Amazon Echo Hub could be the sci-fi smart home wall panel you've always wanted

Amazon has announced a new member of the Echo assistant family, one that could make managing your smart home easier. It also looks pretty smart in its own right.

The Amazon Echo Hub is an 8-inch control panel that sits on your wall and gives you easy access to your multiple connected devices.

It is Alexa and touch-enabled, and you can customise the homescreen dashboard to include your most used features and functions. You can also group smart devices, such as those in the living room or home office, and also arm security cameras either by voice or the display.

Routines can be programmed too, to perform multiple actions at the touch of just one button.

Like the also newly-announced Echo Show 8 (3rd generation), the Echo Hub supports a new Amazon feature, Adaptive Content. This uses an IR sensor to determine how far you are from the screen. The further away, the less complicated the information it'll display. However, come nearer and it will change automatically to display more details and options.

For example, when no-one is that close, it could display a clock face, but when someone approaches, the dashboard can instantly appear.

As the name suggests, the Home Hub also contains a built-in smart hub with support for Matter, Zigbee, Sidewalk, Thread and Bluetooth. This should make it easy to connect with your smart home devices, no matter the manufacturer.

Amazon claims that it is compatible with more than 140,000 products in total, including security cameras, lights, locks, plugs and speakers. And, with Alexa support, you only need to give it a vocal command and those products can be turned on/off or interacted with, without the need for any separate hub.

The Amazon Echo Hub will be available later this year, priced at $179.99 in the US, £169.99 in the UK, and AUD$329 in Australia. There will be different decorative frames for it too, which can change the exterior to white, wood effect, and metallic.

We'll give you the heads up when pre-orders become available.