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amazon Amazon Echo Show 5 reviews
The Amazon Echo Show 5 is an affordable small smart display that brings Alexa voice commands to your desk, bookshelf, or nightstand.
Smart displays are getting smaller, more affordable, and more functional. The Amazon Echo Spot has been our favorite bed companion for over a year, thanks to its compact size and price compared to the full-size Echo Show. Amazon offers another small-screen alternative in the form of the $89.99 Echo Show 5, a 5.5-inch model that lacks the 10-inch, 229.99 original’s explosive stereo speakers but offers a great selection of Alexa voice assistants and touchscreen features for $40 less than the Echo Spot.
Design
The Echo Show 5 looks like a smaller version of the original model. It’s dominated by the touchscreen, with angled fabric edges that can tilt the screen slightly upwards.
You can get it with a black frame and dark gray canvas or with a white frame and light gray fabric face.
Whatever color it is, the device measures 3.3 by 5.8 by 3.2 inches (height by width by depth), with a 5.5-inch, 960 by 480 display. Yes, much smaller than the Google Nest Hub’s 7-inch, 1024 by 600 LCD, but a tad taller and wider than the 4-inch, 800 by 480 Lenovo Smart Clock. If desk or stand space is at a premium, although the Echo Spot has roundarounds, it is in fact the tiniest of all, with a round, 2.5-inch, 480 by 480 display.
The touchscreen is surrounded by a flat, 0.4-inch frame, with a camera in the top right corner. The top edge of the Echo Show 5 has a mechanical switch that slides the privacy screen over the camera, along with the volume and microphone mute buttons. The jack for the far-field microphone is also on this side, between the buttons. The back has a micro USB port for servicing, a 3.5mm audio output, and a connector for the included power adapter. The entire unit is securely placed on a large rubber foot that prevents it from shaking on the table.
Setting up the Echo Show 5 is pretty simple and something for which, incidentally, some other Alexa devices do not require the Alexa app. A new device, it asks for your Wi-Fi network and the password via a virtual keyboard; then, it asks for an Amazon sign-in, during which you could either name the Show or give its location and check for updates. If all goes well and the device is connected and updated, voice commands or the screen can be used for interaction.
Touchscreen and interface
By default, the display shows the time and weather, along with forecasts, news stories, and Alexa command suggestions. Swiping down from the top of the screen presents icons for Home, Settings, and Do Not Disturb, as well as a brightness slider. Swiping left from the right edge of the screen reveals the touch interface, which contains buttons for Alarms, Communications, Music, Processes, Smart Home, and Video. These buttons bring up reduced menus for using various features on the Echo Show 5 without speaking to Alexa.
Alarms are self-explanatory and allow you to set and enable alarms on your device. Processes allow you to activate and switch a wide range of automated functions on the Show and with any connected smart home device. However, if you want to do your processes, you need to go through the Alexa app on your phone. Communication offers many options like making a phone call or a Drop-In video call (though Skype isn’t available through this menu).
Video shows Prime Video and other Echo Show-compatible video services that you subscribe to through the Alexa app on your phone. Amazon Video showed up, and I was also able to access NBC’s app through the menu. Both video apps have their on-screen menus, mostly text-based lists that let you browse content by title and category. Meanwhile, Music only shows the most recent songs you played on the Echo Show.
Smart Home displays your most recently used smart home devices, allowing you to control them with taps. You can also browse and control groups of devices.
Features of Alexa
As a first-party Echo device, the Echo Show 5 can use Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant to the fullest extent. Functions include:
- Requesting general information.
- Setting alarms.
- Controlling smart devices in the home.
- Accessing thousands of third-party Alexa skills.
Just say “Alexa” (or “Echo,” “Amazon,” or “Computer” if you change the wake word through the Alexa mobile app) and give your voice commands.
Alexa finds it harder to work with than Google Assistant, which requires more precise language when giving commands. But you can turn on Follow mode to ask related series of questions or issue a series of related commands without using the wake word each time.
You can make voice or video calls with the Echo Show 5, with Amazon’s Drop-In messaging feature (works with other Echo devices and the Alexa app), or with Skype, if you link your accounts yourself through the Alexa app. The Show can also call most North American phone numbers directly.
