Swisscom unveiled its new TV set-top box in mid-November 2019. The Swisscom Box can only be used in combination with Swisscom’s Internet Box.
How much does the Swisscom Box cost?
The new Swisscom Box is being offered to customers from November 17, 2019 with a 129-franc price tag for existing customers. New customers who subscribe to the inOne Home TV M or the inOne Home TV L plans get the Swisscom Box on a complimentary basis.
What can the new Swisscom Box do?
The Swisscom Box includes many of the functions which you would expect from a modern TV set-top box. These include real time TV viewing, a TV recording function and TV time shifting.
The most significant difference between the new Swisscom Box and its predecessor the Swisscom TV Box (UHD) is the voice assistant function. Voice assistants from US tech companies like Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and the Google Assistant service are among the best known.
How does the new voice assistant work?
The old Swisscom TV Box (UHD) already included voice assistant support. But the voice assistant function of the old TV box was built into the remote control. Users had to press a button on the remote control before making a voice command.
The voice assistant function of the new Swisscom Box can be activated by the voice command “Hey Swisscom.” Users can then make a voice command. The voice command can be used to turn the TV on from standby mode, to change channels or to search for specific broadcasts. It can also be used to call up weather forecasts.
The voice commands can also be used to control lights and other products from third-party manufacturers. These include Hue lighting systems from Philips, IKEA light bulbs, Gigaset alarm systems and loudspeakers from IKEA and Sonos.
The voice assistant is deactivated by default when the Swisscom Box is delivered. If you want to use it, you must activate it via a switch.
Is the new Swisscom Box worth the price?
The biggest advantage of the new Swisscom Box is the direct voice assistant function and its integration with third-party smart home products. Existing customers who want to use these functions could consider upgrading to the new set-top box.
All other existing Swisscom customers would not benefit from upgrading. “Once again, we see Swisscom charge its loyal customers for a service which it offers to new customers for free,” muses moneyland.ch telecom expert Ralf Beyeler. New customers get the new Swisscom Box automatically, while existing customers must pay 129 francs for it.
Although Swisscom’s new set-top box is compatible with products from third-party manufacturers, its voice assistance faces harsh competition from tech giants Apple, Amazon and Google. Whether or not Swisscom is positioned to successfully compete with these giants remains to be seen. Swisscom’s solid reputation among Swiss consumers and the fact that 1.5 million Swiss household use Swisscom TV may give it an advantage in this regard.
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