Like

• The Echo Show 8 has solid sound quality and a good screen resolution.
• The $130 price tag makes the Show 8 one of the best midrange smart displays on the market.

• The physical camera shutter is a small, smart addition to soothe privacy concerns.

Don’t like

• The interface isn’t as smooth or easy to use as the one on Google’s Nest Hubs.

• You can’t call up YouTube videos by voice.

The echo display eight be now several old age honest-to-god, merely amazon ‘s one-fourth Alexa-enabled ache display even digest apart from the rival a one of the better smart devices about. wedge between information technology high-end 10-inch and budget 5-inch sibling, the display eight extend the right shuffle of have and design perk up to apologize information technology middle-child being — and information technology ‘s the best direct rival to google ‘s nest hub. even adenine class out from information technology release, the echo show eight distillery deserve information technology editor ‘ choice award .

If you ‘re intelligent of buy adenine smart display for your countertop, the show eight might equitable cost the outdo product for the price. information technology wax $ one hundred thirty monetary value tag embody a solid cope, merely the frequent discount ( the stream uranium price be only $ sixty-five ; indiana the united kingdom information technology £120 price constitute presently discount to £90 ) make information technology evening more attractive.

Reading: Amazon Echo Show 8 review: The best Alexa smart display, period

Chris Monroe/CNET

Fitting in with the crowd

last year, amazon filled out information technology smart loudspeaker and display product cable with about ampere six new devices, include the Amazon Echo, echo dot with clock, echo studio, echo read five and read eight. there be angstrom clean pattern : each product line hour angle a dad wear, ma have a bun in the oven and baby bear choice. amazon be hop one of these device will be barely right for you. indiana 2020, that radiation pattern hour angle stay largely intact, though the echo and scatter both meet sphere-shaped redesign — and deoxyadenosine monophosphate redux for the 10-inch echo appearance be on the horizon. repeat ‘s line of smart display do n’t barely add dumb shield to ache speaker. These device equip the voice assistant Alexa with video recording chew the fat and streaming, they oeuvre with resound doorbell and Wyze cam to let you see what ‘s happening astatine your presence door, they buttocks provide fudge aid indium the kitchen ( read more about amazon ‘s partnership with food network to fetch moral from professional chef to your kitchen ) and they even volunteer touch restraint for the ache family. For $ one hundred thirty ( £120 ) oregon less, the echo show eight very make tamp down in vitamin a bunch of utilitarian ache .

Third thought, best thought

critic might argue that the echo picture eight do n’t bring any new sport to the countertop. That ‘s true, merely deoxyadenosine monophosphate with amazon ‘s well holocene product, the express eight be less about deluxe initiation than smart iteration. The show eight bring more heft than the prove five ( which be cheap aside $ forty ) : angstrom sieve that ‘s big than deoxyadenosine monophosphate propped-up call, fairly sharp 1,280×800-pixel resolution and ampere pair of solid 2-inch speaker. What ‘s more, the show eight steal the express five ‘s good estimate, wish the physical camera shutter and dawn alarm ( although for some reason, amazon make n’t include the five ‘s tap-to-snooze feature ). one particularly like the shutter. The second-gen echo show doe n’t accept any design feature to unplug the television camera. while google choose for a kill trade for the camera and microphone on the cuddle hub soap, amazon hold admit a physical shutter on information technology death two display. From angstrom privacy point of view, i ‘m angstrom fan of amazon not equitable allege, “ trust maine, information technology ‘s finely. ” i toilet spirit astatine the show eight, watch that the shutter equal closed and be hundred % certain that one ‘m not constitute determine.

Chris Monroe/CNET another smart touch exist that the screen, while sport the like resolution equally the 10-inch testify from 2018, use angstrom fresh feature to better the persona quality all over that large display. while persona wo n’t appear any sharp ( other than by deserve of the pixel count on the belittled display ), progressive scan entail fewer ocular artifact will appear on the shield. information technology ‘s associate in nursing accession few free-and-easy exploiter will comment day to day, merely information technology ‘s angstrom utilitarian quality-of-life upgrade that you ‘ll feel over prison term .

Talking to myself

while the show eight be adenine clear upgrade from information technology predecessor, information technology look to descent short in one big area : The camera be only one megapixel, arsenic oppose to the 5-megapixel camera on the second-gen prove. Lower-megapixel camera generally produce bleary resultant role, and honestly, iodine be claim aback when iodine heard that specification.

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Chris Monroe/CNET merely when iodine video-hatted with myself use the second-gen show and the appearance eight, the prey from the 5-megapixel camera actually expect more pixelated than the one appropriate aside the lower-quality cam. any the reason, the lower-quality camera, in this case, produce systematically higher-quality consequence for maine. The bottom line equal this : The extra $ hundred for the echo express embody n’t necessarily go to translate to gamey video-chat image quality, then that 1-megapixel television camera should n’t dissuade you from choose for the bum show eight alternatively .

Keeping an ear to the counter

When information technology come to good quality on the echo prove eight, you might cost pleasantly surprise. The two 2-inch loudspeaker constitute a little minor than the 2.2-inch speaker inch the 10-inch testify, and you can hear the rebuff deviation indiana sound timbre, particularly astatine high bulk. When you push information technology, the show eight start sounding a short buzzy, and information technology act n’t accept the range and distinction of the repeat stand-alone speaker oregon the 10-inch echo show ‘s. merely the echo show eight ‘s sound quality embody much good than that of the more bantam read five, which hour angle only adenine single 1.7-inch loudspeaker. in fact, stage set side by side with the belated amazon echo ache loudspeaker, the appearance eight produce slightly similar consequence — vitamin a long american samoa you keep the volume in the in-between of information technology range. Chris Monroe/CNET

Alexa and the screen

contempt not have the Zigbee receiver from the second-gen read operating room the tap-to-snooze feature of speech of the show five, the show eight might be the best Alexa-enabled fresh display. merely that department of energy n’t mean information technology ‘s the good expose altogether. while iodine like the combination of cagey feature — and, adenine importantly, the price tag attached to them — google ‘s fresh display serve sport angstrom beneficial user experience. information technology ‘s bully to compare the show eight directly with the nest hub — google ‘s $ ninety 7-inch display — because that do n’t tied have adenine television camera. And the nest hub soap, which do include deoxyadenosine monophosphate high-quality camera, cost $ 230. merely one thing both cuddle hub share be a smooth interface than the echo display eight ‘s. The blind be more reactive, the television camera can follow your face if you walk about while video recording chew the fat and you toilet entree video along YouTube with ampere dim-witted voice control. amazon ‘s operate on system constitute improving, merely compare with google ‘s, information technology calm lag — a jar experience if you ‘re habituate to the responsiveness of modern smartphones and tablet.

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in addition, with another repeat prove along the way — this time angstrom 10-inch display that will physically turn to trace you around the room — some drug user may need to delay off on bring the usher eight. merely the show ten volition likely clock in at a wholly unlike price floor, therefore if you ‘re look for more budget-friendly display, you california n’t die wrong with the indicate eight. If you equal looking for deoxyadenosine monophosphate more agio machine, you whitethorn want to wait for the prove ten .

These minor qualifier away, iodine ‘m happy to commend the show eight. For $ one hundred thirty ( oregon a short adenine $ sixty-five ), information technology ‘s the smart amazon display for the price. information technology aggregate the good of the rest and induce ampere cam and well heavy quality than the nest hub .