The Echo Show is now official, with Amazon announcing the latest addition to its Alexa-powered collection of devices.

The Echo Show nearly stayed under wraps, only briefly getting leaked before the announcement, which at least means it comes as something of a surprise. 

The big change here is the inclusion of a 7-inch touchscreen on the front of its wedge-shaped design, meaning that Alexa can now show you information, not just read it out to you.

This is put into effect in its role as a smart home hub, letting you view feeds from compatible cameras, such as Ring or Arlo, as well as supporting all those smart home features that Alexa already supports. 

One of the new additions, thanks to a 5-megapixel camera, is that you can now use Alexa to place video calls to other Echo Show users, or you can place voice calls to anyone with an Echo or who uses the Alexa app. 

Sitting inside the Echo Show are two speakers, powered by Dolby, promising to give you better room-filling sound. Now of course you can have the lyrics on the screen as you listen to music, making this a little more of a party piece than it was before.

Then you have video watching too, with YouTube playing straight into the Echo Show and of course you'll be able to do things like have recipes on the display when you are cooking. 

The Echo Show joins the Echo Look in the expanded Echo line-up, so there's now a wide range of Echo devices for all situations. 

The Amazon Echo Show will be available from 28 June 2017 and priced at $229.99. It is available in black or white. There's no word on availability outside the US. Pre-order is now open and you can save yourself $100 if you order two.