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Amazon Echo Show review: This is the best Echo (but it’s also the most expensive)

Adding a display makes Amazon’s smart speaker even better, but it also balloons its price tag.

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Amazon Echo Show

The Echo Show is not just Amazon’s best smart speaker, it’s the most capable mainstream smart home assistant on the market. An Intel Atom x5-Z8350 processor and a 7-inch color touchscreen pumps its price tag up to $230, but the display is worth the added cost to have at least one in a smart home with other Echo speakers. And the Show’s eight-element far-field mic array is stronger than the ones on Amazon’s other Echos, which for me eliminated the need to have an Echo Dot in an adjoining room.

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Amazon takes full advantage of that display, providing not just useful visual feedback, but also an in-home intercom—with video, if two Echo Shows are used—and a VoIP-type videophone system. I’ll elaborate on the intercom feature shortly. The videophone service is a great way for families to stay in touch—especially grandparents who live far from their grandchildren—but video requires both parties to have Echo Shows (you can make voice-only calls between other Echo models).

That could be expecting a lot from grandma and grandpa unless they’re tech savvy or you’re willing to set it up for them (a task distance will make doubly difficult). While that limitation takes a lot of the sizzle out of the proposition, it’s not much different than Apple requiring both parties to use an iOS device to make use of Facetime.

The Echo's new Drop In feature enables conference calls between two Echos, including video on Echos with displays.

Amazon’s new Drop In feature is even more compelling. This enables two Echo devices to operate as a wireless home intercom. You simply say “Alexa, drop in on the Kitchen” (or whatever you’ve named the Echo you want to use) and a two-way communication session will start. With Echo devices that have screens (the Echo Show and, I assume, the new Echo Spot when it ships), you’ll get a two-way video intercom as well as audio. I tried this with a pair of Echo Shows operating on a Linksys Velop-based home network and it worked great.

As cool as that is, I can’t say the Echo Show has a fabulous touchscreen. The colors in the digital photos I displayed on it were somewhat muted, its resolution tops out at just 1024x600 pixels, and visual quality suffers when viewed off axis. It is responsive to touch, however, and it will save you from the need to pull out your smartphone to get information such as the current time and weather (accompanied by line drawings depicting the sun, clouds, or rain). Set a timer, and the Show will display a countdown, so you can see at a glance how much time is remaining. Link your calendars to your Alexa account, and the display will scroll through your upcoming appointments. Arrange for an Uber and you’ll get visual updates as to when your ride will arrive.

You can also display photos you’ve uploaded to Amazon’s cloud storage service (you can get 5GB of free storage or unlimited photo storage if you’re an Amazon Prime customer). Once you’ve uploaded your photos, you can identify the people in them, organize them into albums, and then ask Alexa to show all your photos of a particular person, photos in a specified album, or photos that were shot during a stated time frame.

The movie and video experience

You can also watch movies and TV shows on Amazon Prime Video, although I don’t imagine many people will want to do that on such a small screen—there’s no video output, so you can’t connect the Show to your big-screen TV. You can request specific titles (“Alexa, show me Transparent,” or even “Alexa, show me Transparent, season one”). The titles, or TV episodes, appear in numbered boxes. To play the title or episode you want to watch, you say “Alexa, play one” or whatever number the box is labeled as.

Don't let the absence of a power cord in this picture fool you. The Echo Show does not offer the option of running on battery power.

With both music and video, you can use voice commands to play and pause, adjust volume, fast forward and rewind, skip forward and back, and so on. All this worked just fine on two of the Echo Shows I got in for review, but a third unit refused to cooperate—at least not with videos. It would pause for a second or two, and then just go back to streaming as if I’d never interrupted it. I’ve reached out to my Amazon contact about this and will update my review when I get a response.

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If the manufacturer of your home security camera offers an Alexa skill, you can also view the camera’s video stream on the Echo Show. This feature works with popular cameras from Nest, Logitech, Ring, EZviz, and others. It also works with the security cameras—including the video doorbell—in the Vivint smart home system that I use.

