The new $130 Echo Show 8 takes the top rank as the greatest Alexa smart display, with the Echo Show 10 being more novelty than necessity (that revolving screen doesn’t support the $250 price tag).
The second iteration of Amazon’s mid-sized smart speaker with a display, which was released this month, combines some of the greatest features from the Show 10 (13-megapixel camera, digital zoom, and security camera functions) and compresses them into a more manageable size. The Echo Show 8 has a small enough footprint to sit on a bedside table or a kitchen counter.
The Show 8 (available in Charcoal and Glacier White) offers the most bang (and screen size) for your buck, with a virtually identical design to its predecessor (same display, same speakers), but with a bit more behind the hood, including a new octo-core processing and a beefed-up camera.
You can still watch shows, listen to music, control your smart home, send out announcements to your family, and check in on friends and family, but you can now zoom with a 13-megapixel camera.
In addition, the camera ups the ante with a video-based motion detection capability that can activate routines like turning on lights or sending an intruder warning.
The Show 8 is still the middle child in the range, sitting below the Echo Show 10 but above the smaller Echo Show 5, which has also received some updates for its second iteration (review coming soon).
We’ve been using the new Echo Show 8 for a few weeks and have a full review coming soon.
Design, display, and set up for the Amazon Echo Show 8 (2nd generation).
As previously said, the Echo Show 8 resembles Amazon’s first-generation 8-inch display.
It has the same somewhat subpar 1280 x 800 resolution, 8-inch screen, and physical camera shutter that also disables the microphone.
In addition to the adaptive brightness feature, it includes a new adaptive colour sensor, which enables the screen to alter its colour and light balance to better match its surroundings.
Although this update would not be enough to compete with the soft screen stylings of the Nest Hub displays, it is an improvement over prior Echo Show screens, which were too bright to be allowed in our bedroom even with Night Mode enabled.
When not in use, the Show’s display can be entirely customised to cycle through the weather, calendar events, news, headlines, recipes, images, artwork, and so on.
However, we feel that most of these elements can be distracting, so we prefer to turn them off and just have a great piece of art with the date and time on it. This is simple to accomplish under the Settings section of the device.
The most significant modification is the new 13-megapixel camera, which is a significant improvement over the previous version’s meager 1 megapixel.
The new, wide-angle camera can digitally zoom and track to keep you in the frame, in addition to helping you seem better on video conversations.
So you can stay in line of sight of the person on the other end while making supper or multitasking while on a call.
The tracking worked quite well; there’s a narrow field of view, so you can’t walk from one end of the kitchen counter to the other, but tracking little motions in a set zone keeps the dialogue running.
The camera can also focus on many people, so if you’re sitting next to someone, the camera will zoom in and out based on who is speaking, or you can pick a particular individual.
All of the physical controls are retained on Show 8, including the privacy shutter for concealing the camera. It appears as a white square from across the room when it is activated.
The black power wire and square brick have been replaced with a white cord with a smaller, rectangular socket that fits better into busy outlets. On the charcoal model, though, the white cable stands out.
It’s simple to set up the Show, and you don’t even need a smartphone; everything can be done straight on the touchscreen.
When you plug it in and sign in to your Amazon account, you’ll be given the opportunity to enable some of the new capabilities, such as Echo Show Monitoring (a smart camera – more on that later) and Sidewalk.
Check out our Sidewalk explainer if you’re still unsure what Sidewalk is and why you might or might not want to turn it on.
You can also choose to set up the show for a child’s use and create an Amazon Kids profile at this time.
Video and sound quality on the Amazon Echo Show 8 (2nd generation)
As previously said, there is no difference in screen quality, thus watching Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, or Netflix (still no HBO) is no different than before – and we would never use this as our primary method of video consumption.
However, in a pinch, such as while peeling potatoes in the kitchen or folding clothes on the bed, it’s a good option.
Unfortunately, there is still no native YouTube app and no YouTube TV, but Amazon has incorporated a shortcut to the web version of YouTube on its new Video Home Screen, which makes accessing it a little simpler, if not ideal.
This video screen also gives you more browsing options than before, so you don’t have to always use your voice to bring up a show; simply swipe from the right side and touch Video to access all services available, as well as a list of famous shows.
The twin stereo speakers are likewise loud, though not as loud as the spherical Echo speakers.
