Amazon Echo Show 5
PUNCHES ABOVE ITS WEIGHT.
TECHNICALLY, THE ECHO Show 5 falls into the “smart clock” category, pitting it squarely against the Lenovo Smart Clock. We’ll cover off its enhanced snooze-busting features in a moment, but it’s worth noting from the outset that the Show 5 isn’t purposefully crippled like the Lenovo. You can still stream Amazon Prime Video, access the web browser, make video calls, control smart home devices and view how-to videos from WikiHow like you can on the larger Echo Show. The main limitation, really, is just the smaller 5.5inch screen.
The rear speakers are surprisingly loud for the form factor, and most likely an improvement on what your smartphone can produce. It’s not one for audiophiles, but it’s ample for listening to music and podcasts in the bedroom, watching a quick video before bed, as well as being woken up by an alarm. As with the voice-only Echo Spot, you can connect it to a superior speaker using the 3.5mm audio jack on the rear.
As a smart clock, the Echo Show 5 has a few tricks up its sleeve. The voice capability means you can set your alarm at night without having to fumble with a touchscreen, and you can set it up to play a specific song or artist. The screen’s backlight automatically dims when you turn the lights off, while the sunrise feature automatically increases the screen’s brightness ahead of your alarm going off. Finally, you can hit the top of the Echo Show 5 to snooze the alarm – although we wish you could customise the snooze duration (it’s fixed to 9-minute intervals).