It’s so much more convenient to just ask to see what my security cameras can see than it is to pull out my phone and call up an app. There is one caveat, however; if your broadband connect has a slow uplink—as mine does—there can be a bit of a delay between when you ask to see the video feed and when it appears on Show. But I have the same problem when viewing those feeds on my smartphone.

What it’s like to play music on the Echo Show

It’s no contest: This is Amazon’s best-sounding Echo. It’s the only one that comes close to delivering good sound, and like all other Echos, you can connect any Bluetooth speaker if you find it inadequate. This is the only Echo, however, to not also include a 3.5mm auxiliary output.

The Echo Show’s bulky design—it’s 3.5 inches deep at its base—allowed Amazon’s engineers to put in a pair of 2.0-inch full-range speakers aided by Dolby DSP algorithms. It’s not an audiophile product by any stretch of the imagination—it would sound even better with discrete woofers and tweeters—and many people won’t want to rely on it alone for music reproduction. But the Show does deliver respectable dynamic range and it can get pretty loud. You can stream music from Amazon Music, Spotify (paid accounts only), iHeartRadio, Pandora, TuneIn, and SiriusXM. But you can’t connect Tidal or Deezer, which offer the option of streaming music encoded in FLAC.

Perhaps more importantly, you can’t stream any media from a server on your own network. If you want to stream your own music library, you’ll need to do it over Bluetooth or upload the files to Amazon’s music service. But you’re limited to uploading 250 tracks unless you pay for an Amazon Music storage subscription, in which case the limit increases to 250,000 tracks.

The Amazon Echo Show looks particularly good in white.

There are more caveats you’ll want to be aware of: You won’t need to convert files from one format to another before you upload them (from FLAC to MP3, for instance), but you’ll get compressed files when you stream them back (Amazon will convert them in the cloud to either MP3 or AAC. And it will do that only if it can match the track to one in its library. If you have rare bootlegs or recordings of your own, you’re out of luck.)

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On the bright side, you’ll be treated to a display of album art with the music, and you can even ask the Show to display the lyrics for the current song. This latter feature, however, seems to be available only with Amazon Music—not Spotify or any of the other services you can link to your account.

Worthy of your cash? Absolutely

Priced at $229.99, the Echo Show isn’t exactly cheap. But it delivers plenty of value, and at press time, Amazon was offering a $100 discount to shoppers who buy two at once. This is the first time Amazon has offered a lower price on the Show, however, so that offer might not last.

As I found with the very first Echo, once I had one, I wanted multiples—especially for the video intercom feature. And the video calling feature is good enough that my adult kids can look forward to receiving one for the holidays. You’ll doubly appreciate the Echo Show if you have a compatible smart home system. I’ve always liked the idea of having my smart home user interface on my TV—the biggest screen in my house—but the Echo Show lets me have it on multiple screens in my house. This is particularly great for monitoring my home security cameras. I don’t have to go to one room to visually interact with my system, and the Echo Show experience is far superior to pulling out my smartphone.

Finally, the Echo Show is the only Echo that I’d remotely consider for a multi-room audio system—I really like the lyrics features and wish it was available with more services. But the Echo Show’s native audio capabilities don’t hold a candle next to my Sonos components, which will soon gain Alexa skills of their own with the launch of the Sonos One. We'll publish our review of that product soon.

Bottom line: The Echo Show isn't great at everything, but it will make a fantastic addition to any home.

How to Get an Amazon Echo Show Up and Running

Getting started with the Amazon Echo Show

Individual Echo Products

Set Up Your Echo

More Tips & Tricks

Making the decision to buy an Amazon Echo Show, is just the beginning. After you get it home and unbox it, you need to get it up and running.

The following setup procedures apply to the Echo Show, Echo Show 5, Echo Show 8, and Echo Spot.

What You Need

PC/Mac Desktop/Laptop or Smartphone/Tablet Internet Service Internet Router with Wi-Fi capability An Amazon Account (Preferably Prime)

Initial Setup Steps

Download the Alexa App to your PC/Mac or Smartphone Tablet. The app can be downloaded from the Amazon Appstore, Apple App Store, or Google Play. You can also download the app directly from Alexa. amazon. com using Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Internet Explorer 10 or higher.

