Echo Show: Price and availability
As of September 2018, the Echo Show has been succeeded by a 2nd-generation model which costs £219/ $229. Getting the old one might be slightly cheaper, but the Echo Show 2 comes with a new design, better screen and improved speakers.
Echo Show: Design and build
As it requires mains power, the Echo Show doesn’t feature a built-in rechargeable battery. While you may assume this means that the Echo Show anchored to the wall socket, you’re (kind of) wrong. Yes, it requires mains power to operate, but the power cable is 6ft long, allowing you (arguably limited) movement without having to completely unplug the unit. If you need to move it from one counter to another in your kitchen for a better view of the on-screen recipe, it’s possible.
Echo Show: Features and spec
Alexa skills
Want to check if anyone is in your garden? Simply ask Alexa to show you your garden camera, and it’ll appear on-screen within seconds complete with audio. It’s not a perfect experience though – while you can view and hear video streams from your smart cameras, Logitech, Ring nor Arlo offer the ability to speak to those on camera like you can from their individual apps. And in the case of Ring, it won’t automatically display a video feed when the doorbell is rung or movement is detected, which is a bit of a disappointment.
Camera and video calling
The display and 5Mp camera allows you to make and receive video calls from the Echo Show. You can call anyone on your contact list, as long as the recipient has to have an Echo Show or the Alexa app installed on their smartphone or tablet. It’s a sleek experience that doesn’t require you to tap the display at all, and we found both video and audio quality during video calls to be of a decent standard. Oh, and for those interested, you can also enable Drop In on your Echo Show to allow people to connect directly to your device without you having to answer first, and vice versa. You can set your device to allow any of your contacts to drop in, or you can set it to only allow devices in your home to do so. It’s a feature that splits opinion, and for that reason it’s opt-in rather than opt-out, so don’t worry about your mum suddenly appearing on-screen when you first set up the Echo Show. It does come in handy if you want to use your Echo Show and other Echo devices as a home intercom system, allowing you to speak to those in other rooms instantly.
Audio quality
If you don’t have a premium streaming subscription, you can still listen to radio stations based on anything, from hits of today to Madonna’s greatest hits from between 1984 and 1989. The radio stations are great for discovering new music, and Alexa can even provide you with personalised stations based on what you’ve listened to previously. Over time, it’ll get to know what you like and should provide you with more accurate results. The Echo Show also features Bluetooth connectivity, allowing you to connect your smartphone or tablet to the device and play music from unsupported streaming services like Apple Music. Overall, the quality of the Echo Show’s speakers is impressive – especially considering its unassuming size. The audio produced is impressively room-filling with crisp vocals and warm bass, although it does become a little harsh at full volume (10). But due to how well the audio is projected, we found we’d rarely need to go above 7 or 8, so it shouldn’t be an issue you’d come across very often. Lewis Painter is a Senior Staff Writer at Tech Advisor. Our resident Apple expert, Lewis covers everything from iPhone to AirPods, plus a range of smartphones, tablets, laptops and gaming hardware. You’ll also find him on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.
