Essential Home Features a Touchscreen Interface

Essential’s Android-powered smartphone the PH-1 has become a hot topic in recent weeks. Available for pre-order with a starting price of $699, it features some of top-tier specs with a modernized design. The PH-1 is the brainchild of a startup company called Essential. But Essential isn’t limiting itself to strictly producing phones. The company has also announced a new smart hub for the home, similar to Amazon’s Echo. Unlike the Echo, however, Essential’s smart hub will feature a touchscreen interface.

Essential has kept relatively quiet about its upcoming “Essential Home” smart hub. We still don’t know how much it will cost, or when it will officially launch. We do know, however, that it will follow in the footsteps of its Amazon Echo counterpart, allowing consumers to perform a wide variety of commands, some of which include getting updates on weather, news, sports games, setting reminders, playing music, and much more.

The Essential Home will support the same voice-controlled commands as its Amazon Echo counterpart. This voice-controlled input has become a popular trend in modern homes, as it doesn’t require any physical contact with the device or connected peripheral. The user simply speaks the command into the device’s microphone, at which point the Essential Home returns with the appropriate response.

In addition to voice-controlled input, the Essential Home will also feature a touchscreen interface. The touchscreen interface will serve as an alternative means of input for the device. If a user prefers touch-based commands instead of voice, he or she can do so with the Essential Home.

“The idea behind Essential Home is that technology is there, supportive, and proactive enough to be helpful, without forcing you to ask or type a question. It’s in your environment; you can tap or glance at it, but it never intrudes or takes you away from the things that are important to you,” explained Essential when describing the Home hub on its website.

The Essential Home is expected to be one of the hottest consumer electronics this year. And because it features a touchscreen interface, it may even surpass the Amazon Echo in terms of popularity. Until it’s actually released, though, we really don’t know how the Essential Home will fare against established brands like Amazon.