After downloading the Alexa App, find a spot for your Echo Show (should be eight inches or more from any walls or windows) and plug it into an AC power outlet using the power adapter. It will turn on automatically.

Once the Echo Show is on, you should hear Alexa say, "Hello, your Echo Device is ready for setup."

Next, you will be prompted to:

Select Language, Connect to Wi-Fi(have your password/wireless key code). Confirm Time Zone Log in to your Amazon account (should be the same as the account you have on your smartphone). Read and accept the Echo Show Terms and Conditions notice.

If a firmware update is available, the screen will display an updates ready message. Tap Install Now, on the screen. Installing a firmware update may take several minutes. Wait until the screen notifies you that installation of the update(s) is complete.

After the updates are installed, an Introducing Echo Show video will become available that will familiarize you with some of its features. After viewing the video (recommended), Alexa will say, "Your Echo Show is ready."

Using Alexa Voice Recognition and Touchscreen

To start using the Echo Show, say "Alexa" and then state a command or ask a question. Once Alexa responds, you are ready to go. Alexa is the default Wake Word. However, you can also change your wake word:

Command Alexa to Go to settings or use the touch screen to get to the Settings menu.

Once there, select Device Options, and select Wake Word.

Your additional Wake Word choices are Echo, Amazon, and Computer. If you like one, select it and then tap Save.

Tips for Using the Echo Show

Using your Echo Show is as easy as using your smartphone:

You can change the Wake Word via the Alexa App on your mobile device or PC. Go to Settings, select the Echo Show as your device, scroll down to Wake Word, make your choice, then hit Save.

Now, simply talk to the Echo Show by Asking questions or Giving commands. If the Echo Show recognizes your questions, it will give a verbal response, display the result, or perform the task.

When speaking to the Echo Show, use natural tones, at a normal pace. Over time, Alexa will become familiar with your speech patterns.

When using the touchscreen, employ the same tapping and scrolling method you use to navigate a smartphone or tablet screen.

If you're not at home where your Alexa device is located, you can still control Alexa through your smartphone or tablet.

Once comfortable with Alexa's voice and the touchscreen, take a few minutes to sample Playing Music, Watching Videos, Make a Phone Call, and Get Information.

Play Music With Amazon Prime

If you subscribe to Amazon Prime Music, you can start playing music right away simply with commands such as "Play rock from Prime Music" or "Play top 40 hits from Prime Music."

When listening to music, the Echo Show will display Album/Artist art and song lyrics (if available). You can also verbally command the Echo Show to "raise the volume", "stop the music", "pause", "go to next song", "repeat this song," etc.

Watch Videos On YouTube Or Amazon Video

Get started watching TV shows and movies via YouTube or Amazon Video. To access YouTube, just say "Show me videos on YouTube" or, if you know what type of video you are looking for, for example, you can also say something like "Show me Dog videos on YouTube" or "Show me Taylor Swift music videos on YouTube."

Amazon and Google have a continuing dispute regarding Amazon's use of YouTube access on several of its devices, including the Echo Show. This means that Echo Show users don't have direct access to the YouTube app, but are able to access the YouTube website through Amazon Echo's built-in Firefox or Silk web browsers.

If you subscribe to Amazon Video (including any Amazon streaming channels, such as HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, and more. ), you can ask the Echo Show to "Show me my video library" or "Show me my watch list." You can also verbally search for specific movie or TV series titles (including by season), actor's name, or genre.

Video playback can be controlled by verbal commands, such as "play", "pause", "resume." You can also go back or skip ahead in time increments, or command the Echo Show to go to the next episode if watching a TV series.

Let Alexa Make A Phone Call or Send A Message

For voice-only calling or messaging, you can use the Echo Show to call or message anyone that has a compatible device (Echo, smartphone, tablet) that has the Alexa App installed.

For video calling, both parties need to have an Echo Show or one party needs to have a video-call-enabled smartphone/tablet with the Alexa app installed. To make a video call, tap the on-screen icon. If the person you want to call is on your contact list, just say the person's name the Echo Show will connect you.

