Amazon’s Echo Show devices definitely are not as revolutionary as its original Echo smart speakers were when they first came out. That said, they’re the logical next step in the evolution of smart home devices that serve mainly as virtual assistant portals. While a gadget like the Echo Dot is great for so many different Alexa skills, it’s missing a huge piece of the puzzle because it doesn’t give Alexa the ability to show you anything. Asking Alexa about recipes is great, but the Echo Dot can’t bring them up on a screen. Or what about searching for YouTube tutorials or checking out who’s at your front door thanks to your Ring Video Doorbell? An Echo smart speaker can’t do any of those things, and it definitely can’t facilitate video chats that are all the rage right now.
That’s where devices like the Echo Show lineup come into play, and Amazon just announced big updates to its wildly popular Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8 smart displays.
Amazon recently gave the flagship Echo Show 10 a massive upgrade. In fact, it’s probably now the most advanced smart display on the planet. It’s packed full of great features but the biggest one is definitely the new motorized design that lets the screen follow you around as you move. It’s awesome for video chats and for keeping your eye on the screen as you move around, of course, but it’s an expensive feature given the Echo Show 10’s $250 retail price.
The just-announced 2nd-generation Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8 don’t have any upgrades that are quite so sophisticated, but the latter does have a similar feature that’s very cool. Thanks to an upgraded 8-megapixel camera, the Echo Show 8 includes a nifty auto-framing feature that uses digital zoom to always keep you in the center of the frame. This is awesome for video chats with friends, family, and business colleagues.
Both new 2nd-generation smart displays include a bunch of other great upgrades, and the smaller model is also getting a nice price cut. The current-generation Echo Show 5 is currently on sale for just $49.99, but it normally sells for $90 when Amazon isn’t running a deal. The new 2nd-generation Echo Show 5 retails for $84.99 instead. It’s a small difference, but every penny counts. The 2nd-generation Echo Show 8 will keep the $129.99 retail price from Amazon’s current Echo Show 8 model, though the current model is on sale for $109.99 at the moment.
Both the 2nd-generation Echo Show 5 and the 2nd-generation Echo Show 8 are set to be released on June 9th, which is four weeks away. That said, they’re both available for pre-order so you can be one of the first people in the world to try Amazon’s latest and greatest gadgets. Of note, Amazon offers a pre-order price guarantee so if these new Echo Show models go on sale when they’re released next month, you can rest assured that you’ll pay the discounted price instead of full retail.
