Amazon's smart devices are the most popular in homes. Certainly the fact of being sold in the most important e-commerce site in the world by one hand, but the Seattle house is focusing strongly on development of the Alexa voice assistant, so much so that today it is one of the best available. Over time, the conversations have become more natural and the possibilities for interaction have increased, a sign that Alexa's development continues unabated.
In the vast Amazon line-up there are also products that add a screen to the classic voice interaction, further expanding the possibilities of use. At the top of the range we find Echo Show, on sale since last year but remained undefeated in the technical specifications.
Design
Amazon currently produces three smart screens, Echo Show 5, Echo Show and the recent Echo Show 8. The first offers inferior characteristics compared to the model we tested, but also in terms of construction quality Echo Show is superior. The front of the device is entirely occupied by the screen, with rather thick edges, while the body that connects the display to the rear is in excellent quality plastic. The whole rear area is instead covered with fabric, which hides the advanced sound system designed by Amazon. On the upper edge there are four microphones for receiving voice commands, together with the button to switch off the microphone, the video camera and two buttons to switch off the volume.
In the upper area of the screen there are four other microphones and the front camera. On the back, on the other hand, you can see the power socket and a micro USB port, which can only be used for maintenance in service centers.
The dimensions are quite important, of 246 x 174 x 107 mm, with a weight of 1.7 kg. Placing it at home is not difficult, but certainly Echo Show 5 is more manageable from this point of view, thanks to the more compact screen.
Technical features and functionality
The technical characteristics of Echo Show certainly do not make you cry for a miracle, moreover it is a product that is not designed for high-quality reproduction of video content. The screen is from 10 inches with a resolution of 960 x 480 pixels and is equipped with a Touch Screen. The viewing angles are rather small, moving sideways there is a variation in the yield that is easily perceived even with the naked eye. The audio is instead managed by two 2 "speakers and a passive radiator. As in high-end Echoes, compatibility with devices equipped with Zigbee standards, such as Philips bulbs, is guaranteed.
The display is nothing exceptional, the resolution is rather low for today's average also the colors are more dull than the screens that we are used to observing every day, for example in smartphones. The automatic brightness management should also be reviewed, when entering a dark room the backlight does not sufficiently lower the light emitted, making the screen brighter than it should be.
Definitely better is the audio rendering, higher than the video one. The speakers that make up the integrated speaker system offer high maximum volume and good quality. The bass is felt a lot during the reproduction of films and TV series and in the music one, configuring itself as one of the product's strengths.
But what can be done with an Echo Show? In general we find all the actions that can be performed with Amazon's smart speakers, with the difference that these are followed not only by a vocal response, but also by a visual one. For example, if you ask Alexa to play a song, contextual song information appears on the screen.
Or, if you have cameras connected to Alexa, just ask to show what they are filming to see it appear on the screen. Also in the kitchen Echo Show comes in handy, thanks to Skill like that of GialloZafferano: in addition to explaining the recipes through the speakers, the skill shows, step by step, the steps to do to make them.
Thanks to the front camera, other Echo Show owners can be video-called. Prime Video also available, fully controllable by voice, but not Netflix: compatibility with video streaming applications is very low, in fact only Prime Video works on the Echo Show.
It goes much better on the audio front, where in addition to Amazon Music we find Spotify and Apple Music; Audible is not missing for listening to audio books. The alternative uses compared to the products of the Echo range are not many but there are, it all depends on the needs you have.
