Amazon Echo Show 5

Repeating itself

Low-cost smart speaker that can be seen as well as heard

It offers video chat, Alexa help, music, news and more

We’re used to tech manufacturers and their irrational numbering schemes, but this time Amazon is really pushing it. The Echo Show – a smart speaker with a screen – first appeared in 2017 and, like the first version of anything, had no number. When it was updated last year, the new model was called ‘Echo Show (2nd gen)’, which is fair enough. Now here’s the Echo Show 5. Either there are a lot of Echo Show 3s and 4s buried in the desert somewhere, or… all right, it’s called the Echo Show 5 because it has a 5in touchscreen. Well, 5.5in.

This is smaller than the 2nd Gen (£220 from www.snipca.com/32628), the Google Nest Hub (£89 from www.snipca. com/32625, formerly the Google Home Hub, see Issue 541, page 27), or either version of the Lenovo Smart Display (from £100, see www.snipca.com/32627). But it’s bigger than the similarly priced Lenovo Smart Clock (£80 from www. snipca.com/32385, see Issue 560, page 29).

Unlike the Smart Clock, the Show 5 has a webcam for video chat, which only works with other Echo or Alexa app users. The camera has a privacy shutter (pictured below), which Amazon says also disables the microphones. An update to the Show software brings a set of shortcuts available by swiping left, plus tips on what you can do with Alexa if you haven’t used Amazon’s voice assistant before. Other new uses for the screen (also available on the 2nd Gen) include playing how-to videos and showing a feed from Alexa-compatible security cameras and baby monitors.

It’s useful that the screen auto-adjusts for brightness and can be set to light up just before your morning alarm goes off. The display still often feels redundant, though, and the default time and weather info disappears while you’re listening to Spotify, for example. The Show 5’s small speaker is OK at low to medium volume, with an equaliser function to adjust tone, but its bottom-edge position, intended to boost bass, makes it sound muddy.

A jack lets you connect an external speaker. We found the dual far-field mics struggled to hear our commands over background noise.

SPECIFICATIONS

802.11n Wi-fi • Bluetooth • 5.5in 960x480-pixel screen • 720p front camera • 8x microphones • 1.65in speaker • 3.5mm audio output • Mains adapter • 86x148x173mm (HXWXD) • 410g • One-year warranty www.snipca.com/32621

VERDICT

A smaller, weaker version of the Show (2nd Gen), but at under half the price it’s more tempting. Lenovo’s rival lacks video chat