Amazon Echo Show 5 review

It works best as a little bedside gadget or kitchen helper, but if you're going to get an Echo with a screen because you want to make full use of seeing things on that screen, you might find that the bigger sizes suit you better. But when it goes down to around £50 on sale, as it occasionally does, we think you might as well get the Echo that gives you information at a glance as well as out loud, because why not? It's cute and convenient.

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Importantly, it’s so much more than a “smart alarm clock.” While alarms, reminders, timers and basic information like weather and news reports may be the most popular uses, the Echo Show 5 is a capable home companion, with decent entertainment chops, enhanced smart home features and hands-free communications. Aside from the dinky form factor, thoughtful improvements like new privacy features, customization options and Sunrise settings make the Echo Show 5 Amazon’s friendliest and most versatile smart display yet.

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It works best as a little bedside gadget or kitchen helper, but if you're going to get an Echo with a screen because you want to make full use of seeing things on that screen, you might find that the bigger sizes suit you better. But when it goes down to around £50 on sale, as it occasionally does, we think you might as well get the Echo that gives you information at a glance as well as out loud, because why not? It's cute and convenient.

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Overall, I’m not particularly impressed with the Echo Show 5. With such a small screen, it’s hard to imagine that I can use it to comfortable watch TV, basically making it a glorified Echo speaker. However, I did really like it for cooking, and it’s super affordable, which can be attractive to many.

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The Echo Show 5 is a smart home device that can manage almost every other high-tech gadget or appliance in your home. It utilizes the efficiency of Alexa and gives you visual feedback about the things that you need.

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After using the Echo Show 5, shrinking the screen was a no-brainer for Amazon. It means it fits into your life more easily but still allows you to fall back on a visual interface when words just aren’t enough. It’s low price and larger display makes it a smarter buy than the Echo Spot, and it’s hard to recommend the less capable Lenovo Smart clock at the same cost, especially when the Show 5 is an equally good clock. Paying a considerable chunk more for a full-size Echo Show gets you a device better suited for watching video, as well as dedicated web browsers and a more media-rich screen. But to most people, none of these things are essential anyway.

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The Amazon Echo Show 5 is smaller than its predecessors but packs all the same punches with a touchscreen, built-in Amazon Alexa and smart home controls. While the smaller size sacrifices some speaker quality and display space, the added camera blocker and lower price makes the Echo Show 5 the most appealing Echo Show model yet.

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It’s difficult to put a finger on the kind of buyer interested in this category of Echo Show. It is a jack of all trades but master of none. The Echo Show 5 is nowhere close to the large smart screen experience you get on the Echo Show (10.1-inch). The Echo Show 5 is also not as cute as the Echo Dot which makes for a perfect case for an alarm clock replacement by your nightstand. With Amazon having released the new Echo Show 8 which comes with an 8-inch display, I’d wish you rather wait for that to launch in India. The 5.5-inch display isn’t all that great for watching anything more than a movie trailer or news bulletin. 

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The Echo Show 5 can do some cool things, and it doesn’t do any of them terribly. It could help you cook in the kitchen; it could help you shop in your office; it could help you play music in your living room; it could help you video chat in your bedroom. But since it’s not a device you’re likely to carry around your house, you shouldn’t be asking “How many things can it do?” You should be asking “How well does it do the things I need it to do?” 

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One big reason to prefer Echo Show 5 over Google’s Nest Hub is better audio output. Streaming music is a primary use case for such smart assistants, and Echo Show 5 is simply better at it. Echo Show 5, however, isn’t as good for video content or for use as a Photo frame as the Nest Hub.

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