and be capable of doing what you need it to do. If it doesn't, you either won't start using, or won't continue to use it. Of course, it also needs to add some value, but I think it is a fair assumption that for the right audience, these devices already add value.
Anyway, the problem for companies at present should be clear from the above. It means you need a device in every primary room, and each one needs different capabilities. But, right now that is A) expensive and B) an all or nothing shot.
Applying a variant of my wearables logic, what I feel is missing and sorely needed is a degree of modularity.
Every room NEEDS a microphone and to an almost equally large degree a speaker. But, some rooms require a larger or multiple speakers. Others may require a larger microphone array. Some may require a small screen. And in some niche cases a larger screen. Rather than a broad offering of assembled solutions... I think that the mic arrays, speakers and small screens should be discreet and stackable but also somewhat standalone units. Large screens would obviously not stack on top of a speaker in the fashion of the Echo Spot, so that would just be standalone.
By standalone, I don't mean entirely. I think only the mic arrays (and optionally screens) need to house the brains of a unit.
What it would automatically do is reduce to need to diversify the product line any larger than 4 products. Sure. You could still sell them "bundled" with a single speaker and mic array to match the Echo Dot, or a mic array and a tower of speakers to deliver a full Echo experience.
Then, if you can ensure that those modules are priced appropriately... voila!
Added trick... in a room with no speakers or screens, information could be relayed back through a phone if paired by BT. Now, for many rooms you might just have a mic array. In theory, cost goes down. More people get on board. And, if you find part of your solution is inadequate, you simply buy the component(s) you need more of. You're never worrying about replacing an Echo Dot with an Echo. You just buy 2 more speakers, and POOF, your Dot is not a full blown Echo and you saved money on the upgrade.
Obviously, the capitalism friendly bit isn't the bit where you save money. But, it is the fact that lowering the barrier to entry while beefing up the extensibility of the system should actually increase both the number of people who buy and the average amount they spend on the system.
I clearly can't prove this. But I think that the average person who bought an Echo Dot and only needs one device but wants to upgrade to the full blown Echo is more likely to stick with the Dot than a person who could simply buy more speaker columns to add to the device. And I think having that option would entice others. And THAT is what I think would make this appear valuable to enterprising sorts.
There are a few more pluses. I'm not sure, looking at the Spot, that Amazon built these products holistically, thinking about how they fit into the broader ecosystem. But, a modular system forces you to think very carefully about the user experience and how to be consistent and intuitive with it. It also adds a ton of growth opportunity. Whole house or room audio across separate detached speakers. Or configuring a group of speakers to act as a surround stereo system. Leveraging displays (assuming they have appropriate sensors) as motion detectors, etc...
At the end of the day... right now (if I could buy them in Canada) I could see myself throwing 3 Echo Dots in various places around the house. $50 ain't bad. The Echo Spot is SUPER appealing to me. But at the price point I would buy 0. It costs as much as those 3 Dots alone and I don't know how much I'd actually use it. If I could buy the 3 Dots and then buy just the display at a more reasonable price to add to an Dot in my collection... I might do so at a later date. And, if it rocks, I would over time upgrade more.
Similarly, the big Echo seems great for audio. But, the cost is prohibitive on the same scale as the Spot. For the same price as 3 Dots, I get one. And I don't know if it is overkill or not enough for where I would want to use it. I'd rather start with 3 Dots, and if I find rooms where they could be louder or clearer then just "upgrade" those as needed. And in both cases, I'd rather just buy and stick with 3 Dots than the alternative.
And I'm sure that over time, they will add sensors or different modes of I/O. With the current models, that would mean whole new products. The cost to get in and stay in the game right now is high and limits sales.
LOOK AT THAT! Not a single suggestion that Amazon work with Google, or Google allow Microsoft to integrate with their products. Pure, selfish, capitalist ideas! I recognize what I want complicates designs and generates more questions than it answers. But I think it is totally doable.
That other market I mentioned it in before was wearables. And the solution I see is in the same vein. For wearables I felt that key was price and interoperability. Don't build expensive "islanded" devices.
