TCL is updating its Xess line of Android-based products with a new model featuring support for Amazon’s Alexa voice service.
The Xess is a 17.3 inch touchscreen device that looks like a big tablet, or a small TV. But TCL is positioning the new model as a smart home hub.
It’s available from Amazon for $500.
Since Alexa supports a range of smart home devices including locks, light bulbs, and thermostats, you can control those products with voice commands. And the Xess also comes with a remote camera that you can place anywhere in your house to monitor activity on the big tablet’s display.
The device runs Google Android software, but has a customized 3-panel home screen which lets you view a selection of content from different apps on the same screen. One of those panels can now be dedicated to a feed from the security camera, which lets you use the Xess as a baby monitor, for example.
The Xess with Alexa features a 1920 x 1080 pixel display, a 1.5 GHz octa-core MediaTek processor, 3GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a battery which lets you use the Xess when it’s unplugged, in case you wanted to leave it stationed in the kitchen most of the time, but also want to be able to carry it to the living room or bedroom without having to carry the power cord.