The Drop In

I was out of town last week and decided to use Alexa Drop In on my Echo Show to talk to family. It had been awhile since I had tried this and I was impressed by the experience.

As a quick refresher, you can use the Echo Show as a two-way video conferencing device. The other person can have an Echo Show or a phone with the Alexa app.

The experience has improved significantly in the year or so since I last gave it a shot. Video quality is very good. Audio quality works well, even at a distance from the device. The viewing angle is good for speaking with a few people. The app is also responsive, allowing for switching between front and rear cameras on the phone.

Dropping in also meant that I didn’t have to set an appointment for calling family. They either answered or didn’t. Unlike with FaceTime, where there’s a preferred device for FaceTiming (iPad vs iPhone), I ring up only one device.

Dropping In via Alexa Calling on Video is improving. I’m excited to see new features built on this.