Amazon's new Echo speaker has a built-in camera and gives AI-powered fashion advice

midian182

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If you’ve ever used an Amazon Echo smart speaker and thought “this is great, but I really wish it came with a build-in camera and told me what to wear,” then good news: the company has just unveiled the Echo Look, the latest in its Alexa-powered speaker lineup that takes photos, videos, and evaluates your clothing choices.

The new device’s depth-sensing, 5-megapixel camera and LED lighting lets you capture selfies simply by saying “Alexa, take a photo," or "Alexa, take a video.” It’s able to blur backgrounds to make the images really pop, and they’re instantly uploaded to the new Echo Look app where they can be shared on Facebook, Instagram, etc. You can also view a livestream of what the Look’s recording to see yourself from all angles.

For the less fashionable folks among us, the app also comes with a “Style Check” feature. It combines Amazon’s machine learning algorithms with advice from stylists to offer a second opinion - helpful when nobody’s around, or if friends are too polite to say your clothes makes you look homeless.

In the demonstration video, a user is seen uploading photos of them wearing two different outfits. The app tells them which one looks best, based on current trends and what’s flattering for their body shape. The more you use the feature, the smarter it will become.

Amazon will, of course, want anyone who buys new clothes based on the speaker’s advice to use its own retail site. There’s even an “Inspired by your look” feature in the app that helps you “discover new brands.”

The Echo Look performs all the same functions as Amazon’s other smart speakers, such as playing music and controlling smart home devices. It costs $199, but the only way you can buy one is to request an invitation from the Look page.

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Always-on remote audio surveillance device turns into an always-on remote video & audio surveillance device in your bedroom? I think I'll pass on these new trendy & smart corporate surveillance devices thanks...
 
If you’ve ever used an Amazon Echo smart speaker and thought “this is great, but I really wish it came with a build-in camera and told me what to wear,” then you're too dumb to realise that all that it's doing is spying on you and invading your privacy, figuring out what ad's to throw in your face in the future and fooling you into thinking it's something useful. The sad thing is that you're expected to pay a fair deal for that 'useful' gadget and 'service'.
I wouldn't have one even if I was paid to, let alone buy one.
 
Alexa post my nudes! Seriously, I am sure the porn industry would be a lot more interested in this than someone wondering how they look.

As for people who keep on nagging about voice command devices being a surveillance device, have you ever thought about that fancy phone you carry around with you all the time? I get the concern and I have thought about it too, but it I was going to spy on people, I would target their smart phones.

In conclusion, I do not care about this nor do I plan to get one. I have an echo (it was a gift) and I do not find it that useful. The most I use it for is to get the weather forecast and to listen to music. Heck, most of the random questions I ask her, she does not have an answer for them.
 
Think about what has happened to book stores since the Kindle. Or many other brick and mortar shops. I don't think it will all happen with this particular iteration of the Echo, but to me this signals that clothing stores are on the chopping block.
 
All advise would probably start with, "This would look better if you lose some weight".
 
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