Amazon Echo Show 10
Amazon’s latest Echo Show puts a rotating tablet on top of a smart speaker to follow you around the room… but don’t worry, only when you want it to
The Mona Lisa of smart speakers
£240 / stuff.tv/show10
It’s not even been around for four years yet, but it feels like Amazon’s Echo Show has already had as many iterations as Batman.
The Echo Show 10 is here to expand the Alexa-powered smart display’s capabilities even further. Like the old 2nd-gen Show, it has a 10.1in touchscreen and a front camera, but this time it’s mounted to what looks like a squashed Echo Studio… and can follow you around the room using a silent motor.
So, unlike anything before it bearing the Show name, this is two devices in one. First you’ve got the fabric-wrapped speaker, which houses a pair of 1in tweeters and a 3in woofer. Attached to that is the tablet, which can tilt back or forward, but not so far back that it’s facing the ceiling. That would be ridiculous, unless you’ve got some really great cornicing.
Given that all of this pushes the price up a bit, is the Show 10 worth taking over its various still-on-sale predecessors, or are you better off sticking rather than twisting?
Pivot away
The Echo Show’s brushless motor allows it to spin 175° in either direction, so it can always face you when you address it.
It’s a tablet with a pretty sizeable bezel (1), plus a front mic and a 13MP front-facing camera – with multiple ways to disable it if you want to.
You’re a big twirl now
It’s worth noting this is quite a bit taller than the 2018 Echo Show 10. We know this because we can no longer open the kitchen cupboard, plus it requires extra space for rotating. But in either charcoal or white (2), we like its (whisper it) Apple-like appearance.
Let’s twist again
If you’re into your eco-friendly gadgets (see p36 for more of those), the Echo Show 10 is built using 30% post-consumer recycled plastics (3), and entirely recycled fabric and aluminium. Low-power mode will turn the screen off intelligently during periods of inactivity.
You reely got me
Setup requires Device Mapping to determine the range of motion, then works like this: say the wake word and the screen swivels to face you and will then follow your movements whether you’re on a video call (4), following a recipe or watching Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.
Pirouette dream
Using computer vision and echolocation to track where you are, the processing is done locally and deleted after each interaction. It works really well most of the time: smooth, silent and rarely unable to locate you. It also works as a smart security camera (5).
This is the best Echo Show to date, and that’s down to its genuinely useful rotating ability. It makes apps that require you to look at the screen instantly more appealing, as they’re always in front of you when you look up. The speaker is also pretty good, making this is an impressively versatile device… but £240 is a lot if you already have a Show. @Mattwtate