Amazon Echo Show

•GADGET REVIEW

The updated Show is a big step in the right direction thanks to a better design, screen, sound experience and feature set. It's still hampered by some patchy skills and limited support for third-party streaming services, but if you’re a Prime Video fan living in a smart home full of Echos, you should definitely check it out. The Amazon Echo Show can seem confusing for those not used to smart home gadgets. At heart it's a smart speaker, like the Amazon Echo, but also builds in a large screen – adding in video and touch functionality alongside the Echo's usual audio capabilities. The first generation Echo Show was quite a hard sell at launch, shipping with an Alexa assistant that didn’t make the most of the bigger screen and having middling audio given both its price and its size. But now we've got a second generation model and Amazon has ironed out most of the issues we had with its predecessor. For this latest version of the Show, Amazon has well and truly gone back to the drawing board. And it was worth it. Everything about this year’s Echo Show – its design, screen and functionality – is better than ever before. You can watch some TV, yes. But it’ll depend on which region you’re in. The Amazon Echo Show is a smart assistant, just like the Amazon Echo. Alexa is the voice-activated, AI brains behind the device. Alexa can do a huge range of things, from telling you the weather forecast and answer questions to control other devices in your smart home. The big difference between the Echo Show and Amazon’s other devices is the Show has a screen. This means you can watch videos and tutorials on it, as well as make video calls. You don’t need to do anything extra to get Alexa, the voice assistant comes built-in to Amazon’s Echo range of smart speakers. When designing the Echo Show this time around, Amazon has put the speakers on the back, making the Show’s front almost all screen. The Amazon Echo Show isn't perfect. And its screen isn't likely to appeal to everyone. But the final word is a positive one: “Alexa, well done”.

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