Get Information and a Lot More

To find out information, you can ask Alexa tell you the weather, the time, order an Uber, get directions, show you recipes, and use it a calculator. You can also control other smart home devices, including lights and thermostats. All this can be done by customizing the Echo Show further via built-in setting options and enabling selections from Alexa Skills via the Alexa App on your smartphone or tablet.

Best skills and apps for Amazon Echo Show and Echo Spot

We explain how to add them and which are the top visual skills

If you’ve got your hands on the Amazon Echo Show, the new Amazon Echo Show 5 or the ageing Amazon Echo Spot, there's no doubt you’ll be keen to download some apps that make use of the screen. These visual skills offer a heap of new possibilities on paper - ones that screen-less Amazon Echo speakers can't.

However, you’d also be forgiven for wondering exactly what skills work with an Echo display, and how to download Echo Show skills. Amazon is quite cryptic about which skills are designed for its screened devices, after all.

That's why we’ve pulled together this specific list of the best Amazon Echo Show and Echo Spot skills that make use of the screen. Be warned, though - the quality of these apps is progressing very slowly, and even the good ones can be terribly buggy.

How to add skills to Echo Show

There's actually a few ways to add skills to your Echo Show (or Echo Spot) - and this doesn't actually differ too much from how you would install them on a regular Alexa speaker.

1. Ask Alexa

The easiest way to add skills to your screened Echo device is to simply say, "Alexa, enable [skill name]. Or, if you want to remove a skill, just say, "Alexa, disable [skill name]".

If you're not sure which skills to add - even after reading our comprehensive list below - you can ask for some: "Alexa, recommend me some skills". You can also do this for different categories of skills, such as news, smart home and games.

2. Use the Alexa app

Another way to add skills is through the Alexa app on your iOS or Android device.

Open the Alexa app. Tap the icon in the top-left corner. Tap Skills and Games. Find a skill you want to add to your collection. On the skill's description page, you'll see the option to Enable to use - tap it.

3. Use the Amazon website

The least accessible way to download Alexa skills is through the Amazon site itself.

Open Amazon in your web browser. Go to Shop by Department > Echo & Alexa > Alexa Skills. On the right-hand side, there's an option to Enable - tap it.

Best Alexa apps and skills for Amazon Echo Show and Echo Spot

While you can chat to contacts using Alexa Calling, the Skype skill was a serious boon for the Alexa platform. You can now video call contacts, and with the power of an Echo Show or Echo Spot with a quick “Alexa, call Mom on Skype.”

Amazon Prime Video

You can watch TV shows and movies from Amazon Prime Video on your Amazon Echo Show and Spot (yes, on the 480 x 480 screen), provided you have a Prime account. To watch shows such as The Grand Tour and Bosch (surprisingly not a show about dishwashers) just say, “Alexa, play [name of show] on Amazon Prime Video.”

Dailymotion / Vimeo

Video on the Amazon Echo has become a bit of a mess after a spat between Google and Amazon meant YouTube support was pulled from Alexa devices. Luckily, Dailymotion and Vimeo have stepped into the void, but there’s no official skill to be found.

“Alexa, play Cardi B music videos” will start a search for the video you want to watch, and you’ll get on-screen results made up of the two services. Good for music videos and funnies – but those with different tastes might be found wanting. This is a good stop gap until Vevo shows up.

Sometimes you just want to learn how to do something, and you want some good instructions for how to do it. Enter the WikiHow skill, which will give you video walkthroughs on how to do pretty much anything. All you have to do is say something like, "Alexa, ask WikiHow how to tie my shoes" and you're off to the races.

A real win for smart home fans, you can say “Alexa, show my front door” to have that security camera feed displayed on the Echo Show or Echo Spot’s screen – obviously replace "front door" with the name of your Nest Cam. This can turn your camera into a fantastic baby monitor, or just act as a seamless way of checking on what’s happening in different areas of the house.

Another top video smart home integration, you can ask “Alexa, show my Ring Doorbell” for a feed of what’s happening out-front. You don’t even have to wait for the chime – you can pull up the feed at any time. Some shortcomings, however, are that the feed won’t show automatically when Ring sounds, and there’s no two-way audio. Still useful for screening time-wasting callers, though.