My application of that in the smart assistant world is a little different. And a little more capitalist friendly. So, maybe it will come to fruition one day.
The problem with the smart assistant is simple. It needs to be there when you need it, and be capable of doing what you need it to do. If it doesn't, you either won't start using, or won't continue to use it. Of course, it also needs to add some value, but I think it is a fair assumption that for the right audience, these devices already add value.
Anyway, the problem for companies at present should be clear from the above. It means you need a device in every primary room, and each one needs different capabilities. But, right now that is A) expensive and B) an all or nothing shot.
Applying a variant of my wearables logic, what I feel is missing and sorely needed is a degree of modularity.
Every room NEEDS a microphone and to an almost equally large degree a speaker. But, some rooms require a larger or multiple speakers. Others may require a larger microphone array. Some may require a small screen. And in some niche cases a larger screen. Rather than a broad offering of assembled solutions... I think that the mic arrays, speakers and small screens should be discreet and stackable but also somewhat standalone units. Large screens would obviously not stack on top of a speaker in the fashion of the Echo Spot, so that would just be standalone.
By standalone, I don't mean entirely. I think only the mic arrays (and optionally screens) need to house the brains of a unit.
What it would automatically do is reduce to need to diversify the product line any larger than 4 products. Sure. You could still sell them "bundled" with a single speaker and mic array to match the Echo Dot, or a mic array and a tower of speakers to deliver a full Echo experience.
Then, if you can ensure that those modules are priced appropriately... voila!
Added trick... in a room with no speakers or screens, information could be relayed back through a phone if paired by BT. Now, for many rooms you might just have a mic array. In theory, cost goes down. More people get on board. And, if you find part of your solution is inadequate, you simply buy the component(s) you need more of. You're never worrying about replacing an Echo Dot with an Echo. You just buy 2 more speakers, and POOF, your Dot is not a full blown Echo and you saved money on the upgrade.
Obviously, the capitalism friendly bit isn't the bit where you save money. But, it is the fact that lowering the barrier to entry while beefing up the extensibility of the system should actually increase both the number of people who buy and the average amount they spend on the system.
I clearly can't prove this. But I think that the average person who bought an Echo Dot and only needs one device but wants to upgrade to the full blown Echo is more likely to stick with the Dot than a person who could simply buy more speaker columns to add to the device. And I think having that option would entice others. And THAT is what I think would make this appear valuable to enterprising sorts.
There are a few more pluses. I'm not sure, looking at the Spot, that Amazon built these products holistically, thinking about how they fit into the broader ecosystem. But, a modular system forces you to think very carefully about the user experience and how to be consistent and intuitive with it. It also adds a ton of growth opportunity. Whole house or room audio across separate detached speakers. Or configuring a group of speakers to act as a surround stereo system. Leveraging displays (assuming they have appropriate sensors) as motion detectors, etc...
At the end of the day... right now (if I could buy them in Canada) I could see myself throwing 3 Echo Dots in various places around the house. $50 ain't bad. The Echo Spot is SUPER appealing to me. But at the price point I would buy 0. It costs as much as those 3 Dots alone and I don't know how much I'd actually use it. If I could buy the 3 Dots and then buy just the display at a more reasonable price to add to an Dot in my collection... I might do so at a later date. And, if it rocks, I would over time upgrade more.
Similarly, the big Echo seems great for audio. But, the cost is prohibitive on the same scale as the Spot. For the same price as 3 Dots, I get one. And I don't know if it is overkill or not enough for where I would want to use it. I'd rather start with 3 Dots, and if I find rooms where they could be louder or clearer then just "upgrade" those as needed. And in both cases, I'd rather just buy and stick with 3 Dots than the alternative.
And I'm sure that over time, they will add sensors or different modes of I/O. With the current models, that would mean whole new products. The cost to get in and stay in the game right now is high and limits sales.
LOOK AT THAT! Not a single suggestion that Amazon work with Google, or Google allow Microsoft to integrate with their products. Pure, selfish, capitalist ideas! I recognize what I want complicates designs and generates more questions than it answers. But I think it is totally doable.
Comments
Post a Comment