Smart displays have probably been a very welcome addition for homes that wanted to take advantage of all these digital assistants that OEMs have been bringing us. Lenovo took it one step further by bringing the Smart Tabs line which combines a tablet and a smart display and adding a dock to make it an Echo Show. However, one thing it wasn’t able to do was to make video calls through Alexa. The latest update to the Alexa Show Mode app now brings the whole Alexa Communication show to your device.
If you have a Smart Tab P10, Smart Tab M10FHD, or a Smart Tab M10HD, you need to update the Alexa Show Mode app to the latest version and be able to enjoy the Alexa Communication feature. This means you will be able to send messages and make voice and video calls between your tablet/display and other Alexa-supported devices. The best part, of course, is that all these communications are free of charge as long as you have Alexa installed in your display, smartphone, tablet, etc.
The Alexa Communication service also has a feature called Announcements where you can use all your Alexa-powered devices as a sort of intercom tool around your house. You can broadcast something like “Dinner is ready” or “Sleeping time in 30 minutes” from anywhere in the house and all connected devices will be able to hear your announcement. Amazon has recently made Announcements available for Fire TV devices as well so you can also use that to make your message heard.
One other feature they’re working on to bring to the Lenovo Smart Tabs is Drop In. This time you will be able to do two-way intercom conversations with other Alexa devices without actually having to make a video or voice call. They said this will be enabled later this year so you’ll have to watch for further announcements.
Lenovo says the update will automatically roll out so you don’t need to do anything. But in order for this to work, your Alexa Show Mode app and your dock’s firmware has to be updated to the latest version.
