smackdown
Amazon’s newest home assistants with screens built in – Echo Show and Echo Spot – go head to head
AMAZON ECHO SPOT £119.99, amazon.co.uk
Design
The dinky Spot is like a magic 8-ball of Alexa knowledge, and it’s compact enough to be on your bedside table as an intelligent alarm clock. Alexa’s light glows around the circular display, with the same easy touch screen controls as the Show.
Features
The screen is gently slanted for easily glanceable content. It’s only a 2.5-inch display, but it’s easily enough for your Alexa needs. It’s a bit of an issue if you want to view Amazon Video content; the screen’s more about clock faces and news bulletins.
Usability
Unlike the Show, the Spot wants you to call upon Alexa to access the good stuff before presenting it, and the smaller size means accessing info takes longer. It’s still incredibly neat, and its small size means it doesn’t take up a lot of space. Performance The speaker isn’t the most powerful, but packs a punch for smaller spaces and has more clarity than the Show, despite the size difference. It can pick up your voice just as well, though is more prone to mishearing you as it only has four mics. verdicT We’re impressed It’s perfect as a bedside accessory, and you don’t lose any Alexa functionality. We’d improve The in-built audio quality could be better, and built-in Bluetooth would be a boon.
Amazon echo shoW £199.99, amazon.co.uk
Design
Shaped like a hulking cheese grater, the Show’s design feels like a ’90s CRT TV. The large screen makes navigation easy between tiles - though most of it is voiced-based of course - and there are mute and volume buttons on the top within easy reach.
Features
The seven-inch screen is perfect for showing off recipes and content from Amazon Video. It’s not the most crisp display, but the viewing angles are good, making it great for the easy, glanceable content that you’d want from your Echo.
Usability
Thanks to that large screen, the Show keeps you updated on everything from the latest news to your calendar. And for everything it shows you, there are prompts to ask for more, making it feel more interactive - and intelligent - than the Spot. Performance The best thing about the Show is its ability to hear you, even if you’re belting out tunes. Eight mics pick up your voice perfectly. The audio quality is surprisingly bad for its size, though, with Alexa’s voice muffled and music occasionally distorted. verdicT We’re impressed Brilliant for the kitchen because of the recipe skills and crystal-clear large screen. We’d improve For all that tech, there has to be a better design than the Show’s hulk of a silhouette. For more info on choosing a great smart speaker, go to bit.ly/t3smartspeaker