You may listen to music from Amazon Music, Apple Music, or Spotify, but if you choose Amazon, you’ll receive a visual of the lyrics scrolling on the screen, which is ideal for an impromptu karaoke session.
The far-field microphones that listen for the wake word are also located at the back of the Show, which causes Alexa to become deaf to our calls on occasion. This was also a problem with the prior model.
While it occasionally hears us without issue, other times we must face the screen directly and speak firmly.
Amazon Echo Show 8 (2nd Gen): Smart Home Features
The Echo Show offers all of the Alexa features you’ve come to expect — if you need a reminder, check out our entire Amazon Alexa guide.
Of course, Alexa, Amazon’s speech assistant, is at the heart of the Echo speaker, which, despite its screen, is a voice-first device.
With a voice command, you can access video feeds from linked cameras, answer your video doorbell, and control lights and other smart home devices.
However, the entire Show line may be used to control your smart home through the touch screen. When you don’t want to utilise voice, swipe in from the right to get a card-based navigation panel that gives you easy access to manage devices in groups or individually.
You can go straight to device-specific controls by going to categories like cameras, lights, plugs, and thermostats. You may also see and modify your Alexa Routines, as well as turn them on and off.
We’re happy to announce that touch control on the Echo Show 8 (2nd gen) is significantly more responsive than on earlier models, making it far more useable.
However, we’ve discovered that the screen times out too rapidly and that after seeing a camera feed or other smart home device’s control page, the default returns to the Home Screen rather than the smart home controls. If you want to go back and control something else, you’ll have to do more swiping.
Two features that take advantage of the better camera are entirely new in this version: Occupancy Routines and Echo Show Monitoring.
Occupancy Routines use computer vision to recognise when a human is in the camera’s field of view, or when there is no one in the camera’s area of view and then execute the appropriate Routine.
We put an Echo Show on a bedside table and had it turn on lights when it detected a person between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., and turn them off when it no longer detected a person.
While this worked, we discovered that you have to be right in front of the camera to activate the Routine; simply going into the room didn’t work.
We can envision this being handier if you have a Show near the front entrance to trigger lights and music as you enter, or in the kitchen to start a “Cooking Routine” that plays your favourite playlist or resumes where you left off in your audiobook.
The built-in camera can be used to monitor your home as a surveillance camera.
This allows you to view your Show’s feed on another Echo Show or via the Alexa app. You have the option of setting this up when you initially turn it on or later in the settings.
On the show you’re watching, an alert appears, letting everyone in the room know they’re being recorded.
It’s a nice feature, but it’s not a replacement for a security camera because it doesn’t record the view and, due to its slightly inclined angle, the camera in most rooms is gazing at the ceiling.
Zoom, along with Skype and Amazon Chime, is now fully integrated into the Echo Show and can be used for video calls.
The Zoom interface is simple to navigate, and you can start or join a meeting right from the Show. You can also see the Zoom conversation (albeit we were unable to type in the chatbox).
The wide-angle lens gives the video a fish-eye effect, and the audio quality was a little tinny.
When you press the physical mute button on the Show while on a Zoom call, it mutes both your audio and video at the same time and controls appear on the screen. You can’t have a Zoom call with the term “Alexa” because the Show will become confused.
You may now establish groups and communicate with up to seven people at once if you utilise Alexa Calling. To participate, everybody in the group will need an Echo speaker or the Alexa app on their phone.
Amazon Echo Show 8 is a smart speaker from Amazon (2nd Gen)
If you want an Alexa-enabled smart display at a reasonable price, the Echo Show 8 is the best option. When your smartphone is too small for Zoom calls but you don’t want to be stuck in front of a computer, this device with its large screen and the good camera come in handy. It has good speakers for playing music and watching TV, and it’s an Alexa device with plenty of visual context for your voice queries. and decent smart home controls for those times when yelling at an AI isn’t the best option. We were particularly delighted by the Show’s new functionality, which includes the ability to use it as a smart home monitor and a motion sensor for Routines.
We simply wish it came with a Zigbee radio to turn it into a true smart home hub.
PROS
- Video calling has been improved.
- Smart home control via touch screen
- Camera with 13 megapixels
- Digital zoom and pan
CONS
- There are no native YouTube
- The touch sensation isn’t very good.
- There isn’t a Zigbee smart home hub.