Alexa also lets you see your calendar and email inbox on the Echo Show 5 and will let you know your next appointment when you ask for it. You can link your Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Microsoft Exchange account via the Alexa app, which includes support for G Suite accounts (which the Google Assistant is oddly lacking).
You can also ask Alexa to open the Silk web browser and surf the web. The 5.5-inch display isn’t as sharp as most modern smartphones, but it’s a useful option that a smart display with Google Assistant doesn’t offer.
Alexa supports a vast range of compatible smart home devices, from all the major brands. You can use voice commands through Echo Show 5 to control smart lights, smart thermostats, smart locks, smart plugs, and almost any other home automation device. If you have a compatible security camera or video doorbell for the home, you can view the video feed on the display and even talk back through two-way voice communications. The Echo Show 5 does not have an inbuilt Zigbee hub, so you must factor in purchasing a separate hub if you intend to work with Zigbee devices in your home.
Music and videos through Alexa are Amazon-oriented, but many third-party services are available. If you want to listen to Music on the Echo Show, voice commands provide you with access to Amazon Prime Music (with an Amazon Prime account), Amazon Music Unlimited (with an Unlimited Music account), and Spotify (with a Spotify Premium account).
For video, Amazon Video is there by default while you can use other apps although Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube aren’t there. You can go for NBC or Vevo, though.
where can you get a Amazon Echo Show 5 online
Echo Show 5 (1st Gen, 2019 release) — Smart display with Alexa – stay connected with video calling – Charcoal: Buy it now
All-new Echo Show 5 (2nd Gen, 2021 release) | Smart display with Alexa and 2 MP camera | Deep Sea Blue: Buy it now
Echo Show 5 (Charcoal) with All-new Blink Outdoor- 3 camera kit: Buy it now
Echo Show 5 (Charcoal) with All-new Blink Outdoor- 2 camera kit: Buy it now
Audio and video performance
The full-size Echo Show impressed us with the powerful sound its two 10-watt drivers can deliver. The single 4-watt driver in the Echo Show 5 is less appealing, but that’s to be expected. As a result, it struggles with powerful bass, as in our bass-test song, “Silent Shout” by The Knife. The bass synthesizer notes sounded hollow, and the drum hit was distorted at maximum volume, which didn’t produce a powerful sound at the start.
Music with less intense bass, like Yes’ “Roundabout,” sounds much better on the Echo Show 5. The speakers still don’t get too far into the lower frequencies to provide plenty of electric bass notes, but they do have a bit of a punch, and the frets receive just enough force to let the string structure through. It’s still a mid-range audio experience, focusing on low mid to high mids and generally avoiding extremes, especially at the lower frequencies.
Unfortunately, listening to Music via Bluetooth seems much worse. The details in the zipper disappear, and matching becomes difficult with Bluetooth artifacts. If you want to listen to Music on the Echo Show, make sure it’s available on one of the compatible streaming services.
And on a positive note, the Echo Show 5 sounds much better than the $80 Lenovo Smart Clock.
For video, meanwhile, the 5.5-inch screen is fine. It has reasonable colors and is sharp considering the 480p resolution, though it’s not particularly bright or vivid. Of course, the Echo Show 5’s larger, the rectangular screen is much easier to watch videos than the Echo Spot’s round screen, which is tiny and not much more than a watch.
Small and Smart
The Amazon Echo Show 5 is a great little smart display that offers tons of features, with a more useful (albeit slightly larger) design than the Echo Spot. It fills a niche for under-$100 smart displays, offering handy voice assistant commands and a functional touchscreen for less than a screenless Echo Plus speaker.
Its only real competitor in this category is the disappointing Lenovo Smart Clock, which the Echo Show 5 far exceeds in performance and functionality. It even has a better screen than the Echo Spot and better sound than the Google Nest Hub, which is well over $100. It can easily fit on any desk, counter, or shelf, knocking the Echo Spot off its distinctive nightstand as our ideal bedside smart display.
Advantages
Good price
Powerful voice assistant features
Useful touch screen controls with a web browser
Defect
Normal sound quality
Music transmitted over Bluetooth is not good
Tech Reviewer & Product Analyst
Định Bia has spent over 10 years testing consumer electronics with a focus on smart technology. He work as a product advisor at Biareview where he helped customers find the right devices for their needs. He personally tests every product featured on this site using a consistent evaluation framework covering quality, durability, and value. All reviews are based on experience, not influenced by the manufacturer.
