Like dozens of other manufacturers, Archos is packing its bags and heading to Las Vegas for CES 2019. The company will have plenty of new gear on display, some of which they’re obviously very excited about. So excited, in fact, that they couldn’t wait for CES to show it off.

Archos is expanding their lineup with a pair of new smart displays. Unlike the Archos Hello which launched this February with Google’s Smart Display platform running the show these new models will feature Alexa integration.

First up is the Mate 5. It features a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and (you guessed it!) a 5-inch full HD display, and dual 3W speakers It looks a bit like a chubby, oversized alarm clock. Archos says it will retail for $129 — which just happens to line up with Amazon’s own Echo Spot.

The other model is the Mate 7 (below), which ups clock speed to 1.3GHz, stretches the display another two inches, and upgrade to a pair of 10W speakers. All that adds just $20 to the MSRP. At $149, it could be an interesting alternative for folks who find the Echo Show to be a bit on the pricey side.

Other than the larger display, slightly faster processor, and more powerful speakers the hardware in the Mate 7 appears to be identical to what’s in the Mate 5. Both models come with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. A micro SD slot lets you add another 128GB. Each has a 5MP camera and a pair of microphones that utilize Synaptics’ far-field processing tech.

Privacy-minded users will appreciate that Archos has included a physical switch that can turn the microphones off. The Mate 5 and Mate 7 are also portable with power supplied by a 3000mAh battery when they’re not plugged in. Archos says that both are smart home bridges, though support for specific protocols like Zigbee or Z-Wave isn’t mentioned.

Archos plans to start shipping out review units on January 21st. As far as when you’ll be able to buy the Mate 5 and Mate, that’s less clear. The press release keeps things vague, pointing to some time during the first quarter of 2019.

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Lee Mathews

Computer tech, blogger, husband, father, and avid MSI U100 user.

5 replies on “Archos reveals a pair of Alexa smart displays ahead of CES”

  1. Who the eff is Archos anyway??
    A French based company that has totally abandoned its usa products owners of their portable mp3, video, photo media players such as the Archos Av500, Gmini 400, 5th and 4th generation (605 wifi) touchscreen media players.
    They disconnected all of their US support contact numbers and removed all links to their content portal that enables users to update/purchase plug-ins through their Wi-Fi enabled 4th and 5th generation media players. This means if you get a new-in-the-box Archos 605 Wi-Fi from eBay you are pretty much screwed out of enabling its really fascinating capabilities via purchased plug-ins (like web radio, internet tv, H264 playback, or Opera web browser), unless you are good at hacking the firmware. Think I’m kidding? Check out the Archos forms on the 605 Wi-Fi and many, and I do mean Many frustrated owners.
    When you finally are able to reach someone at Archos in France they act like they never made such devices ever in the past. They only acknowledge their internet tablets from the past and their present product lineup.

    I just can’t honestly say that I even care what new products they make anymore due to their such horrible customer support on just about every product they released in the usa in the past.

    Thanks but no thanks. I would much rather anxiously await whatever internet connected device that China has to offer. At least their customer support is nowhere near as cruddy as Archos.

    1. Archos’ hardware, the materials, was great in the past. Their internals were usually binary: either ahead of its time (like it’s touch screen media players) or half a year-a year behind. Their software was typically ranging from “ok” to subpar. But it’s the support and the lack of commitment to one product that confuses me as an American. They just don’t put any effort it seems.

      Which brings up a question: Who still buys their stuff and why are they still in business?

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