Good Housekeeping

A bustling US-only skill with everything from recipes to advice on getting stains out of your soft furnishings, you can say things like, "Alexa, ask Good Housekeeping what I should make for dinner tonight." The screen helps with recipes, making it one of the better, well, housekeeping skills available.

National Rail (UK)

One of our favorite skills, the National Rail app will store your commute and give you a quick look at the next trains. It actually works fairly seamlessly - unless you go into London Bridge which completely flummoxes the voice set up. Heartily recommended, yet quite annoyingly buggy.

The Amazon-owned gaming streaming service obviously has a visual Alexa skill, which will help you follow your favourite players. You can link your accounts from within Twitch to be notified when one of your followed players logs on.

Alternatively, you can ask “Alexa, ask Twitch who’s playing [insert game]” or “Alexa, ask Twitch to suggest an IRL channel” to start streaming.

Jeopardy!, the Alexa skill of the popular game show, is one of the best on the Echo – and it offers a little more for users of Echo Show and Echo Spot. Users will get clues on screen and see the questions, which makes it just a little easier to play than carefully listening to Alexa. To start, just say “Alexa, play Jeopardy”.

Food Network / Allrecipes / Recipedia

One of the most-used examples of why Alexa benefits from a screen is cooking – you can ask for a recipe and have it displayed in front of you.

To use any of the above services just ask, “Alexa, show me a recipe for [insert delicious dish]” and she’ll select one for you. If you’re particular about which service you like, you can say “Alexa, ask Allrecipes for a [insert food] recipe” and it’ll find one for you.

Reuters TV

The Flash Briefing has quickly become an essential piece of using Alexa daily, and Reuters TV is essential if you've got an Echo Spot or Show. That's because it's built out of video clips that will give you a great video briefing of the top news of the day. All you have to do to get started is say "Alexa, what's my Flash Briefing" Just make sure Reuters TV is set up to be a part of your flash briefing in the companion Alexa app.

MTV UK News

If you're looking for more pop culture news, this video news skill is a good choice to add to your Flash Briefings. You'll get the latest on music, fashion, YouTube stars and more. It's professional, slick, and you can just ask "Alexa, play my Flash Briefing" once it's installed.

Ambient Visuals

One of our favourite skills for normal Echos, the Ambient Visuals range offers relaxing vibes with some HD visuals as part of the package. You can choose from Rainfall, Space Shuttle and Lightning Storm skills, among others. Just say "Alexa play Ambient Visuals [name of effect]" to get started.

The popular app game, but now with voice; it's actually far better suited to Alexa than it is to the app. You can shout out the names of the logos, rather than battling to spell company names correctly, ask for hints (you get three per game) or just pass. The logos are shown on the screen of the Echo Show and Echo Spot.

Uber may not be everyone's favourite new-age taxi operation right now, but that doesn't mean the car-summoning process isn't a delight through the screen of the Echo Show. Giving you a similar graphic to what you'd experience on your smartphone (though none of the map and real-time car movement, annoyingly) the app pops up with the range of cars you can call to your house, as well as the estimated prices. It's not perfect, but it's a much nicer process than ordering a ride through the screen-less Echo clan.

Play against Alexa in a battle of wits, in which she's more than a match. The app (open with "Alexa, enable Connect 4") could be better, with serious repetition of the words "into which slot do you throw a disc" which sounds a little insane. However, the game works well, quickly and Alexa is no walkover. It's just a shame you can't play two-player locally, and chuck Alexa out of the equation.

Panda Rescue

The winner of the Amazon Developers best kids skill for Echo Show, Panda Rescue puts children in charge of the development of a cub. The skill is much the same on Echo Show as audio-only devices, but the screen adds pictures of the panda cub at different stages of development, which adds to the education aspect for kids.

Not to be confused with Clem Fandango from the Toast of London, Fandango the app allows Echo users to quickly to tap in to movie trailers and even buy tickets through the smart device. Integrating with your Fandango account, it lets you ask for a movie or theatre location, where, from there, you can pick a time and pay for the tickets. Easy.

Fish tank for Echo Show

A moderately low res screensaver for Echo Show and Echo Spot devices, Fish Tank puts some hyperactive swimmers on your screen – with some annoying bubbly sounds that you can’t get rid of. Relaxing it is not, but will probably keep kids/cats entertained.

