Amazon’s latest Echo Show smart display launches this week. They are designed for new AI-powered Alexa Pluspre-installed in the United States. I’ve been playing with them for a few days and I have some early thoughts to share.
Overall, these devices are great for Previous generation Show 8 and Aging Show 10. They are sleeker, have more modern hardware, more responsive touch screens, and are equipped with radios and sensors. They also come with the new AZ3 Pro processor, which makes them feel faster. New show looks ready Smart Home Center Stage.
But Amazon tells me these devices will still display full screen ad The company recently launched its device. This greatly dampened my enthusiasm for new hardware.
this Echo Show 8 ($179.99) and Echo Show 11 ($219.99)) are essentially identical to each other, except the 11 has a larger 10.95-inch Full HD touchscreen. 8 has a smaller 8.7-inch HD display. Choose 11 if you want more space to view your Ring camera, watch Prime Video, or use your calendar frequently. If you just want to use the screen to control music and smart home devices as well as at-a-glance information like the weather and shopping lists, the 8 will do just fine.
Both products feature the same rectangular speaker base, wrapped in 3D knit fabric, and contain a 2.8” woofer and two full-range drivers, so they sound identical. Both run Amazon’s new Vega OS and feature a 13MP camera and support for Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth, Thread, Matter and Zigbee smart home protocols. In addition to the existing ultrasonic sensor and built-in temperature sensor, they also have Wi-Fi Sensor presence detection function can be used to trigger Alexa routines.
The most eye-catching thing about the new show is the hardware. The fabric-wrapped speakers and thin floating display are a big step up from the chunky styling of the Echo Show 8 (3rd generation) or the thick-bezeled Echo Show 15. Amazon has combined a good touch interface with improved speakers on these devices, allowing them to serve as both great voice-controlled devices and intuitive touch screens.
The touchscreen is more responsive than previous iterations—not as responsive as a tablet or smartphone, but closer. This makes using it to access content, such as music or smart home controls, smoother and less frustrating.
I also really like the fabric-wrapped color-matched cables, which sit flat and add a touch of sophistication to the device that they previously lacked (white cables paired with a black smart speaker is a crime against the design).
I have trouble using voice commands with my Echo Show devices, especially the Show 15 and 21. I’d talk to the device in the kitchen, and the Echo Spot in the bedroom would answer — no help when it came to setting a timer for my waffles. The new show responds to my voice every time, even when there are other devices nearby, which is a big improvement.
Alexa Plus on the Shows is optional during setup (in the US) and brings A more conversational voice assistant have More features. However, by far my favorite Alexa Plus feature is not having to say the wake word repeatedly. Especially in the kitchen, where I have the Show 11, it’s really nice to be able to add multiple items to my shopping list while walking around and ask questions about my calendar, weather, etc. without having to constantly speak to Alexa. I wish it could still listen longer between commands; it seems like it cuts out around 15 seconds.
Traditionally, the Echo Show has been voice-first—easier to control and use via voice than touch. The new Alexa Plus interface on these shows (which will also appear on existing shows) finally allows for more intuitive control via touch, making interacting with the show more like using a tablet.
The biggest improvement is that instead of swiping down from the top of the screen, there’s a small menu button in the upper left corner. With targets in place, other controls can be made easier.
A menu will open with brightness controls, disabling/enabling the camera, a Do Not Disturb toggle, and other settings, as well as buttons that take you to other screens including Audio, Video, Smart Home, Photo Slideshow, and more.
I really like the Media Control Center, which now offers five tabs for you to scroll and browse, allowing you to select music, ambient sounds, podcasts, and audiobooks. The audio playback screen is now easier to access, allowing you to control content on multiple speakers with just a few taps.
I’m impressed with the improved calendar layout. It’s larger, easier to read, and offers multiple views (day, week, and month). I love using the new Alexa Plus calendar import feature, which allows me to email events to Alexa or upload flyers or photos through the app and it automatically imports them. So far, it does basically exactly that.
It’s similar to the functionality I tested and liked sunroof calendar And it’s a huge productivity boost. (It only works with personal Google accounts, though, which is annoying.)
4. Smarter smart home dashboard
New smart home dashboards at the show are easily accessible with just two taps, or by saying “Alexa, open my smart home dashboard.” It provides smooth navigation between your rooms, cameras, and groups such as lights, locks, and curtains. I’d like the option to stay full screen, but I guess this is Echo Hub is suitable for. The home screen can display a fairly limited set of smart home widgets.
I’m still not a big fan of the widgets, and I haven’t seen much of an improvement with the new devices. They still feel big and bulky. And not super useful.
Amazon says a new customizable smart home widget is coming to the show soon, and it will display snapshots of your Ring Camera feed, the status of your smart home devices, and contextual updates from the camera. I’m excited to try it.
5. Better video integration
Speaking of Ring, the new Show device has a lot to offer Ring users. You can view multiple video streams simultaneously, access live feeds from any camera, and view live feeds from all cameras in your smart home dashboard. The Show 11’s video resolution is higher and the video is clearer.
If you have Ring Premium, you can take advantage of Ring’s AI-powered video search and ask Alexa to show you specific moments, such as “Show me every time my cat was on the back porch today.” Amazon says it will soon roll out custom alerts, so you can ask Alexa to notify you when you see a cat on the porch.
The company also said that a “Homepage Highlights” feature is in development. This sounds similar to Introduction to Google’s homepagewhere Alexa summarizes what’s going on in your home. This will be integrated into another new feature, Missed Habits, where Alexa will look for patterns in your home and remind you when you might have forgotten to do something, such as take out the trash. This all sounds very useful if it works. But these are not yet online.
Three things I don’t like
Neither new show has a physical camera cover. Instead, you can deactivate the camera and microphone by pressing the mute button above the two volume controls on the right side of the screen (you can also disable the camera in your device’s settings or in the Alexa app). I know the thinner bezels – one of my favorite features – limits the ability to add a physical shutter, but I don’t like that it’s gone.
The new TV and video screens look great but have very limited functionality. The only native apps are Prime Video and Fire TV Channels; all other widgets for YouTube, TikTok, HBO, etc. launch a web browser. Amazon just needs to keep making the Show 8 and Show 11 full Fire TV devices, just like the Show 15 and Show 21.
While I haven’t seen any ads on my test device, Amazon confirmed to me that Show 8 and Show 11 will display full-screen ads between your content. This really takes away from the overall more refined vibe that this newly upgraded hardware brings to the Alexa experience.
I’ll have a full review coming soon, but so far, these new Shows feel like the most capable and contradictory Echo devices yet.
Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy/The Verge
