Altice USA Introduces Amplify Smart Speaker Developed with Devialet

August 9 2019, 00:25
Altice USA, the American arm of the French telecommunications conglomerate, unveiled Altice Amplify, an Alexa-powered smart speaker developed in collaboration with French connected-speaker pioneers Devialet. Directly targeted at the booming North-America smart speaker market, the Altice Amplify introduces "an intelligent, high-fidelity home speaker that powers the connected home." Of course, Altice didn't discard the audio quality argument and worked with Devialet to design a true high-fidelity system.
 

The Amplify speaker features Devialet’s patented sound technologies for a powerful audio experience that enables users to place the device in multiple situations at home, whether watching a movie, listening to a playlist, or any activity that benefits from full, clear sound. And of course, being a smart speaker, Altice opted to incorporate the Amazon Alexa Built-In platform for voice control of smart devices, music playback, and more, "enhancing and simplifying the connected home while delivering exceptional sound that is trademark of the Devialet brand."

The design, of the Amplify benefits from Devialet’s SPACE sound processing, a spatialization technology developed to deliver an expanded sound with room-wide diffusion, complemented with Speaker Active Matching (SAM) technology, for time alignment and to minimize latency and distortion, and Adaptive Volume Level (AVL), which automatically detects and adjusts volume, eliminating the need to manually adjust volume at key moments, which is particularly important when watching video content like movies (i.e.: increase volume for dialogue or lower volume during action sequences).

The speaker tightly packs 3 low-distortion full-range drivers, two long stroke Devialet Diamond woofers, designed internally by Devialet, and a 19v, 7.5 A peak amp into its low-distortion, full-range design, with a “Push-Push” configuration that cancels vibrations and delivers implosive bass from a compact, stand-alone device. 
 

For voice control features, the Amplify design also features six far-field microphones, engineered to pick up sound from across the room, even if the TV is on, with an instant mute button to turn off listening when necessary. As Altice reinforces, the Amplify sound experience is compatible with all TV systems and, as an added benefit for Altice customers in the US, offers hands-free voice control of the Altice One entertainment and connectivity platform.

“Altice Amplify brings audio back to the forefront of consumers’ living rooms, taking entertainment to new auditory heights with unparalleled sound while providing simple and seamless control of the connected home,” says Hakim Boubazine, Co-President and Chief Operating Officer, Altice USA. “Altice Amplify is the next step on our mission to provide consumers with powerful new technologies and experiences that brings their homes to life. Whether it’s streaming music, watching a favorite show or movie, or controlling the smart home, Altice Amplify gives consumers ultimate control over their entertainment and smart home needs.”

"We are very proud to be partnering with Altice USA, in our first U.S. partnership, to help unleash full emotional impact through the powerful, immersive sound in Altice Amplify,” adds Franck Lebouchard, Chief Executive Officer, Devialet. “At Devialet, we aspire to deliver captivating experiences through revolutionary acoustics and bring them to the widest number of people possible. Working closely with like-minded companies who seek to challenge the status quo is a key part of this vision, and we have found that in Altice USA."

Being an Amazon Alexa Built-In product, the Amplify is able to offer all the features of that service, including controlling other devices, and access to more than 90,000 Alexa skills. Its cloud-based design also provides the capability to evolve over time to incorporate new features. For now, Altice confirmed support for streaming music services like Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Tidal, and iHeart Radio, as well as Audible for audiobooks and TuneIn for radio.

A major differentiator for the Amplify is also a direct benefit for Altice customers, delivering enhanced audio for the Altice One connectivity and entertainment platform. The combination allows hands-free voice control of Altice One, from discovering content to changing channels and launching apps all through simple voice commands. 

Altice Amplify will be available for purchase later in 2019. Pricing for Altice Amplify will be $399 for Optimum and Suddenlink customers and $499 for non-customers. In addition, the company plans to make Altice Amplify available to Altice One customers for $10 per month.
https://alticeamplify.com
related items