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Check out this great comprehensive guide to using the new Amazon Echo. From start to finish, we show you how to get the most out of the Amazon Echo's features and her cloud based voice service Alexa.

Hey what’s going on? This is Neha Joy with Howcast Tech.

So TODAY we got the Echo, Amazon’s smart-home device and its cloud-based voice service, Alexa. That’s really just a fancy way of saying “virtual assistant.” It’s like Siri, or Google Now, or Cortana, you get it. Entirely voice-activated, Alexa can tell you the weather, traffic, news, sports, schedule, shopping lists, and even plays music— AND she can do even more, if you’ve got a Prime account! Want her to play Prime music? Wanna order items directly from Amazon? You’ll wanna sign up for Prime. We’ll get to that later.

Included is the Echo. Power adapter. A Quick Set-Up Card. A “Things To Try” Card. AND. that’s it. Also you can scrap these last two, cause I got you covered.

Found on top of your Echo is the Light Ring. It tells you what Alexa, the virtual assistant, is doing. When it’s off— Alexa’s ready for requests. When it’s blue— she’s processing them. Also on top are its two and only buttons. The Action Button— Which wakes her up and silences alarms and timers. And the Microphone-Off Button— Which, YOU GUESSED IT, turns the microphones off.

This stops Alexa from answering your requests. When it is toggled, the Light Ring turns red. Finally, wrapping around the top is the Volume Ring. As you use it, the Light Ring turns white, showing you the volume level. Now all this said, the main way you’ll actually interact with Echo is through voice command— utilizing the seven built-in microphones AND its omni-directional speaker. You should also note, underneath the device, you’ll find the plug and Reset Button. That’s right— this sucker is NOT portable. If you want, you can press and hold that button for five seconds to reset to its factory settings.

This is the “not-fun” part, but we’re gonna plow through and own this nonsense. And it’s gonna be great. First things first— you gotta download the Alexa App for free from your mobile app store. Easy. Side note, you can also access it on your computer at Alexa. Amazon. com. Now open the App and sign into your Amazon account. If you don’t have one, you can sign up here. BAM. Once logged in, follow the simple on-screen directions and bang through the Set-Up— And, TADA!— your set-up’s complete. That was awesome.

So to use Alexa, first you say the Wake-Word, “Alexa,” followed by a voice command. Alexa, what time is it? Alexa, how do you spell nefarious? Alexa, Wikipedia Howcast. You get the idea. If you WANT, you can change the Wake-Word via Settings in the App. Wait is this right?

Alexa can make Shopping and To-Do Lists— Alexa, remind me to get groceries. Alexa, add gummy bears to my shopping list. ..oh and Mallomars too. . and.. add.. gym sesh to my to-do list also. Great. We’ll see. Now she can read your lists aloud OR you can access them in the App. Why would you want to do that? Let’s take a look. When you first open the App, you’ll see the Home Screen— this shows your Request and Action History. Tap the Menu icon in the upper left to reveal, you guessed it— the Menu— where you’ll interface with all of Alexa’s features.

At the top are your Shopping and To-Do Lists. Though you can add items vocally, you can only edit them in the App. You can also access additional options— Shop for items in the Amazon App, search for them in Bing, or even move them between lists.

Alexa can also set timers and alarms. Alexa, remind me when it’s eight o’clock. Cannot.. miss. The Batchelor. When the Alarm goes off— you can either stop it or you can say, “Alexa, snooze,” which buys you another nine minutes of Z’s. I didn’t say Aziz— I said “of Zzzs”—

Like sleeping. Because they’re smart and they can understand me. You can also adjust the volume of Timers and Alarms separate from Echo’s master volume in the App.

Another feature Echo has is called “Skills.” Amazon has partnered with developers to create various Skills or new abilities added monthly to Alexa’s repertoire.

Being that Echo is also a powerful wifi and bluetooth speaker, it comes with many options for playing Music and Audio Books. Included are seven content streaming services, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Audible, Kindle, Prime Music, AND Your Amazon Music Library.