Echo HUB? New Amazon Product - 8" home control panel

And then they’ll shut down the Echo business unit, for being continually unprofitable, turning them into paperweights.

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https://www.amazon.com/Echo-Hub/dp/B0BCR7M9KX/
Not gonna lie looks tempting and reasonably priced.

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What do you find to be most tempting?

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Well being I have been working on my own ios/android app for a easy to use dashboard I personally like the interface they are showing. And with alexa integration already through HE most all my devices already work. I am continuing on with my app but this looks promising. I know the dashboard of HE is highly customizable but doesn't really fit me personally.

Can you edit out the referral code in your amazon link?

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You know about this (amazing) Android dashboard community app, right?

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I would never ever ever buy an Amazon tablet/display for home control. It is counter to Hubitat’s principle of local control as every command initiated on the tablet will have to go through Amazon’s cloud and back. @danabw recommended a much better alternative.

If only using the device as a tablet and using a browser or android app this is less of a concern or no concern at all.

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Done sorry didnt' mean to paste that hadn't had my coffee lol

Its a valid point but so much of hubitat also relies on cloud now with the user plugins and such. Getting away from the cloud is really hard outside of zwave and zigbee devices.

There’s certainly more choices if one wants to use cloud-dependent devices. But Hubitat has quite a few integrations that connect to devices on a user’s LAN.

Lutron, Hue, Lifx, Bond, Shelly, a few AV receiver brands come to mind.

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All Amazon touch screen tech sucks oh n my opinion. I use. Fire HD 10 as a wall panel. I bought one of those Android tablets you see on TikTok, with octacore SoC think it might be better but the web experience in FullyKios Browser is even worse. I have been through 6 different tablets and they all suck more than the fired HD in terms of web UI performance. I have given up on trying.

My take on this is that it’s the Echo Show 15 in 8” form factor. If so, I don’t expect it to be much better.

I had a show 8 in my kitchen until it died and Amazon refused to fix the isssue (under warranty) they only offer $80 discount toward a new one.

It’s not necessarily the case that two matter devices can talk to each other — this is especially true when the two devices are hubs. For instance, HomeKit and Alexa won’t talk to each other over matter, even though they both can talk to hue over matter protocol. Don’t know why, but I read that there still needs to be support for it to work. This was early on, so that may not be true.

I will probably give this a go, I will put it in the study for my wife as I like the idea of it showing snapshots of the ring cameras and doing the doorbell thing with our ring doorbell as well as being able to drop in from other Amazon devices etc. We currently have a Show 5 in there and have been contemplating one of the bigger ones for a better screen size and this has that basic home hub functionality that will suit my wife while she is working in the study. I don't really need it to do a lot but pulling together some functionality for her in one screen without it being over complicated etc will be a plus.

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I am using HA+HADB for integrating many BT and LAN devices with HE 100% locally.

If you can side load Android APKs I'm in. If It's locked down like the show 15 then it's a no go.

I have multiple fire HD + tablets that are more than powerful enough for a dashboard.

The Echo show 15 is actually on sale for $150 refurbished. I was about to buy it but then noticed that there was some crazy workarounds to actually be able to get a dashboard showing. Apparently it was easier in the beginning when they first came out but Amazon patched it.

Kindle Fire 8 HD, a nice mount by Makes by Mike, Sharptools for the UI running on Fully Kiosk Browser. You can do it all for half the price of this - have a beautiful UI that you control completely and that works seamlessly with Hubitat. I have them all over the house and they are working great.

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Big thing for me is the white bezel and power location. It does make it so you can mount one if these without mounts and enclosures. Not holding my breath though.

For $180 USD you can get a very nice used 10" iPad with a white bezel and put it in kiosk mode with whatever dashboard you like. Plus, you know it'll be supported with software and security updates for up to 7 years.

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I just saw this article - personally, this is a good reason for me to stay clear of future Echo products.