The greatest Show, man
The multitasking Echo Show 8 sits right in the sweet spot for smart displays, making it probably Amazon’s most useful gadget yet
Words Andrew Williams
A
mazon has become definitive in a bunch of different areas. It’s the master of online shopping, the czar of ebooks, the king of tax-dodging and the galactic emperor of the smart home.
Blinking Alexa eyes and ears live in millions of homes across the UK. And the formula is pretty basic: Amazon Echo gadgets are cheap and easy to use.
The Echo Show 8 continues this simple strategy. It’s an eight-inch smart screen with speakers good enough to act as a mini hi-fi, and at £120 it costs no more than you might have spent on a Bluetooth speaker a year or so ago. It sounds miles better than the Echo Show 5, costs a lot less than the 10in Echo Show, and therefore can’t really fail.
Guess what? It doesn’t. But there are a couple of points that are worth considering before you go blowing dosh on this smart screen. The display isn’t quite as funky as rivals, there’s no support for Netflix, and it shakes like a defecating whippet when the volume is cranked up to 11. Also, Google and Amazon still don’t get along, so you’ll have to find a workaround to enjoy those YouTube videos while preparing the dinner or sitting on the bog.