I’ve yet to encounter a tech device that supports gesture controls more efficiently than using a touch screen or pressing a button, but when added to a device from an accessibility perspective, they make far more sense.
With this in mind, Amazon has brought gesture controls to its Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 10 smart displays to “make interacting with Alexa more natural.”
There’s also only one gesture included in this update — the ability to raise your hand to stop a timer. Amazon notes that this functionality could be useful for people with mobility or vocal issues.
Speaking of accessibility, Amazon’s Echo Show 8 and 10 now support text-to-speech functionality, making it easier for those with speech disabilities to interact with the devices.
Finally, Amazon has also added the ability to enable or disable all captions simultaneously without navigating to the settings app.
This update is specifically available for the Echo Show 8 (2nd-gen), the Echo Show 10 (3rd-gen) and above.
Update 31/01/2023: All of the above features are now available in Canada.
Update 14/12/2022: Amazon Canada says that the new gesture controls are not yet available in Canada and are exclusive to the United States currently.
Source: Amazon
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