All-new Echo Show 8 Review

If you’re looking at a smart assistant with a screen, it’s hard looking past the all-new Amazon Echo 8 Show (Gen 3) that comes with a large HD touchscreen in order to add an extra layer of interactivity, including spatial audio with one of the world’s favourite AI companions, Alexa. It’s also your one-stop smart hub that with the skills it offers, it perfectly integrates with other smart technology in your home from Ring video doorbells, lights and everything falling into that “smart” category.

There are also three different sizes of Echo Show 8 (Gen 3) available with differing screen sizes and prices;

• All-new Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen)
  5″ smart display
  From: $139.00
• All-new Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen)
  8″ HD smart display
  From: $249.00
• Echo Show 10 – 3rd Gen
  10″ HD smart display
  From: $429.00

They are also available in charcoal black and glacier white.

All-new Amazon Echo 8 Show Highlights

• BETTER INSIDE AND OUT — Entertainment is more immersive with room-filling spatial audio and an 8″ HD touchscreen. Video calling is crisper with high-quality sound and a 13 MP camera. Your home is more connected than ever with the built-in smart home hub.
• VIBRANT SIGHTS, FULL SOUND — Content on Prime Video, Netflix and more comes to life with an HD display and room-filling spatial audio. Ask Alexa to stream Amazon Music, Apple Music or Spotify.
• SMART HOME, SIMPLIFIED — Pair and control devices compatible with Zigbee, Matter and Thread without a separate smart home hub. Manage compatible cameras, lights and more using the display or your voice, or activate routines with movement. Also supports connectivity via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
• STAY IN THE LOOP — Hands-free video calling using your voice, or with one tap use the Top Connections widget to call anyone who has the Alexa app or an Echo device with a screen. Have more natural video conversations with a centred, auto-framing camera and noise-reduction technology.
• SHARE YOUR GOOD TIMES — Amazon Photos turns your Home screen into a digital frame of favourite memories and adaptive colour makes them look great in any light.
• DO LESS TO GET MORE — Use your voice to set timers and update lists. Glance at your calendars and reminders. With Adaptive Content, you’ll see more useful and engaging content when you’re near the device.
• DESIGNED TO PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY — Built with multiple layers of privacy control including a Mic/Camera Off button and a built-in camera shutter.

As you can see from its highlights, the All-new Amazon Echo 8 Show is packed useful features to get the most out of your new AI assistant.

Aesthetically, the unit is reminiscent to previous models with some tweaking of its overall design but it is quite a minimalistic looking smart assistance that measures at 200 x 139 x 106 mm with a weight of just 1034 grams. It’s perfectly suited for any location, whether that’s the home, office or everything else where you need a smart assistant with a screen. To protect your privacy, it has a Microphone/Camera Off button plus a built-in camera cover. It also has free parental controls with Amazon Kids to protect our children by filtering explicit songs and even blocking shopping.

This current model has also received a power upgrade that [provides excellent responsiveness thanks to its Octa-Core SoC with Amazon AZ2 Neural Network Engine which includes displaying photos and videos. If you’re looking at video chats, this model comes with a 13 megapixel camera which offers sharp images and vibrant colours when matched with its screen.

Audio quality is another strong suit courtesy of its 2 x 2” full range neodymium drivers with passive bass radiator that also allows you to stream audio from your smartphone to this device. When connected to your smartphone, the Echo 8 supports AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile) for voice control over your phone. Additionally, you can stream audio to a Bluetooth speaker, provided it does not require a PIN code.

It also has a plethora of connectivity options that includes Wi-Fi connectivity (Dual-band Wi-Fi supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi networks), Smart home hub, Zigbee + Matter + Thread Border Router plus Bluetooth connectivity.

What’s in the box?

• Amazon Echo Show 8
• 30 W power adaptor with 1.5 m cable
• Quick-start guide